Habitat usage by red (Cervus elaphus) and roe (Capreolus capreolus) deer in a Scottish Sitka spruce plantation

Habitat usage in a 1825 ha block of mixed-age forest was assessed by counts of accumulated pellet groups on permanent plots. This monitoring took place from 1978 to 1984 with some 300 plots in 13 types of habitat. Tests on the method are described; losses of pellet groups were insufficient to bias the conclusions.
Usage was least in the forest stages lacking ground vegetation, i.e. thicket, pole and high-canopy forest; stages with ground vegetation had moderately heavy usage. The most preferred habitats were of small extent, treeless, and situated near or within closed forest, i.e. rides, openings and the margin between forest and unplanted hill ground. Red and roe deer showed broadly similar patterns of preference but differed significantly in the use of some habitats. Thickets received more use from red than roe deer, whereas pre-thicket and vegetated high-canopy forest had most use from roe deer, being richer in forbs on which this species feeds heavily.     

Recovery of a dwarf birch (Betula nana) population following reduction in grazing by red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Summary

In Britain Betula nana is a nationally scarce plant, its distribution being limited by climate, heather burning and grazing by deer and sheep. The recovery of a population of B. nana was monitored for several years inside a Scots pine regeneration exclosure in N.E. Scotland. Browsing pressure was reduced in the exclosure but a few red deer (amounting to 3–4 km^?2) were deliberately retained. B. nana stem density increased after red-deer density was reduced. Over the same period there was a reduction in browsing inside the exclosure. B. nana stem density was negatively related to heather height, deer presence and tree canopy cover. Comparisons of growth were made with plants outside the exclosure between 1998 and 2000, the mean annual increment of stems, allowing for browsing loss, being respectively 1.25 and 0.45 cm for inside and outside the exclosure. Most stem basal diameters inside the exclosure were smaller than outside. Reducing red deer density to 3–4 km^?2 on similar upland sites with peaty soils could lead to regeneration of B. nana.     

Colonization of the Scottish islands via long-distance Neolithic transport of red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) have played a key role in human societies throughout history, with important cultural significance and as a source of food and materials. This relationship can be traced back to the earliest human cultures and continues to the present day. Humans are thought to be responsible for the movement of a considerable number of deer throughout history, although the majority of these movements are poorly described or understood. Studying such translocations allows us to better understand ancient human–wildlife interactions, and in the case of island colonizations, informs us about ancient human maritime practices. This study uses DNA sequences to characterise red deer genetic diversity across the Scottish islands (Inner and Outer Hebrides and Orkney) and mainland using ancient deer samples, and attempts to infer historical colonization events. We show that deer from the Outer Hebrides and Orkney are unlikely to have originated from mainland Scotland, implying that humans introduced red deer from a greater distance. Our results are also inconsistent with an origin from Ireland or Norway, suggesting long-distance maritime travel by Neolithic people to the outer Scottish Isles from an unknown source. Common haplotypes and low genetic differentiation between the Outer Hebrides and Orkney imply common ancestry and/or gene flow across these islands. Close genetic proximity between the Inner Hebrides and Ireland, however, corroborates previous studies identifying mainland Britain as a source for red deer introductions into Ireland. This study provides important information on the processes that led to the current distribution of the largest surviving indigenous land mammal in the British Isles.     

Landscape features affect gene flow of Scottish Highland red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Landscape features have been shown to strongly influence dispersal and, consequently, the genetic population structure of organisms. Studies quantifying the effect of landscape features on gene flow of large mammals with high dispersal capabilities are rare and have mainly been focused at large geographical scales. In this study, we assessed the influence of several natural and human-made landscape features on red deer gene flow in the Scottish Highlands by analysing 695 individuals for 21 microsatellite markers. Despite the relatively small scale of the study area (115 × 87 km), significant population structure was found using F -statistics ( F _ST = 0.019) and the program structure , with major differentiation found between populations sampled on either side of the main geographical barrier (the Great Glen). To assess the effect of landscape features on red deer population structure, the ArcMap GIS was used to create cost-distance matrices for moving between populations, using a range of cost values for each of the landscape features under consideration. Landscape features were shown to significantly affect red deer gene flow as they explained a greater proportion of the genetic variation than the geographical distance between populations. Sea lochs were found to be the most important red deer gene flow barriers in our study area, followed by mountain slopes, roads and forests. Inland lochs and rivers were identified as landscape features that might facilitate gene flow of red deer. Additionally, we explored the effect of choosing arbitrary cell cost values to construct least cost-distance matrices and described a method for improving the selection of cell cost values for a particular landscape feature.     

The consequences for deer of ingesting oilseed rape (Brassica napus): feeding experiments with roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus)

In two experiments, in the growing season March–May, freshly harvested double-low oilseed rape ( Brassica napus ) plants were fed ad libitum to penned roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ) and red deer ( Cervus elaphus ). In Experiment 1, oilseed rape was fed to five roe and 12 red deer as 60% of their daily dry matter (DM) intake for four weeks, after a two-week dietary change-over period. The rest of the diet comprised cattle-rearing pellets (33%) and freshly cut heather ( Calluna vulgaris ) plants (7%). In Experiment 2, oilseed rape was fed to seven roe and eight red deer as 100% of the diet for up to six weeks, after a two-week change-over period.
In both experiments, Heinz bodies were found in roe deer blood 2–3 weeks after the start of the change-over period, with a fall in mean packed cell volume (PCV) and blood glutathione (GSH) concentration. In Experiment 2, after 5–8 days of feeding on 100% oilseed rape, four roe deer showed signs of inappetance and were changed to a diet of 80% oilseed rape. At the same time, the other three roe deer had very low PCV (< 60% of normal values) and oilseed rape feeding was discontinued for those animals. The red deer showed no symptoms of haemolytic damage nor any change in blood GSH concentration in either experiment, but showed a gradual fall in PCV in Experiment 2. No other ill-effects were observed in any of the animals.
Intakes of oilseed rape (gDM/kg^0–75/day) were lower for the roe deer than the red deer in both experiments. The severity of haemolytic anaemia in the roe deer was related to the proportion of oilseed rape in the diet, rather than the amount ingested. It was concluded that the health of roe deer ingesting oilseed rape may be affected if other foods are not available.     

黄泥河自然保护区狍冬季栖息地选择

2009年12月—2010年1月,在黄泥河自然保护区采用样线法对狍冬季栖息地选择进行了研究。共设置了47条样线,调查了109个狍利用样方和109个对照样方,测定了海拔、坡度、坡向、坡位、隐蔽级、郁闭度、食物丰富度、灌丛盖度、树胸径、人为干扰距离、林型、裸岩、雪深、倒木和针叶树15类栖息地因子。Baileys法和Mann-WhiteyU检验表明:在黄泥河自然保护区冬季,狍喜欢在坡度平缓、平均海拔602m,位于阳坡或半阴半阳坡的中坡位上雪被较浅,食物丰富度、灌丛盖度和隐蔽级都较高的针阔混交林生境中活动,对倒木因子表现出明显的选择性,避开选择阴坡、裸岩和针叶林生境。在主成分分析中,前5个主成分中的累积贡献率达到88.6%,第一主成分贡献率为30.8%,主要反映利用样方的林型、海拔和隐蔽级的影响,第二主成分贡献率为26.5%,主要反映利用样方的食物丰富度和灌丛盖度影响。     

Polydactyly in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)

Supernumerary digits on roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) have been recorded over many decades in Germany. The case described in this communication is believed to be only the second documented example from the UK. A right hind foot of a buck had three equally developed digits arising from a metatarsal that trifurcated.     

匈牙利平原环境中狍的集群行为

20 0 2年 4月至 2 0 0 3年 4月利用直接观察法对匈牙利平原农田环境中狍的集群行为进行了研究 ,结果显示平均群体数量在寒冷的秋冬季节较大 ,最大群体数量也具有类似的变动趋势 ,2 0 0 3年 2月最大群体有 92 - 94只 ,并保持集群长达 2 0d ,在冷季以大于 5只的群体所占百分比较高。 2 0 0 2年 4月和 2 0 0 3年 3月集群开始解散 ,雄性个体在 2 0 0 2年 6、 7月的交配期独居或保持家庭小群 ,雌性主要与幼体构成家庭群。生活在小片林地的群体数量小于农田群体 ,作者认为农田平原环境的开阔性结构和繁殖生理状态是导致狍群体较大和集群行为变化的近因     

Detection of Bartonella DNA in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and in ticks removed from deer

The potential role of roe deer as a sylvatic reservoir of Bartonella in north-west Poland has been assessed. In addition, ticks infesting roe deer were screened to assess their role as a vector and reservoir of Bartonella. Blood and tissue samples of 72 animals from north-western Poland were PCR-screened. Bartonella DNA was detected by using primers complementary to the intergenic spacer between the 16S and 23S rRNA genes, which is used for identification of over a dozen species of this genus. Products of three different sizes were detected: 230 and 290 bp, representative of two strains of Bartonella capreoli, and 190 bp, identified as Bartonella bovis. All the three amplicons were detected in the blood, spleen and liver from the roe deer. All samples from the heart, lungs and kidneys were PCR negative. In ticks (Ixodes ricinus), only the 290 bp fragment from B. capreoli was present. Generally, Bartonella infection rate in Capreolus capreolus amounted to 27.6% of the roe deer, but it was much higher during winter (62%) than in spring (6.9%). The results show that the roe deer may be a reservoir for B. capreoli and B. bovis. The infection detected in I. ricinus ticks (7.7%) suggests that ticks may act as a Bartonella reservoir and vector.     

The red deer (Cervus elaphus) contains two expressed major histocompatibility complex class II DQB genes

The highly variable second exons of the red deer ( Cervus elaphu s) major histocompatibility complex (MHC) DQB genes were cloned and sequenced. Eight different expressed DQB sequences were isolated from four unrelated red deer. Either two or three different DQB sequences were isolated from each individual, demonstrating that more than one DQB gene is expressed in red deer. This is consistent with other ruminants, which also have multiple expressed copies of the DQB gene. The sequences ranged in similarity from 81·3% to 97·6% with an average similarity of 90·2%; this indicates that at least one of the DQB genes is highly polymorphic.     

Genetic polymorphism of erythrocyte diaphorase in red deer, Cervus elaphus L.

NADH diaphorase polymorphism was identified in red deer erythrocyte lysates using starch gel electrophoresis and activity staining. The inheritance of the polymorphism was consistent with predictions of autosomal codominant inheritance of two alleles DIA1F and DIAS. In New Zealand's four main feral red deer populations (n = 188) the DIA1F allele frequency ranged from 0.491 to 0.985. A sample of North American wapiti (n = 42) was monomorphic for the DIA1F allele.     

Hypodermosis in the red deer Cervus elaphus in Cordoba, Spain

The prevalence of red deer hypodermosis and the life cycle of Hypodermia diana Brauer 1858 in three provinces of the south of Spain, Córdoba, Jaen and Ciudad Real, were studied by inspecting 254, thirty-eight and thirty-five deer from each province respectively. The prevalence of infestations was: Córdoba, 87.75%; Jaen, 92.10%, Ciudad Real, 91.42%. From this we deduced an overall prevalence of 88.67%, comprising 88.23% in male deer and 89.96% in female deer. The intensity of the parasitism in 213 of the 245 animals from Córdoba varied between one warble per animal to more than 100 in 28 of the inspected animals. The chronology of the life cycle during the hunting period (October to the end of February) was investigated.