Abstract

Simple SummaryThe European roe deer is the most abundant ungulate in Europe. Information on the number of animals and the factors that influence this are essential for the effective management of this species. We developed a model to estimate the pellet group density using transect surveys of dung pellets in the federal state of Bavaria, south-eastern Germany. We used the pellet group density as a proxy for roe deer relative abundance. Our results show that climate, habitat type and wildlife management approach determine the relative number of roe deer. Influential factors differed between seasons and were expected due to changes in food and shelter availability. Although recognized as a woodland species, the majority of roe deer are expected in agriculture-dominated landscapes, which shows their ability to adapt to a wide range of landscape types, especially those with high food availability. Higher numbers were also predicted in regions with intermediate temperatures. Estimates of relative number do not give the actual absolute number of animals but are useful in determining which conditions will have more or fewer animals and can provide information for broad-scale management recommendations. Our results also provide insights into possible future changes in the distribution of relative numbers of roe deer due to climate and land-use change.European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) are important given their economic, recreational and ecological value. However, uncontrolled roe deer numbers can result in negative impacts on forest regeneration and agricultural crops, disease transmission and occurrences of deer-vehicle collisions. Information on the abundance and distribution is needed for effective management. We combined distance sampling (DS) of roe deer dung pellet groups with multiple variables to develop a density surface model (DSM) in the federal state of Bavaria in south-eastern Germany. We used the estimates of pellet group density as a proxy for roe deer relative abundance. We extrapolated our best DSM, conducted a quantitative evaluation and contrasted relative abundance along climate and land-use gradients. Relative abundance of roe deer was influenced by a combination of habitat type, climate and wildlife management variables, which differed between seasons and which reflected changes in food and shelter availability. At the landscape scale, the highest abundance was observed in agriculture-dominated areas and the lowest in urban areas. Higher abundance was also observed in areas with intermediate temperatures compared to the warmest areas. Our results provide information on possible future changes in the distribution of relative abundance due to changes in climate and land-use.

Highlights

  • European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) populations have increased dramatically in numbers and geographical distribution in recent decades [1]

  • We presented the estimated distribution of the relative abundance of roe deer within the 60 study quadrants, which were classified according to the climate and land-use gradients

  • A total of 1680 dung pellet groups were recorded on 512 transects of 200-m length, corresponding to a total effort of 102.4 km

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Summary

Introduction

European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) populations have increased dramatically in numbers and geographical distribution in recent decades [1] This is indicative of the species’ ability to adapt to a wide range of landscape types and climatic conditions [2,3]. The ability to estimate abundance gradients on a larger geographical scale is limited by the high monetary and labor costs of these methods [12] Because of these limitations, Morellet et al [23] argued for a shift in focus from estimating absolute abundance to understanding the interaction between animal populations and habitat quality and determining the ecological status of the ungulate-habitat system. They suggested that relative abundance indices might be sufficient for management decisions

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