Diet quality and immunocompetence influence parasite load of roe deer in a fragmented landscape

The influence of landscape structure and host diet on parasite load of wildlife is still largely unknown. We studied a roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population in a fragmented agricultural landscape in southern France to explore the relationship of gastrointestinal nematode load with spleen mass (to index immunocompetence), faecal nitrogen (to index diet quality), landscape structure and age of 33 hunt-harvested roe deer. Gastrointestinal worm counts were negatively related to faecal nitrogen and spleen mass, explaining respectively 24.7% and 9.2% of the observed variability in parasite load. Landscape structure did not appear to have a direct influence on gastrointestinal worm counts, but since animals from more open areas have a diet that is richer in nitrogen, its influence may be indirect. In conclusion, in the study area, the colonisation of the agricultural landscape does not seem to have increased the risk of gastrointestinal nematode parasitism for roe deer, possibly because access to high-quality food enhances immunocompetence.

     

A typical browser, the roe deer, may consume substantial quantities of grasses in open landscapes

In open landscapes, grass leaves provide an abundant resource for ruminants, with potentially high nutritional value. However, their extensive digestion requires a long fermentation time, achieved through large rumen and the stratification of the rumen content. Due to anatomical and physiological differences, ruminants differ in their ability to process grass leaves. Particularly, the small roe deer, with its viscous saliva and unstratified rumen content, is generally classified as a strict browser. We hypothesised that roe deer may be able to use grass leaves in some circumstances, notably when the availability of other resources declines and when the quality of grass leaves is high. We expected that (1) grass leave consumption should be higher in open landscapes than in forest habitat because grasses are more widely available and more nutritious in open landscapes and (2) grass leave consumption should increase in winter when the availability of other resources declines. We assessed grass consumption by microscopic analysis of roe deer faecal pellets collected monthly both in forest habitat and in the surrounding open landscape. We found that both the occurrence and the proportion of grass leaves in the faeces were higher in the open landscape (predicted mean proportion 0.31) than in the forest (predicted mean proportion 0.05). In addition, the proportion of grass leaves in the faeces was higher in winter and lower in spring in both forest and open landscape. We suggest that roe deer are able to use grass leaves with unusually high nutritional quality in winter in this mild climate area. This involves a certain level of digestive plasticity to efficiently digest high quality grasses and may confer nutritional benefit to individuals feeding in an open landscape.     

Landscape connectivity influences gene flow in a roe deer population inhabiting a fragmented landscape: an individual-based approach

Changes in agricultural practices and forest fragmentation can have a dramatic effect on landscape connectivity and the dispersal of animals, potentially reducing gene flow within populations. In this study, we assessed the influence of woodland connectivity on gene flow in a traditionally forest-dwelling species--the European roe deer--in a fragmented landscape. From a sample of 648 roe deer spatially referenced within a study area of 55 x 40 km, interindividual genetic distances were calculated from genotypes at 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci. We calculated two geographical distances between each pair of individuals: the Euclidean distance (straight line) and the 'least cost distance' (the trajectory that maximizes the use of wooded corridors). We tested the correlation between genetic pairwise distances and the two types of geographical pairwise distance using Mantel tests. The correlation was better using the least cost distance, which takes into account the distribution of wooded patches, especially for females (the correlation was stronger but not significant for males). These results suggest that in a fragmented woodland area roe deer dispersal is strongly linked to wooded structures and hence that gene flow within the roe deer population is influenced by the connectivity of the landscape.     

Landscape fragmentation influences winter body mass of roe deer

Body size of large herbivores is a crucial life history variable influencing individual fitness‐related traits. While the importance of this parameter in determining temporal trends in population dynamics is well established, much less information is available on spatial variation in body size at a local infra‐population scale. The relatively recent increase in landscape fragmentation over the last century has lead to substantial spatial heterogeneity in habitat quality across much of the modern agricultural landscape. In this paper, we analyse variation in body mass and size of roe deer inhabiting a heterogeneous agricultural landscape characterised by a variable degree of woodland fragmentation. We predicted that body mass should vary in relation to the degree of access to cultivated meadows and crops providing high quality diet supplements. In support of our prediction, roe deer body mass increased along a gradient of habitat fragmentation, with the heaviest deer occurring in the most open sectors and the lightest in the strict forest environment. These spatial differences were particularly pronounced for juveniles, reaching >3 kg (ca 20% of total body mass) between the two extremes of this gradient, and likely have a marked impact on individual fates. We also found that levels of both nitrogen and phosphorous were higher in deer faecal samples in the more open sectors compared to the forest environment, suggesting that the spatial patterns in body mass could be linked to the availability of high quality feeding habitat provided by the cultivated agricultural plain. Finally, we found that adults in the forest sector were ca 1 kg lighter for a given body size than their counterparts in the more open sectors, suggesting that access to nutrient rich foods allowed deer to accumulate substantial fat reserves, which is unusual for roe deer, with likely knock‐on effects for demographic traits and, hence, population dynamics.     

Environmental constraints in the colonization sequence of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus Linnaeus, 1758) across the Iberian Mountains, Spain

Aim This paper describes the dispersal process of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus Linnaeus, 1758) with respect to climatic factors, landscape characteristics and human activity. We hypothesized that environmental characteristics constrain the relative abundance and dispersal process of roe deer. Location The study was conducted in the Iberian Mountains, north‐eastern Spain, during 1986–2000. Methods Roe deer colonization dates in the study area were obtained from a survey for large mammals and from direct interviews with the employees of the Fish and Game Agency. We used a 10 × 10 km UTM grid as the sampling unit (n = 91). The relative abundance of roe deer was estimated by counting the number of pellet groups in line transects, which were representative of the habitat availability in the 10 × 10 km UTM grid. Climatic factors were obtained from meteorological stations placed near to the plot. Landscape structure indices, topography and human activity factors were obtained from digital maps using fragstats 3.3 and idrisi 32. We discarded a number of variables with no statistical significance and avoided multicollinearity by using Spearman rank correlation. Then, we used GLMz (with a multinomial error distribution and a logit link function) to analyse the influence of each variable considered in the dispersal process. Finally, GLMz (with a binomial error distribution and a logit link function) were used a posteriori to differentiate between the effects of the explanatory factors on a particular phase of the dispersal process. Results Our results indicate that proximity to a previously colonized grid significantly affected the global process of roe deer colonization. Independently of the proximity of the nearest population in the previous phase of colonization, our results also indicated that the dispersal process was influenced by precipitation and landscape structure, leading the species to colonize even apparently hostile places. Original nuclei of these populations occurred in territories with high and constant precipitation, and a landscape formed by mosaics of agricultural land with a high proportion of forests. During the expansion process, roe deer colonized territories with summer droughts, dominated by large agricultural patches and with few forest patches. Main conclusions These data support the working hypothesis that environmental characteristics constrain roe deer relative abundance and dispersal process through the Iberian Mountains. The location of the original nuclei of these populations probably had environmental conditions that were more favourable for the roe deer. Areas settled in the final phases of the dispersal process had low relative abundances of roe deer, and are likely to act mainly as dispersal corridors rather than being able to sustain viable populations themselves.     

Landscape fragmentation generates spatial variation of diet composition and quality in a generalist herbivore

Forest fragmentation may benefit generalist herbivores by increasing access to various substitutable food resources, with potential consequences for their population dynamics. We studied a European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population living in an agricultural mosaic of forest, woodlots, meadows and cultivated crops. We tested whether diet composition and quality varied spatially across the landscape using botanical analyses of rumen contents and chemical analyses of the plants consumed in relation to landscape metrics. In summer and non-mast winters, roe deer ate more cultivated seeds and less native forest browse with increasing availability of crops in the local landscape. This spatial variation resulted in contrasting diet quality, with more cell content and lower lignin and hemicellulose content (high quality) for individuals living in more open habitats. The pattern was less marked in the other seasons when diet composition, but not diet quality, was only weakly related to landscape structure. In mast autumns and winters, the consumption of acorns across the entire landscape resulted in a low level of differentiation in diet composition and quality. Our results reflect the ability of generalist species, such as roe deer, to adapt to the fragmentation of their forest habitat by exhibiting a plastic feeding behavior, enabling them to use supplementary resources available in the agricultural matrix. This flexibility confers nutritional advantages to individuals with access to cultivated fields when their native food resources are depleted or decline in quality (e.g. during non-mast years) and may explain local heterogeneities in individual phenotypic quality.     

The impacts of landscape structure on the winter movements and habitat selection of female red deer

An area of research that has recently gained more attention is to understand how species respond to environmental change such as the landscape structure and fragmentation. Movement is crucial to select habitats but the landscape structure influences the movement patterns of animals. Characterising the movement characteristics, utilisation distribution (UD) and habitat selection of a single species in different landscapes can provide important insights into species response to changes in the landscape. We investigate these three fields in female red deer (Cervus elaphus) in southern Sweden, in order to understand how landscape structure influences their movement and feeding patterns. Movements are compared between two regions, one dominated by a fragmented agriculture–forest mosaic and the other by managed homogenous forest. Red deer in the agriculture-dominated landscape had larger UDs compared to those in the forest-dominated area, moved larger distances between feeding and resting and left cover later in the day but used a similar duration for their movements, suggesting faster travelling speeds between resting and feeding locations. The habitat selection patterns of red deer indicate a trade-off between forage and cover, selecting for habitats that provide shelter during the day and forage by night. However, the level of trade-off, mediated through movement and space use patterns, is influenced by the landscape structure. Our approach provides further understanding of the link between individual animal space use and changing landscapes and can be applied to many species able to carry tracking devices.     

老爷岭南部狍冬季移动、卧息生境选择及其适宜性评价

在动物生境研究中,移动生境和卧息生境是生境研究的焦点。开展移动生境和卧息生境选择,并在此基础上进行生境评价,有利于深入了解动物对移动和卧息生境条件的需求,制定科学合理的栖息地保护计划。以东北虎（Panthera tigris altaica）的主要猎物物种之一-狍（Capreolus pygargus）为研究对象,于2017-2019年冬季积雪覆盖期在老爷岭南部通过随机布设28个大样方和84条用于足迹链跟踪的样线收集狍的移动点和卧息点信息,再结合近年来收集的东北虎出现点,利用广义可加模型（GAM）和最大熵模型（MaxEnt）进行狍移动、卧息生境选择及评价研究。移动生境选择研究表明,狍在移动的过程中偏好选择坡度小、距农田距离>500 m、远离道路、居民点和低海拔或较高海拔的区域;移动生境评价分析表明,移动适宜和次适宜生境面积之和为1318.16 km²,占研究区域面积的51.28%,当加入虎活动点影响因子后,狍移动适宜和次适宜生境面积之和为901.52 km²,适宜和次适宜生境面积之和减少了31.61%。狍卧息生境选择研究表明,水源、农田、道路和雪深是影响狍卧息的关键因素,其中雪深对狍卧息生境选择的贡献率达到70.13%;卧息生境评价表明,卧息适宜和次适宜生境面积之和为1243.77 km²,占研究区域面积的48.39%,当加入虎出现点因子后,适宜生境和次适宜生境面积之和减少了61.00%,仅为485.02 km²。研究认为,虎的出现对狍移动和卧息生境选择均产生影响,虎的活动及捕食行为可能会减少狍的活动范围和频次,狍远离虎活动区域卧息休息,压缩了狍适宜卧息的空间。     

Multi-Scale Foraging Habitat Use and Interactions by Sympatric Cervids in Northeastern China

Abstract: Moose (Alces alces) and roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) are sympatric in the forest region of northeastern China. Using univariate analyses of feeding sign data, we found the 2 species were positively associated, but there were distinctions between their use of forage resources across landscape, patch, and microhabitat scales. We used resource selection function models to predict the influence of environmental covariates on moose and roe deer foraging; we detected covariate effects at the landscape and microhabitat scales but not at the patch scale. Forage resources used by the 2 species were similar, but moose used wetter areas and more low-visibility habitats than did roe deer, which strongly avoided areas with sparse vegetation. Both species were influenced by forage abundance and distribution at the microhabitat scale but exhibited differences in intensity of use of plant species and microhabitats. Moose used areas with deeper snow and avoided hiding cover; roe deer avoided areas with higher total basal areas of tree stems and preferred areas with high plant species richness. For moose, there was a trade-off in the use of concealment cover between the landscape and microhabitat scales. We detected avoidance by moose of roads where roe deer occurred. Roe deer exhibited more capacity for coping with human disturbance and interspecific interaction. In areas similar to our study area, road closures and suppression of roe deer near roads within 3–5 years postlogging may benefit moose. Furthermore, a mosaic of areas with different logging intervals may contribute to spatial separation of moose and roe deer and promote their coexistence.     

Impact of environmental diversity of hunting complexes in the Lublin region on ontogenetic quality indicators in roe deer (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Capreolus capreolus</Emphasis>)

Populations of game are not confined to single ecosystems but function within higher-order units, e.g. ecological landscape. The basis for the establishment of the hunting complexes was the assumption that the existing game hunting grounds, i.e. the basic units implementing game management, are too small and do not cover the natural areas inhabited by game populations. Roe deer are flexible species and easily adapt to various site conditions, so they inhabit many different habitats, from large forest complexes, through small in-field tree stands and shrubs, to treeless grounds and field monocultures. The aim of the study was to determine a possible impact of environmental conditions prevailing in the hunting complexes of the Regional Directorate of State Forests (RDLP in Lublin) on the ontogenetic quality of roe deer. The study was conducted on 518 European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) aged from 4 to 7 years (379 bucks and 139 does) harvested within hunting seasons 2010/2011–2013/2014. The results have shown that animals originating from areas with greater forest cover and denser stands are characterised by lower values of the mean ontogenetic quality parameters (carcase weight, kidney fat index, chest girth, weight of antlers) in comparison with animals from typical agricultural areas with fragmented forest complexes. These results indicate that, even in the case of such a eurytopic species as the roe deer, the ontogenetic quality differs between individual hunting complexes. The study has proved that strategies for hunting management of the roe deer should take into account the impact of the landscape structure, which provides a rationale behind creation of hunting complexes.     

Wolf (Canis lupus) feeding habits during the first eight years of its occurrence in Germany

Due to the fact that the feeding habits of large carnivores are the main contentious point when they start resettling regions they were absent from for several decades, the diet composition of the wolves in Germany was analysed from the beginning of this process. Wolves in Germany primarily feed on wild ungulates, which make up more than 96% of their diet. The dominating prey species is the roe deer (55.3%), followed by red deer (20.8%) and wild boar (17.7%). The second important food category are the leporids (2.9% of Biomass), whereas livestock makes up only 0.6% of all biomass consumed. Wolves clearly prefer hunting on juvenile to adult red deer; roe deer are not selected after their age. We found seasonal differences in the diet composition with a higher amount of wild boar in spring and winter, when a high amount of juveniles and weakened animals, respectively, are available. In the first years of the study the percentage of red deer was much higher, and the percentage of roe deer therefore was lower than the following years. The amount of wild boar in the wolf diet fluctuated most in the first three years. Diet composition remained constant during the last five years. Wolves needed less than two generations for adapting to the new conditions in the cultivated landscape of eastern Germany.     

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.     

Roe deer at risk: teasing apart habitat selection and landscape constraints in risk exposure at multiple scales

Non‐consumptive effects of predators result from the cost of responses to perceived risk. Prey modulate risk exposure through flexible habitat selection at multiple scales which, in interaction with landscape constraints, determines their use of risky habitats. Identifying the relative contributions of landscape constraints and habitat selection to risk exposure is a critical first step towards a mechanistic understanding of non‐consumptive effects. Here, we provide an integrative multi‐scale study of roe deer spatial responses to variable hunting pressure along a landscape gradient of open habitats and dispersed refuges. Between low‐risk and high‐risk periods, we investigated shifts in 1) home‐range location, 2) probability of using risky habitats (between‐habitat scale) and 3) distance to the nearest refuge (within‐habitat scale). For 2) and 3), we disentangled the contributions of landscape constraints and habitat selection to risky habitat use. We found that when risk was high, roe deer did not shift their home‐range, but generally decreased their use of risky habitats, and sometimes reduced their distance to cover (particularly older animals). There was a functional response in between‐habitat selection, with animals living in more open landscapes responding more than those living in landscapes with more refuges. However, individuals living in more open landscapes avoided open risky habitat less. Finally, we found that among‐individual variation in risk exposure was generally, but not always, minimized by habitat selection across gradients of landscape constraints. To our knowledge, this is the first study simultaneously documenting prey responses to risk at the within‐habitat, between‐habitat and home‐range scales. Our results support the view that between‐habitat selection acts at a higher hierarchical level than within‐habitat selection, and provide a framework for disentangling the contributions of habitat selection and landscape constraints to risk exposure. Selection cannot always compensate for landscape constraints, indicating a need for further investigation of the processes underlying habitat selection.     

Population responses of roe deer to the recolonization of the French Vercors by wolves

In a context of changing carnivore populations worldwide, it is crucial to understand the consequences of these changes for prey populations. The recolonization by wolves of the French Vercors mountain range and the long-term monitoring (2001–2017) of roe deer in this area provided a unique opportunity to assess the effects of wolves on this prey. Roe deer was the main prey of wolves in the west Vercors mountain range during this recolonization. We compared roe deer abundance and fawn body mass in two contrasted areas of a wolf pack territory: a central area (core of the territory characterized by an intense use by wolves) and a peripheral area (used more occasionally). Roe deer population growth rates were lower in the central area between 2001 and 2006, resulting in a decline in roe deer abundance. Roe deer abundance substantially dropped in the two study areas after an extremely severe winter but the abundance of roe deer in the central area facing with wolves was slower to recover and remained at lower abundance levels for 6 years. Fawn body mass was consistently lower in the central area, varied similarly as roe deer abundance, and was not influenced by weather conditions or red deer population abundance. Altogether, the effects of wolves on roe deer in the central area occurred during a 10-year period following the establishment of wolves, through the interplay between wolf predation (before wolves started preying on red deer), harsh winter conditions and possibly naivety of prey to this recolonizing predator.     

Distribution of an increasing roe deer population in a fragmented Mediterranean landscape

This paper describes roe deer Capreolus capreolus distribution in central Spain, where the species has spread from the mountains into peripheral agricultural areas In this region, it is more abundant in forest fragments near the mountains than in those further away, in pine and oak woodlands than in sclerophyllous forests, and in forests with open water than in those lacking this resource The paper also analyzes whether habitat quality and geographic location of forests with respect to roe deer source areas are the two basic causes of its distribution, as predicted by some models of the species distribution in fragmented landscapes The results corroborate this hypothesis revealing that roe deer abundance is linked negatively to sclerophyllous forest cover and distance from mountains We conclude that this type of farmland seems to be sub-optimal for roe deer in comparison with forested, moist mountains     

Achieving landscape-scale deer management for biodiversity conservation: The need to consider sources and sinks

Hyper-herbivory following predator removal is a global issue. Across North America and Europe, increasing deer numbers are affecting biodiversity and human epidemiology, but effectiveness of deer management in heterogeneous landscapes remains poorly understood. In forest habitats in Europe, deer numbers are rarely assessed and management is mainly based on impacts. Even where managed areas achieve stable or improving impact levels, the extent to which they act as sinks or persist as sources exporting deer to the wider landscape remains unknown. We present a framework to quantify effectiveness of deer management at the landscape scale. Applied across 234 km² of Eastern England, we assessed management of invasive Reeve's muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) and native roe (Capreolus capreolus), measuring deer density (using thermal imaging distance transects 780 km/year), fertility, neonatal survival, and culling to quantify source-sink dynamics over 2008–2010. Despite management that removed 23–40% of the annual population, 1,287 (95% CI: 289–2,680) muntjac and 585 (454–1,533) roe deer dispersed annually into the wider landscape, consistent with their ongoing range expansion. For roe deer, culled individuals comprised fewer young deer than predicted by a Leslie matrix model assuming a closed population, consistent with age-dependent emigration. In this landscape, for roe and muntjac, an annual cull of at least 60% and 53%, respectively, is required to offset annual production. Failure to quantify deer numbers and productivity has allowed high density populations to persist as regional sources contributing to range expansion, despite deliberative management programs, and without recognition by managers who considered numbers and impacts to be stable. Reversing an unfavorable condition of woodland biodiversity requires appropriate culls across large contiguous areas, supported by knowledge of deer numbers and fertility. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.     

High red deer density depresses body mass of roe deer fawns

Many previous studies have pointed out that, when resources are limited, the potential for competition should be high among sympatric species that display overlaps in habitat and nutritional niches. However, reliable evidence of competition between red deer (Cervus elaphus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) has not been yet reported for life history traits directly measuring performance such as body mass, reproduction, or survival. From long-term monitoring of deer populations in the reserve of La Petite Pierre (France), we measured the sex-specific responses of roe deer fawn body mass to changes in red deer density after accounting for possible confounding effects of date of shooting, climatic conditions, and roe deer density. As expected under the hypothesis of competition, red deer density in a given year had a marked negative influence on body mass of roe deer fawns born the same year and the following year. Fawn mass of roe deer males and females responded in similar ways to changes in red deer density. Our study provides the first evidence of a negative response of roe deer performance to high red deer density.     

Habitat use under predation risk: hunting, roads and human dwellings influence the spatial behaviour of roe deer

Wildlife populations are subjected to increasing pressure linked to human activities, which introduce multiple stressors. Recently, in addition to direct effects, it has been shown that indirect (non-lethal) effects of predation risk are predominant in many populations. Predation risk is often structured in space and time, generating a heterogeneous “landscape of fear” within which animals can minimize risks by modifying their habitat use. Furthermore, for ungulates, resource quality seems to be positively correlated with human-related sources of risk. We studied the trade-off between access to resources of high-quality and risk-taking by contrasting habitat use of roe deer during daytime with that during nighttime for 94 roe deer in a hunted population. Our first hypothesis was that roe deer should avoid human disturbance by modifying their habitat use during daytime compared to nighttime. Our results supported this, as roe deer mainly used open fields during nighttime, but used more forested habitats during daytime, when human disturbance is higher. Moreover, we found that diel patterns in habitat use were influenced by hunting disturbance. Indeed, the roe deer decreased their use of high-crops during daytime, an important source of cover and food, during the hunting season. The proximity of roads and dwellings also affected habitat use, since roe deer used open fields during daytime to a greater extent when the distance to these sources of disturbance was higher. Hence, our results suggest that roe deer resolve the trade-off between the acquisition of high-quality resources and risk avoidance by modifying their habitat use between day and night.     

Seasonal faecal excretion,gut fill,liquid and particle marker retention in mouflon<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ovis ammon musimon</Emphasis>, and a comparison with roe deer<Emphasis Type="Italic">Capreolus capreolus</Emphasis>

Five mouflon [average body mass (BM) 33 kg] and two roe deer (average BM 20 kg) with rumen cannulas were kept in large enclosures under semi-natural conditions and were used for seasonal studies on gastrointestinal tract (GIT) indigestible fill and digesta passage kinetics. As the mouflon were not fully mature, both species had similar digesta volumes in the reticulorumen (RR; mouflon 5.5 ± 1.8% of BM; roe deer 5.4 ± 1.5% of BM); however, the mouflon had lower RR liquid flow rates (15.1 ± 4.3 ml h⁻¹ kg^−0.75) than the roe deer (19.2 ± 0.2 ml h⁻¹ kg^−0.75), and particle retention in the RR accounted for 68 ± 3% of total GIT retention in the mouflon versus 55 ± 6% in the roe deer. Annual average total GIT retention times for liquids and particles were longer in the mouflon (23.4 ± 0.9 h and 37.9 ± 4.0 h) than in the roe deer (18.4 ± 1.7 h and 22.4 ± 1.9 h). Similarly, annual average RR retention times for liquids and particles were longer in the mouflon (11.9 ± 0.9 h and 25.8 ± 3.3 h) than in the roe deer (8.1 ± 1.7 h and 12.5 ± 2.3 h). The factor of selective particle retention in the RR (retention of particles/retention of liquid) was 2.10 ± 0.09 in the mouflon versus 1.54 ± 0.01 in the roe deer. These observations are in accord with differences in digesta passage characteristics postulated between browsing and grazing ruminants. Total GIT indigestible fill was lower in the mouflon than in the roe deer (10.7 ± 2.1 g kg⁻¹ and 13.3 ± 1.0 g kg⁻¹).     

Genetic effect of transportation infrastructure on roe deer populations (Capreolus capreolus)

Anthropogenic transportation infrastructure is a major factor of habitat fragmentation leading to genetic population fragmentation in wildlife. Assessing and understanding the impact of this deterministic factor on genetic diversity and divergence of populations is crucial to appraise the viability of wildlife populations in fragmented landscapes. In this study, the roe deer is used as an example species for the assessment of genetic differentiation of populations separated by an anthropogenic barrier. In order to detect genetic discontinuities, we screened 12 polymorphic microsatellites on 222 individuals out of 11 roe deer populations that were sampled on the east and the westside of a fenced motorway in Central Switzerland. The interaction between landscape structure and microevolutionary processes such as gene flow and drift were assessed and evaluated by different population genetic methods like F-statistics, Mantel test, spatial autocorrelation analyses, Monmonier algorithm, and principal component analysis in conjunction with geographic information system data (synthesis map). We revealed an influence of the transportation infrastructure on genetic divergence of the roe deer population examined, but no impact on genetic diversity was detected. Based on the achieved genetic findings, recommendations for management implementation were made.