Author: "Nicolas Morellet" / Topic: roe deer - Searchworks@Jio Institute Digital Library Search Results

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1. Settle Down! Ranging Behaviour Responses of Roe Deer to Different Capture and Release Methods

Author: Ulrika A. Bergvall, Nicolas Morellet, Petter Kjellander, Geir R. Rauset, Johannes De Groeve, Tomasz Borowik, Falko Brieger, Benedikt Gehr, Marco Heurich, A.J. Mark Hewison, Max Kröschel, Maryline Pellerin, Sonia Saïd, Leif Soennichsen, Peter Sunde, and Francesca Cagnacci
Subjects: box trap, Capreolus capreolus, net drives, net trap, roe deer, 3R’s, Veterinary medicine, SF600-1100, Zoology, QL1-991
Abstract: The fitting of tracking devices to wild animals requires capture and handling which causes stress and can potentially cause injury, behavioural modifications that can affect animal welfare and the output of research. We evaluated post capture and release ranging behaviour responses of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) for five different capture methods. We analysed the distance from the centre of gravity and between successive locations, using data from 14 different study sites within the EURODEER collaborative project. Independently of the capture method, we observed a shorter distance between successive locations and contextual shift away from the home range centre of gravity after the capture and release event. However, individuals converged towards the average behaviour within a relatively short space of time (between 10 days and one month). If researchers investigate questions based on the distance between successive locations of the home range, we recommend (1) initial investigation to establish when the animals start to behave normally again or (2) not using the first two to three weeks of data for their analysis. We also encourage researchers to continually adapt methods to minimize stress and prioritize animal welfare wherever possible, according to the Refinement of the Three R’s.
Published: 2021
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2. Back and forth: day–night alternation between cover types reveals complementary use of habitats in a large herbivore

Author: Johannes De Groeve, Nico Van de Weghe, Nathan Ranc, Nicolas Morellet, Nadège C. Bonnot, Benedikt Gehr, Marco Heurich, A. J. Mark Hewison, Max Kröschel, John D. C. Linnell, Atle Mysterud, Robin Sandfort, and Francesca Cagnacci
Subjects: Vegetation green up, Sequential analysis methods, Ecology, IM-SAM, VDP::Økologi: 488, Geography, Planning and Development, Spatio-temporal patterns, VDP::Ecology: 488, Animal trajectories, Habitat use, Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA, Resource composites, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Roe deer
Abstract: Context The Complementary Habitat Hypothesis posits that animals access resources for different needs by moving between complementary habitats that can be seen as ‘resource composites’. These movements can occur over a range of temporal scales, from diurnal to seasonal, in response to multiple drivers such as access to food, weather constraints, risk avoidance and human disturbance. Within this framework, we hypothesised that large herbivores cope with human-altered landscapes through the alternate use of complementary habitats at both daily and seasonal scales. Objectives We tested the Complementary Habitat Hypothesis in European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) by classifying 3900 habitat-annotated movement trajectories of 154 GPS-monitored individuals across contrasting landscapes. Methods We considered day-night alternation between open food-rich and closed refuge habitats as a measure of complementary habitat use. We first identified day–night alternation using the Individual Movement - Sequence Analysis Method, then we modelled the proportion of day–night alternation over the year in relation to population and individual characteristics. Results We found that day-night alternation is a widespread behaviour in roe deer, even across markedly different landscapes. Day–night alternation followed seasonal trends in all populations, partly linked to vegetation phenology. Within populations, seasonal patterns of open/closed habitat alternation differed between male and female adults, but not in juveniles. Conclusion Our results support the Complementary Habitat Hypothesis by showing that roe deer adjust their access to the varied resources available in complex landscapes by including different habitats within their home range, and sequentially alternating between them in response to seasonal changes and individual life history.
Published: 2023

3. Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data

Author: Maarten J. E. Broekman, Jelle P. Hilbers, Mark A. J. Huijbregts, Thomas Mueller, Abdullahi H. Ali, Henrik Andrén, Jeanne Altmann, Malin Aronsson, Nina Attias, Hattie L. A. Bartlam‐Brooks, Floris M. van Beest, Jerrold L. Belant, Dean E. Beyer, Laura Bidner, Niels Blaum, Randall B. Boone, Mark S. Boyce, Michael B. Brown, Francesca Cagnacci, Rok Černe, Simon Chamaillé‐Jammes, Nandintsetseg Dejid, Jasja Dekker, Arnaud L. J. Desbiez, Samuel L. Díaz‐Muñoz, Julian Fennessy, Claudia Fichtel, Christina Fischer, Jason T. Fisher, Ilya Fischhoff, Adam T. Ford, John M. Fryxell, Benedikt Gehr, Jacob R. Goheen, Morgan Hauptfleisch, A. J. Mark Hewison, Robert Hering, Marco Heurich, Lynne A. Isbell, René Janssen, Florian Jeltsch, Petra Kaczensky, Peter M. Kappeler, Miha Krofel, Scott LaPoint, A. David M. Latham, John D. C. Linnell, A. Catherine Markham, Jenny Mattisson, Emilia Patricia Medici, Guilherme de Miranda Mourão, Bram Van Moorter, Ronaldo G. Morato, Nicolas Morellet, Atle Mysterud, Stephen Mwiu, John Odden, Kirk A. Olson, Aivars Ornicāns, Nives Pagon, Manuela Panzacchi, Jens Persson, Tyler Petroelje, Christer Moe Rolandsen, David Roshier, Daniel I. Rubenstein, Sonia Saïd, Albert R. Salemgareyev, Hall Sawyer, Niels Martin Schmidt, Nuria Selva, Agnieszka Sergiel, Jared Stabach, Jenna Stacy‐Dawes, Frances E. C. Stewart, Jonas Stiegler, Olav Strand, Siva Sundaresan, Nathan J. Svoboda, Wiebke Ullmann, Ulrich Voigt, Jake Wall, Martin Wikelski, Christopher C. Wilmers, Filip Zięba, Tomasz Zwijacz‐Kozica, Aafke M. Schipper, Marlee A. Tucker, MAARTEN J. E. BROEKMAN, Radboud University, JELLE P. HILBERS, Radboud University, MARK A. J. HUIJBREGTS, Radboud University, THOMAS MUELLER, Radboud University, ABDULLAHI H. ALI, Hirola Conservation Programme, Garissa, HENRIK ANDRÉN, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, JEANNE ALTMANN, Princeton University, MALIN ARONSSON, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, NINA ATTIAS, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, HATTIE L. A. BARTLAM-BROOKS, Royal Veterinary College, London, FLORIS M. VAN BEEST, Aarhus University, Roskilde, JERROLD L. BELANT, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, DEAN E. BEYER, Michigan State University, LAURA BIDNER, University of California, NIELS BLAUM, University of Potsdam, RANDALL B. BOONE, Colorado State University, MARK S. BOYCE, University of Alberta, MICHAEL B. BROWN, Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Eros, FRANCESCA CAGNACCI, Research and Innovation Centre, ROK CERNE, Slovenia Forest Service, Ljubljana, SIMON CHAMAILLÉ-JAMMES, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier, NANDINTSETSEG DEJID, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, JASJA DEKKER, Bionet Natuuronderzoek, ARNAUD L. J. DESBIEZ, Instituto de Conservação de Animais Silvestres (ICAS), SAMUEL L. DÍAZ-MUÑOZ, University of California, JULIAN FENNESSY, Giraffe Conservation Foundation, CLAUDIA FICHTEL, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, Göttingen, CHRISTINA FISCHER, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, JASON T. FISHER, University of Victoria, ILYA FISCHHOFF, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, ADAM T. FORD, University of British Columbia, JOHN M. FRYXELL, University of Guelph, Guelph, BENEDIKT GEHR, University of Zurich, JACOB R. GOHEEN, University of Wyoming, MORGAN HAUPTFLEISCH, Namibia University of Science and Technology, A. J. MARK HEWISON, Université de Toulouse, ROBERT HERING, University of Potsdam, MARCO HEURICH, Bavarian Forest National Park, LYNNE A. ISBELL, University of California, RENÉ JANSSEN, Bionet Natuuronderzoek, FLORIAN JELTSCH, University of Potsdam, PETRA KACZENSKY, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, PETER M. KAPPELER, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, MIHA KROFEL, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, SCOTT LAPOINT, Black Rock Forest, Cornwall, A. DAVID M. LATHAM, University of Alberta, JOHN D. C. LINNELL, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, A. CATHERINE MARKHAM, Stony Brook University, JENNY MATTISSON, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, EMILIA PATRICIA MEDICI, Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas, GUILHERME DE MIRANDA MOURAO, CPAP, BRAM VAN MOORTER, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, RONALDO G. MORATO, Chico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity, NICOLAS MORELLET, Université de Toulouse, ATLE MYSTERUD, Chico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity, STEPHEN MWIU, Wildlife Research and Training Institute, JOHN ODDEN, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, KIRK A. OLSON, Wildlife Conservation Society, AIVARS ORNICANS, Latvian State Forest Research Institute, NIVES PAGON, Slovenia Forest Service, MANUELA PANZACCHI, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, TYLER PETROELJE, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, CHRISTER MOE ROLANDSEN, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, DAVID ROSHIER, Australian Wildlife Conservancy, DANIEL I. RUBENSTEIN, Princeton University, SONIA SAÏD, Office Français de la Biodiversité, ALBERT R. SALEMGAREYEV, Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), HALL SAWYER, Western Ecosystems Technology Inc., NIELS MARTIN SCHMIDT, Aarhus University, NURIA SELVA, Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Sciences, AGNIESZKA SERGIEL, Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Sciences, JARED STABACH, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, JENNA STACY-DAWES, Conservation Science and Wildlife Health, FRANCES E. C. STEWART, University of Victoria, JONAS STIEGLER, University of Potsdam, OLAV STRAND, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, SIVA SUNDARESAN, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, NATHAN J. SVOBODA, Mississippi State University, WIEBKE ULLMANN, University of Potsdam, ULRICH VOIGT, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation, JAKE WALL, Mara Elephant Project, MARTIN WIKELSKI, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, CHRISTOPHER C. WILMERS, University of California, FILIP ZIEBA, Tatra National Park, Zakopane, TOMASZ ZWIJACZ-KOZICA, Tatra National Park, Zakopane, AAFKE M. SCHIPPER, Radboud University, MARLEE A. TUCKER, Radboud University., Radboud University [Nijmegen], Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main-Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research - Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Leibniz Association-Leibniz Association, Hirola Conservation Programme, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Princeton University, Instituto de Conservação de Animais Silvestres, Royal Veterinary College [London], University of London [London], Aarhus University [Aarhus], State University of New York (SUNY), Michigan State University [East Lansing], Michigan State University System, University of California [Davis] (UC Davis), University of California (UC), University of Potsdam = Universität Potsdam, Colorado State University [Fort Collins] (CSU), University of Alberta, Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Fondazione Edmund Mach - Edmund Mach Foundation [Italie] (FEM), SLOVENIA FOREST SERVICE SVN, Partenaires IRSTEA, Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research - Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Leibniz Association, German Primate Center - Deutsches Primatenzentrum -- Leibniz Insitute for Primate Research -- [Göttingen, Allemagne] (GPC - DPZ), Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, University of Victoria [Canada] (UVIC), Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, University of British Columbia (UBC), University of Guelph, Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich (UZH), University of Wyoming (UW), Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), University of Freiburg [Freiburg], Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences - Høgskolen i Innlandet, Bionet Natuuronderzoek, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), University of Veterinary Medicine [Vienna] (Vetmeduni), University of Ljubljana, Columbia University [New York], Stony Brook University [SUNY] (SBU), Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ), Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas, National Research Center for Carnivores Conservation, University of Oslo (UiO), Wildlife Research and Training Institute, Wildlife Conservation Society [Mongolia], Latvian State Forest Research Institute 'Silava', Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Office français de la biodiversité (OFB), Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, Western Ecosystems Technology Inc., Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU), Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Mississippi State University [Mississippi], University of Veterinary Medicine [Hannover], Mara Elephant Project, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, University of California [Santa Cruz] (UC Santa Cruz), Tatra National Park, Partenaires INRAE, ANR-16-CE02-0001,LANDTHIRST,Les paysages de la soif: changement climatique et ajustements comportementaux face au manque d'eau(2016), and ANR-16-CE02-0010,Mov-It,Le mouvement des ongulés au sein de paysages hétérogènes: identification des processus comportementaux reliant les changements globaux aux performances démographiques et à la gestion spatialement explicite(2016)
Subjects: SELECTION, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], GPS, VDP::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480, RANGING BEHAVIOR, telemetrija, Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience, sesalci, IUCN, Telemetry, habitatni tip, Mammals, Global and Planetary Change, Ecology, telemetry, THREAT, telemetry expert opinion, EXTINCTION RISK, expert opinion, CAPTURE, Comportamento Animal, Habitat use, Expert opinion, Habitat suitability, [SDE]Environmental Sciences, selitev, movement, Animal behavior, LAND, habitat suitability, Movement, selection ratio, raba prostora, ROE DEER, ddc:570, Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA, habitat type, udc:630*15, mammals, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, AVAILABILITY, Expert opinion, GPS, habitat suitability, habitat type, habitat use, IUCN, mammals, movement, selection ratio, telemetry, habitat use, primernost habitata, Climate Action, Ecological Applications, strokovno mnenje, PATTERNS, VDP::Zoology and botany: 480, Environmental Sciences, FUNCTIONAL-RESPONSES
Abstract: Aim: Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert- based informa-tion is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert- based in-formation with detailed empirical evidence. Here, we compared expert- based habitat suitability information from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with habitat suitability information derived from GPS-tracking data of 1,498 individu-als from 49 mammal species.Location: Worldwide.Time period: 1998–2021.Major taxa studied: Forty- nine terrestrial mammal species.Methods: Using GPS data, we estimated two measures of habitat suitability for each individual animal: proportional habitat use (proportion of GPS locations within a habi-tat type), and selection ratio (habitat use relative to its availability). For each individual we then evaluated whether the GPS- based habitat suitability measures were in agree-ment with the IUCN data. To that end, we calculated the probability that the ranking of empirical habitat suitability measures was in agreement with IUCN's classification into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat types.Results: IUCN habitat suitability data were in accordance with the GPS data (> 95% probability of agreement) for 33 out of 49 species based on proportional habitat use estimates and for 25 out of 49 species based on selection ratios. In addition, 37 and 34 species had a > 50% probability of agreement based on proportional habitat use and selection ratios, respectively.Main conclusions: We show how GPS-tracking data can be used to evaluate IUCN habitat suitability data. Our findings indicate that for the majority of species in-cluded in this study, it is appropriate to use IUCN habitat suitability data in macro-ecological studies. Furthermore, we show that GPS-tracking data can be used to identify and prioritize species and habitat types for re-evaluation of IUCN habitat suitability data. expert opinion, GPS, habitat suitability, habitat type, habitat use, IUCN, mammals, movement, selection ratio, telemetry
Published: 2022

4. Do reproductive constraints or experience drive age-dependent space use in two large herbivores?

Author: Yannick Chaval, Pascal Marchand, Christian Itty, Anne Loison, A. Malagnino, A. J. M. Hewison, Nicolas Morellet, Bruno Cargnelutti, Mathieu Garel, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA ), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), Swansea University, Office français de la biodiversité (OFB), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Zone Atelier Pyrénées-Garonne (ZA PYGAR), Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Federation Departementale des Chasseurs de la Haute Garonne, Office Français de la Biodiversite, ANR-16-CE02-0010,Mov-It,Le mouvement des ongulés au sein de paysages hétérogènes: identification des processus comportementaux reliant les changements globaux aux performances démographiques et à la gestion spatialement explicite(2016), Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA), and Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, senescence, Offspring, Home range, neonatal antipredator tactics, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Capreolus, biology.animal, [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Mating, Ovis, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, seasonal variation, Herbivore, biology, 05 social sciences, mate searching tactics, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, animal movement, daily distance travelled, Roe deer, Mouflon, home range size, Animal Science and Zoology, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Demography
Abstract: International audience; Life histories are strongly age dependent, notably linked to the onset of reproductive maturity and subsequent senescence. Consequently, ageing is predicted to impact behaviour, through the expression of either mating tactics in males or neonatal antipredator tactics in females. However, the influence of ageing, and the associated reproductive activity, on spatial behaviour remains poorly investigated. In this regard, we quantified age- and sex-specific intra-annual variation in movement rates and space use of two large herbivores with contrasting life histories: the roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, an asocial species with a territorial male mating strategy and a hider neonatal tactic, and the Mediterranean mouflon, Ovis gmelini musimon × Ovis sp., a gregarious species with a roaming male mating strategy and a follower neonatal tactic. We expected age-related differences to be mostly related to (1) age-specific mating tactics during the rut for males and the presence/absence of offspring for females, and (2) experience and/or locomotory senescence otherwise. During the rutting period, older roe deer males travelled greater daily distances than younger males due to patrolling behaviours for territory defence, whereas older mouflon males travelled less than younger males, which often adopted coursing tactics to mate with females. During the birth period, reproductive females had smaller home ranges than nonreproductive females in roe deer, whereas no marked differences were observed in mouflon females. The most marked age-related variation in space use of mouflon occurred outside the reproductive periods; specifically, the oldest individuals travelled less far and had a smaller home range (females only) than younger individuals. Our findings illustrate how space use tactics vary within and between populations of large herbivores, providing strong evidence that age and reproductive activity are major determinants of their spatial behaviour. © 2020 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
Published: 2021

5. Pathogen‐mediated selection favours the maintenance of innate immunity gene polymorphism in a widespread wild ungulate

Author: Pauline Hessenauer, Nicolas Morellet, Maxime Galan, Erwan Quéméré, Hélène Verheyden, Yannick Chaval, Emmanuelle Gilot-Fromont, Marie Fernandez, Joël Merlet, Nathalie Charbonnel, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), LTSER ZA PYRenees GARonne, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Écologie et santé des écosystèmes (ESE), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-INSTITUT AGRO Agrocampus Ouest, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Université Laval [Québec] (ULaval), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro, This work was supported by the French National Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research (INRAE)., AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Département des Sciences du Bois et de la Forêt, Faculté de Foresterie, Géographie et Géomatique, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), and VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, habitat heterogeneity, balancing selection, Toll-like genes, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Balancing selection, Major histocompatibility complex, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, Capreolus, Genotype, Animals, roe deer, Selection, Genetic, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Genetics, Genetic diversity, Innate immune system, Polymorphism, Genetic, biology, Deer, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Toll-Like Receptors, Heterozygote advantage, biology.organism_classification, Immunity, Innate, TLR2, [SDV.GEN.GA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Genetics/Animal genetics, 030104 developmental biology, biology.protein, antagonistic effects, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract: International audience; Toll-like Receptors (TLR) play a central role in recognition and host frontline defence against a wide range of pathogens. A number of recent studies have shown that TLR genes (Tlrs) often exhibit large polymorphism in natural populations. Yet, there is little knowledge on how this polymorphism is maintained and how it influences disease susceptibility in the wild. In previous work, we showed that some Tlrs exhibit similarly high levels of genetic diversity as genes of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), and signatures of contemporary balancing selection in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), the most abundant cervid species in Europe. Here, we investigated the evolutionary mechanisms by which pathogen-mediated selection could shape this innate immunity genetic diversity by examining the relationships between Tlr (Tlr2, Tlr4 and Tlr5) genotypes (heterozygosity status and presence of specific alleles) and infections with Toxoplasma and Chlamydia, two widespread intracellular pathogens known to cause reproductive failure in ungulates. We showed that Toxoplasma and Chlamydia exposures vary significantly across year and landscape structure with few co-infection events detected, and that the two pathogens exert antagonistic selection on Tlr2 polymorphism. By contrast, we found limited support for Tlr heterozygote advantage. Our study confirmed the importance of looking beyond Mhc genes in wildlife immunogenetic studies. It also emphasized the necessity to consider multiple pathogen challenges and their spatiotemporal variation to improve our understanding of vertebrate defence evolution against pathogens.
Published: 2021

6. Sex differences in condition dependence of natal dispersal in a large herbivore: dispersal propensity and distance are decoupled

Author: Jean-Michel Gaillard, Nicolas Morellet, Benedikt Gehr, Francesca Cagnacci, Stefano Focardi, Aurélie Coulon, A. J. M. Hewison, Bruno Cargnelutti, Luca Börger, Max Kröschel, Petter Kjellander, Lucie Debeffe, Marco Heurich, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Fondazione Edmund Mach - Edmund Mach Foundation [Italie] (FEM), Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich (UZH), Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg - Forstliche Versuchs- und Forschungsanstalt Baden-Württemberg, University of Freiburg [Freiburg], Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la COnservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Swansea University, National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi [Firenze] (ISC), ANR-15-CE02-0008,DISPCOST,Impacts des changements globaux sur les coûts de la dispersion(2015), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), and Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche [Roma] (CNR)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Male, Range (biology), media_common.quotation_subject, Population, Biology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Competition (biology), 03 medical and health sciences, Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA, [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology, philopatry, Animals, Humans, Inbreeding, Behaviour, roe deer, Herbivory, education, 030304 developmental biology, General Environmental Science, media_common, 0303 health sciences, Herbivore, education.field_of_study, Sex Characteristics, General Immunology and Microbiology, Ecology, Deer, General Medicine, body mass, individual optimization, Spatial heterogeneity, Biological dispersal, Philopatry, Female, France, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Abstract: International audience; Evolution should favour plasticity in dispersal decisions in response to spatial heterogeneity in social and environmental contexts. Sex differences in individual optimization of dispersal decisions are poorly documented in mammals, because species where both sexes commonly disperse are rare. To elucidate the sex-specific drivers governing dispersal, we investigated sex differences in condition dependence in the propensity and distance of natal dispersal in one such species, the roe deer, using fine-scale monitoring of 146 GPS-collared juveniles in an intensively monitored population in southwest France. Dispersal propensity increased with body mass in males such that 36% of light individuals dispersed, whereas 62% of heavy individuals did so, but there was no evidence for condition dependence in dispersal propensity among females. By contrast, dispersal distance increased with body mass at a similar rate in both sexes such that heavy dispersers travelled around twice as far as light dispersers. Sex differences in the strength of condition-dependent dispersal may result from different selection pressures acting on the behaviour of males and females. We suggest that females disperse prior to habitat saturation being reached, likely in relation to the risk of inbreeding. By contrast, natal dispersal in males is likely governed by competitive exclusion through male–male competition for breeding opportunities in this strongly territorial mammal. Our study is, to our knowledge, a first demonstration that condition dependence in dispersal propensity and dispersal distance may be decoupled, indicating contrasting selection pressures drive the behavioural decisions of whether or not to leave the natal range, and where to settle.
Published: 2021

7. Beyond dispersal versus philopatry? Alternative behavioural tactics of juvenile roe deer in a heterogeneous landscape

Author: Rémi Patin, A. J. Mark Hewison, Aurélie Coulon, Nicolas Morellet, Delphine Ducros, Yannick Chaval, Bruno Lourtet, Bruno Cargnelutti, Kamal Atmeh, Lucie Debeffe, Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la COnservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), (DISPCOST) was funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), grant no. ANR-15-CE02-0008, Fédération Départementale des Chasseurs de la Haute Garonne, CEFS, ONCFS, ANR-15-CE02-0008,DISPCOST,Impacts des changements globaux sur les coûts de la dispersion(2015), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), and Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Ungulate, Range (biology), GPS, Population, exploration, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Capreolus, directionality, natal range, biology.animal, Juvenile, ungulate, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, education.field_of_study, biology, Ecology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, Roe deer, movement ecology, Biological dispersal, Philopatry, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract: International audience; Although inter‐individual heterogeneity in many aspects of dispersal behaviour is widely reported, this key life‐history trait is predominantly modelled as a dichotomous state of philopatry versus dispersal. The increasing body of evidence for dispersal syndromes (i.e. a suite of correlated morphological, behavioural and life‐history traits associated with dispersal) implies substantial but, to date, undocumented individual heterogeneity in behavioural tactics during dispersal. Using a large sample (n = 154) of GPS monitored juvenile roe deer Capreolus capreolus, we evaluated among‐individual behavioural heterogeneity in dispersal tactics, and the individual and environmental drivers of these alternative tactics. We developed a sequential three‐stage decision tree based on space use stability, exploration events and the directionality of movement. We identified six discrete alternative behavioural tactics during the dispersal period which were characterised by different timing, amplitude and duration in movement: slightly less than half of the deer were sedentary, either ‘strictly philopatric’ or ‘explorers’, which subsequently settled on their natal range; around 40% dispersed (‘classic dispersal’), of which, one in six subsequently aborted, moving back to their natal range (‘aborted dispersal’); finally, around 15% expressed either a ‘progressive dispersal’ tactic, gradually moving away from their natal area to settle elsewhere, or a ‘multi‐range’ tactic. The propensity to express an alternative dispersal tactic was strongly influenced by an individual's local environment. In particular, when landscape heterogeneity, resource quality and human‐related disturbance in the natal range were low, individuals were 1) more likely to adopt the alternative tactics of either progressive dispersal or multi‐ranging, but 2) also more likely to abort their dispersal attempt. Our work indicates that natal dispersal is likely not a single uniform behaviour, but that individuals may adopt a variety of alternative movement tactics which are likely governed by different selection pressures, with potentially important impacts for population dynamics and functioning.
Published: 2020

8. Pedigree‐free quantitative genetic approach provides evidence for heritability of movement tactics in wild roe deer

Author: A. J. M. Hewison, Laura Gervais, Maria Bernard, Bruno Cargnelutti, Yannick Chaval, Erwan Quéméré, Benoit Pujol, Joël Merlet, Nicolas Morellet, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), LTSER, Partenaires INRAE, Génétique Animale et Biologie Intégrative (GABI), Université Paris-Saclay-AgroParisTech-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de recherches insulaires et observatoire de l'environnement (CRIOBE), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Écologie et santé des écosystèmes (ESE), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Biomolecular Analysis Facility at the University of Edinburgh (NBAF901), ANR-12-PDOC-0017-01, ANR-16-CE02-0010-02, AGROCAMPUS OUEST, and Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
Subjects: Male, 0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, personality variation, Population, Spatial Behavior, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, evolvability, evolutionary potential, 03 medical and health sciences, Quantitative Trait, Heritable, Capreolus, biology.animal, Genetic variation, Animals, repeatability, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Selection (genetic algorithm), education.field_of_study, Behavior, Animal, biology, Directional selection, Deer, animal model, 15. Life on land, Heritability, biology.organism_classification, Evolvability, Roe deer, 030104 developmental biology, Evolutionary biology, genomic relatedness matrix, Female, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract: International audience; Assessing the evolutionary potential of animal populations in the wild is crucial to understanding how they may respond to selection mediated by rapid environmental change (e.g. habitat loss and fragmentation). A growing number of studies have investigated the adaptive role of behaviour, but assessments of its genetic basis in a natural setting remain scarce. We combined intensive biologging technology with genome‐wide data and a pedigree‐free quantitative genetic approach to quantify repeatability, heritability and evolvability for a suite of behaviours related to the risk avoidance‐resource acquisition trade‐off in a wild roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population inhabiting a heterogeneous, human‐dominated landscape. These traits, linked to the stress response, movement and space‐use behaviour, were all moderately to highly repeatable. Furthermore, the repeatable among‐individual component of variation in these traits was partly due to additive genetic variance, with heritability estimates ranging from 0.21±0.08 to 0.70±0.11 and evolvability ranging from 1.1 to 4.3%. Changes in the trait mean can therefore occur under hypothetical directional selection over just a few generations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical demonstration of additive genetic variation in space‐use behaviour in a free‐ranging population based on genomic relatedness data. We conclude that wild animal populations may have the potential to adjust their spatial behaviour to human‐driven environmental modifications through micro‐evolutionary change.
Published: 2020

9. Truly sedentary? The multi-range tactic as a response to resource heterogeneity and unpredictability in a large herbivore

Author: Benedikt Gehr, Atle Mysterud, Francesca Cagnacci, Marco Heurich, Petter Kjellander, A. J. Mark Hewison, Max Kroeschel, Pavel Sustr, Sandro Nicoloso, Ferdinando Urbano, Leif Soennichsen, John D. C. Linnell, Wibke Peters, Anne Berger, Simon Chamaillé-Jammes, Robin Sandfort, Nicolas Morellet, Ophélie Couriot, Sonia Saïd, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage (ONCFS), Fondazione Edmund Mach - Edmund Mach Foundation [Italie] (FEM), École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences [Oslo], Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences [Oslo], University of Oslo (UiO)-University of Oslo (UiO)-Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences [Oslo], University of Oslo (UiO)-University of Oslo (UiO), LWF BAVARIAN STATE INSTITUTE OF FORESTRY FREISING DEU, Partenaires IRSTEA, Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Independent Consultant, Bavarian Forest National Park, University of Freiburg [Freiburg], Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)-Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Research, Ecology and Environment Dimension ((D.R.E.Am. Italia)), Research, Ecology and Environment Dimension, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Leibniz Association, Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (CAS), National Park Sumava, Department of Soil and Environment, Forest Research Institute of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich (UZH), CNERA Cervidés Sanglier (ONCFS), Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Centre d'études biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Science, Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Dipartimento delle Arti e del Disegno Industriale [Venice], IUAV University Venice, Nationalparkverwaltung Bayerischer Wald, Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU), Service d'oncologie médicale [CHU HEGP], Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (APHP)-Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou [APHP] (HEGP), Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (APHP)-Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ouest - Hôpitaux Universitaires Île de France Ouest (HUPO)-Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ouest - Hôpitaux Universitaires Île de France Ouest (HUPO), Laboratoire de Comportement et d'Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage, INRA, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan cedex, France, University of Zurich, and Couriot, Ophélie
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Resource (biology), Range (biology), Resource distribution, migration, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, 10127 Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, Homing Behavior, Capreolus, Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA, biology.animal, Animals, roe deer, Herbivory, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 2. Zero hunger, Herbivore, biology, Ecology, Deer, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, sub-seasonal functional home range, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, Europe, Roe deer, 1105 Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, plasticity, 570 Life sciences, 590 Animals (Zoology), Local environment, Seasons, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, residency
Abstract: Much research on large herbivore movement has focused on the annual scale to distinguish between resident and migratory tactics, commonly assuming that individuals are sedentary at the within-season scale. However, apparently sedentary animals may occupy a number of sub-seasonal functional home ranges (sfHR), particularly when the environment is spatially heterogeneous and/or temporally unpredictable. The roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) experiences sharply contrasting environmental conditions due to its widespread distribution, but appears markedly sedentary over much of its range. Using GPS monitoring from 15 populations across Europe, we evaluated the propensity of this large herbivore to be truly sedentary at the seasonal scale in relation to variation in environmental conditions. We studied movement using net square displacement to identify the possible use of sfHR. We expected that roe deer should be less sedentary within seasons in heterogeneous and unpredictable environments, while migratory individuals should be seasonally more sedentary than residents. Our analyses revealed that, across the 15 populations, all individuals adopted a multi-range tactic, occupying between two and nine sfHR during a given season. In addition, we showed that (i) the number of sfHR was only marginally influenced by variation in resource distribution, but decreased with increasing sfHR size; and (ii) the distance between sfHR increased with increasing heterogeneity and predictability in resource distribution, as well as with increasing sfHR size. We suggest that the multirange tactic is likely widespread among large herbivores, allowing animals to track spatio-temporal variation in resource distribution and, thereby, to cope with changes in their local environment. Migration · Residency · Sub-seasonal functional home range · Plasticity · Roe deer
Published: 2018

10. Accelerating across the landscape: The energetic costs of natal dispersal in a large herbivore

Author: Lucie Debeffe, Yannick Chaval, A. J. Mark Hewison, Laura Benoit, Nicolas Morellet, Delphine Ducros, Bruno Cargnelutti, David Grémillet, Aurélie Coulon, Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la COnservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UM3)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), ANR-15-CE02-0008,DISPCOST,Impacts des changements globaux sur les coûts de la dispersion(2015), and ANR-16-CE02-0010,Mov-It,Le mouvement des ongulés au sein de paysages hétérogènes: identification des processus comportementaux reliant les changements globaux aux performances démographiques et à la gestion spatialement explicite(2016)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, circadian rhythm, Range (biology), Population, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, biologging, energy expenditure, Animals, roe deer, Herbivory, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Herbivore, education.field_of_study, Ecology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, transience, Deer, Global change, 15. Life on land, Geography, Energy expenditure, Disturbance (ecology), [SDE]Environmental Sciences, Biological dispersal, Animal Science and Zoology, Philopatry, France, movement, philopatric
Abstract: International audience; 1. Dispersal is a key mechanism enabling species to adjust their geographic range to rapid global change. However, dispersal is costly and environmental modifications are likely to modify the cost–benefit balance of individual dispersal decisions, for example, by decreasing functional connectivity. 2. Dispersal costs occur during departure, transience and settlement, and are levied in terms of energy, risk, time and lost opportunity, potentially influencing individual fitness. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has yet quantified the energetic costs of dispersal across the dispersal period by comparing dispersing and philopatric individuals in the wild. 3. Here, we employed animal‐borne biologgers on a relatively large sample (N = 105) of juvenile roe deer to estimate energy expenditure indexed using the vector of dynamic body acceleration and mobility (distance travelled) in an intensively monitored population in the south‐west of France. We predicted that energy expenditure would be higher in dispersers compared to philopatric individuals. We expected costs to be (a) particularly high during transience, (b) especially high in the more fragmented areas of the landscape and (c) concentrated during the night to avoid disturbance caused by human activity. 4. There were no differences in energy expenditure between dispersers and philopatric individuals during the pre‐dispersal phase. However, dispersers expended around 22% more energy and travelled around 63% further per day than philopatric individuals during transience. Differences in energy expenditure were much less pronounced during the settlement phase. The costs of transience were almost uniquely confined to the dawn period, when dispersers spent 23% more energy and travelled 112% further than philopatric individuals. Finally, the energetic costs of transience per unit time and the total distance travelled to locate a suitable settlement range were higher in areas of high road density. 5. Our results provide strong support for the hypothesis that natal dispersal is energetically costly and indicate that transience is the most costly part of the process, particularly in fragmented landscapes. Further work is required to link dispersal costs with fitness components so as to understand the likely outcome of further environmental modifications on the evolution of dispersal behaviour.
Published: 2019

11. Fear of the dark? Contrasting impacts of humans versus lynx on diel activity of roe deer across Europe

Author: Nicolas Morellet, Leif Sönnichsen, Francesca Cagnacci, Ophélie Couriot, Benedikt Gehr, Johannes De Groeve, Max Kröschel, Nadège C. Bonnot, A. J. Mark Hewison, Anne Berger, Petter Kjellander, Marco Heurich, Simone Ciuti, University of Zurich, Vander Wal, Eric, Bonnot, Nadège C, Ecosystèmes forestiers (UR EFNO), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)-Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Leibniz Association, Fondazione Edmund Mach [San Michele all'Adige], University College Dublin [Dublin] (UCD), Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich (UZH), University of Freiburg [Freiburg], Bavarian Forest National Park, Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg - Forstliche Versuchs- und Forschungsanstalt Baden-Württemberg, ANR-16-CE02-0010-02, N N304172536, Mammal Research Institute - Polish Academy of Sciences, Leibniz-Institut fur Zoo-und Wildtierforschung, Marie Claire Cronstedts Stiftelse, Polish Mammal Research Institute - Polish Academy of Sciences, Leibniz-Institut für Zoo- und Wildtierforschung, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Grant/Award Number: ANR-16-CE02-0010-02, Marie-Claire Cronstedts Stiftelse, Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Grant/Award Number: N N304172536, and ANR-16-CE02-0010,Mov-It,Le mouvement des ongulés au sein de paysages hétérogènes: identification des processus comportementaux reliant les changements globaux aux performances démographiques et à la gestion spatialement explicite(2016)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, REPARTITION TEMPORELLE DE L'ACTIVITE, NOCTURNALITY, 01 natural sciences, Predation, ACCELEROMETRES, DIURNALITE, biology, Ecology, INTERACTION PREDATEURS PROIES, CREPUSCULARITY, URBANIZATION, Fear, HUMAN FOOTPRINT, Predator– prey interaction, Roe deer, Europe, TEMPORAL PARTITIONING, [SDE]Environmental Sciences, Lynx, 590 Animals (Zoology), NOCTURNALITE, PAYSAGE DE LA PEUR, Ungulate, Evolution, LANDSCAPE OF FEAR, Context (language use), PREDATOR-PREY INTERACTION, 010603 evolutionary biology, Hunting season, 10127 Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, Capreolus, EMPREINTE HUMAINE, Behavior and Systematics, Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA, biology.animal, Hunting, Animals, Humans, ACCELEROMETERS, Diurnality, CREPUSCULARITE, Diel vertical migration, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Ecosystem, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Deer, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, 1105 Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, DIURNALITY, Predatory Behavior, 570 Life sciences, Animal Science and Zoology, 1103 Animal Science and Zoology, URBANISATION
Abstract: Humans, as super predators, can have strong effects on wildlife behaviour, including profound modifications of diel activity patterns. Subsequent to the return of large carnivores to human-modified ecosystems, many prey species have adjusted their spatial behaviour to the contrasting landscapes of fear generated by both their natural predators and anthropogenic pressures. The effects of predation risk on temporal shifts in diel activity of prey, however, remain largely unexplored in human-dominated landscapes. We investigated the influence of the density of lynx Lynx lynx, a nocturnal predator, on the diel activity patterns of their main prey, the roe deer Capreolus capreolus, across a gradient of human disturbance and hunting at the European scale. Based on 11 million activity records from 431 individually GPS-monitored roe deer in 12 populations within the EURODEER network (http://eurodeer.org), we investigated how lynx predation risk in combination with both lethal and non-lethal human activities affected the diurnality of deer. We demonstrated marked plasticity in roe deer diel activity patterns in response to spatio-temporal variations in risk, mostly due to human activities. In particular, roe deer decreased their level of diurnality by a factor of 1.37 when the background level of general human disturbance was high. Hunting exacerbated this effect, as during the hunting season deer switched most of their activity to night-time and, to a lesser extent, to dawn, although this pattern varied noticeably in relation to lynx density. Indeed, in the presence of lynx, their main natural predator, roe deer were relatively more diurnal. Overall, our results revealed a strong influence of human activities and the presence of lynx on diel shifts in roe deer activity. In the context of the recovery of large carnivores across Europe, we provide important insights about the effects of predators on the behavioural responses of their prey in human-dominated ecosystems. Modifications in the temporal partitioning of ungulate activity as a response to human activities may facilitate human-wildlife coexistence, but likely also have knock-on effects for predator-prey interactions, with cascading effects on ecosystem functioning.Résumé Les humains, en tant que ‘super-prédateurs’, peuvent avoir des effets importants sur le comportement de la faune sauvage, y compris des modifications profondes de leurs rythmes circadiens d'activité. A la suite du retour des grands carnivores dans les écosystèmes anthropisés, de nombreuses espèces proies ont ajusté leur comportement spatial à ces paysages de la peur contrastés, générés à la fois par les pressions liées aux risques anthropiques et à la présence de leurs prédateurs naturels. Les effets du risque de prédation sur les modifications temporelles des rythmes circadiens d'activité des proies restent cependant largement inconnus dans les écosystèmes dominés par l'homme. Ici, nous avons étudié l'influence de la densité de lynx Lynx lynx, un prédateur nocturne, sur les rythmes circadiens d'activité de leur proie principale, le chevreuil Capreolus capreolus, à travers un gradient de pressions anthropiques à l’échelle Européenne. Sur la base de plus de 11 million de données d'activité issues de 431 suivis individuels de chevreuils équipés de colliers GPS provenant de 12 populations au sein du réseau EURODEER (http://eurodeer.org), nous avons analysé comment le risque de prédation par le lynx, associé aux risques létaux et non-létaux des activités humaines, influence la diurnalité des chevreuils. Nous avons démontré une forte plasticité des rythmes circadiens d'activité des chevreuils en réponse aux variations spatio-temporelles du risque, et notamment face aux activités humaines. Plus particulièrement, les chevreuils diminuent leur degré de diurnalité d'un facteur de 1.37 lorsque le dérangement humain est important. La chasse accentue cet effet, puisque durant la saison de chasse les chevreuils basculent la plupart de leur activité de nuit, et dans une moindre mesure, durant l'aube également, bien que ce patron soit essentiellement variable en fonction de la densité de lynx. En effet, en présence de lynx, leur principal prédateur, les chevreuils sont relativement plus diurnes. Globalement, nos résultats révèlent une forte influence des activités humaines et de la présence de lynx sur l'ajustement des rythmes circadiens d'activité des chevreuils. Dans le contexte du retour des grands carnivores en Europe, notre étude apporte de nouvelles connaissances sur les effets des prédateurs sur la réponse comportementale de leur proie dans des écosystèmes anthropisés. La modification de la répartition temporelle de l'activité des ongulés en réponse aux activités humaines pourrait être un facteur facilitant la coexistence homme-faune sauvage, avec toutefois des conséquences autres sur les interactions prédateurs-proies et leurs effets en cascade sur le fonctionnement des écosystèmes.
Published: 2019

12. Large herbivore migration plasticity along environmental gradients in Europe:life-history traits modulate forage effects

Author: Atle Mysterud, Max Kröschel, Nicolas Morellet, Ferdinando Urbano, Robin Sandfort, Johannes De Groeve, Peter Sunde, Leif Sönnichsen, Anders Jarnemo, Mark Hebblewhite, Daniel R. Eacker, John D. C. Linnell, Luca Pedrotti, Benedikt Gehr, Horst Reinecke, Marco Heurich, A. J. Mark Hewison, Stefano Focardi, Petter Kjellander, Francesca Cagnacci, Wibke Peters, Bavarian State Institute of Forestry, University of Montana, University of Oslo (UiO), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Universiteit Gent = Ghent University [Belgium] (UGENT), Fondazione Edmund Mach - Edmund Mach Foundation [Italie] (FEM), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Department of Conservation and Research, Bavarian Forest National Park, Halmstad University, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)-Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), University of Freiburg [Freiburg], Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg - Forstliche Versuchs- und Forschungsanstalt Baden-Württemberg, Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio, Partenaires INRAE, Georg-August-University [Göttingen], Universität für Bodenkultur Wien [Vienne, Autriche] (BOKU), Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Leibniz Association, Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), Aarhus University [Aarhus], Harvard University [Cambridge], Vectronic Aerospace GmbH, Autonomous Province of Trento (BECOCERWI) [3479], EU-programme INTERREG IV (EFRE Ziel 3), 'Marie Claire Cronstedts Stiftelse' foundation, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management, Region Skane, Stiftelsen Skanska Landskap, Hogestads and Christinehofs Fideikommiss, Ittur Jakt AB, Vira Bruk AB, Holmen Skog AB, Sveaskog, Karl-Erik Onnesjos stiftelse for vetenskaplig forskning och utveckling, Stiftelsen Oscar och Lili Lamms mine, Ericsbergs Fideikommis AB, Agerup and Elsagardens Sateri AB, Kolmardens insamlingsstiftelse/Taby Allmanning, Norwegian Environment Agency, Research Council of Norway [212919, 251112], Buskerud county, Centre for Advanced Study Oslo, Norway, Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Mammal Research Institute - Polish Academy of Sciences, Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education [N N304172536], and NASA [NNX11AO47G]
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Ungulate, Foraging, Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 [VDP], Biology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Life history theory, behavioral plasticity, Capreolus, biology.animal, Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Herbivore, partial migration, Ecology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, Mating system, herbivores, Behavioural plasticity, Roe deer, Sympatric speciation, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, forage maturation hypothesis
Abstract: The most common framework under which ungulate migration is studied predicts that it is driven by spatio–temporal variation in plant phenology, yet other hypotheses may explain differences within and between species. To disentangle more complex patterns than those based on single species/ single populations, we quantified migration vari-ability using two sympatric ungulate species differing in their foraging strategy, mating system and physiological constraints due to body size. We related observed variation to a set of hypotheses. We used GPS-collar data from 537 individuals in 10 roe Capreolus capreolus and 12 red deer Cervus elaphus populations spanning environmental gra-dients across Europe to assess variation in migration propensity, distance and tim-ing. Using time-to-event models, we explored how the probability of migration varied in relation to sex, landscape (e.g. topography, forest cover) and temporally-varying environmental factors (e.g. plant green-up, snow cover). Migration propensity varied across study areas. Red deer were, on average, three times more migratory than roe deer (56% versus 18%). This relationship was mainly driven by red deer males which were twice as migratory as females (82% versus 38%). The probability of roe deer migration was similar between sexes. Roe deer (both sexes) migrated earliest in spring. While territorial male roe deer migrated last in autumn, male and female red deer migrated around the same time in autumn, likely due to their polygynous mating system. Plant productivity determined the onset of spring migration in both species, but if plant productivity on winter ranges was sufficiently high, roe deer were less likely to leave. In autumn, migration coincided with reduced plant productivity for both species. This relationship was stronger for red deer. Our results confirm that ungulate migration is influenced by plant phenology, but in a novel way, that these effects appear to be modulated by species-specific traits, especially mating strategies.
Published: 2019

13. Temporal shifts in landscape connectivity for an ecosystem engineer, the roe deer, across a multiple-use landscape

Author: Jodie Martin, A. J. Mark Hewison, Bruno Lourtet, Thierry Hoch, Yannick Chaval, Nadège C. Bonnot, Michel Goulard, Gwenaël Vourc’h, Bruno Cargnelutti, Olivier Plantard, Nicolas Morellet, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), University of the Witwatersrand [Johannesburg] (WITS), Unité Mixte de Recherche d'Épidémiologie des maladies Animales et zoonotiques (UMR EPIA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)-Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Dynamiques Forestières dans l'Espace Rural (DYNAFOR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse [ENSAT]-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, and Biologie, Epidémiologie et analyse de risque en Santé Animale (BIOEPAR)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, human infrastructures, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Geography, Planning and Development, habitat selection, Woodland, capreolus capreolus, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Ecosystem engineer, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, Hunting season, biology.animal, fragmentation, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Herbivore, Ecology, biology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, human activity, 15. Life on land, step selection functions, Roe deer, Geography, Habitat, Landscape ecology, Landscape connectivity
Abstract: International audience; Routine movements of large herbivores, often considered as ecosystem engineers, impact key ecological processes. Functional landscape connectivity for such species influences the spatial distribution of associated ecological services and disservices. We studied how spatio-temporal variation in the risk-resource trade-off, generated by fluctuations in human activities and environmental conditions, influences the routine movements of roe deer across a heterogeneous landscape, generating shifts in functional connectivity at daily and seasonal time scales. We used GPS locations of 172 adult roe deer and step selection functions to infer landscape connectivity. In particular, we assessed the influence of six habitat features on fine scale movements across four biological seasons and three daily periods, based on variations in the risk-resource trade-off. The influence of habitat features on roe deer movements was strongly dependent on proximity to refuge habitat, i.e. woodlands. Roe deer confined their movements to safe habitats during daytime and during the hunting season, when human activity is high. However, they exploited exposed open habitats more freely during night-time. Consequently, we observed marked temporal shifts in landscape connectivity, which was highest at night in summer and lowest during daytime in autumn. In particular, the onset of the autumn hunting season induced an abrupt decrease in landscape connectivity. Human disturbance had a strong impact on roe deer movements, generating pronounced spatio-temporal variation in landscape connectivity. However, high connectivity at night across all seasons implies that Europe's most abundant and widespread large herbivore potentially plays a key role in transporting ticks, seeds and nutrients among habitats.
Published: 2018

14. Boldness-mediated habitat use tactics and reproductive success in a wild large herbivore

Author: Nadège C. Bonnot, Michel Goulard, A. J. Mark Hewison, Nicolas Morellet, Yannick Chaval, Bruno Lourtet, Bruno Cargnelutti, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)-Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Dynamiques Forestières dans l'Espace Rural (DYNAFOR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse [ENSAT]-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, space use, media_common.quotation_subject, individual performance, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], risk taking, Woodland, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, behavioural syndrome, Capreolus, biology.animal, docility, ungulate, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, media_common, Herbivore, biology, Reproductive success, Boldness, 05 social sciences, fungi, biology.organism_classification, predation-starvation trade-off, Roe deer, Personality type, Habitat, personality, reproductive success, Animal Science and Zoology, Demography
Abstract: International audience; The balance between resource acquisition and risk avoidance should vary according to personality type, with potential knock-on effects for fitness. Although previous studies have suggested a link between boldness and fitness components, little evidence is available on the behavioural mechanisms mediating this relationship in the wild. Because habitat use is the outcome of the trade-off between the costs and benefits associated with using each habitat type, we evaluated between-individual differences in habitat use of 64 GPS-collared female roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, using multinomial logit mixed models. To investigate whether deer differed in their habitat use tactics in relation to their personality type and their annual reproductive success, we assessed the link between individual habitat use patterns, boldness (measured as the strength of behavioural responsiveness to handling) and annual reproductive success (measured by the presence/absence of fawns at heel during autumn). Although daily and seasonal variations in the risk-resource landscapes clearly drove patterns of habitat use, individuals adopted contrasting habitat use tactics depending on their position along the shy-bold gradient and their reproductive status. Shy individuals occupied safer woodland more frequently, even at night when risk is lower. In contrast, bold individuals were better able to exploit rich open habitats. When this included mature autumn crops, these females weaned more offspring. Finally, irrespective of personality type, females that used meadows more often also achieved higher annual reproductive success. Overall, we demonstrate that individuals express divergent habitat use tactics as a function of their ability to avoid exposure to risk and their annual reproductive success. (C) 2018 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
Published: 2018

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

Author: Simon Chamaillé-Jammes, Nadège C. Bonnot, Nicolas Morellet, Sophie Padié, A. J. Mark Hewison, Bruno Cargnelutti, Jean-Louis Martin, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and The French National Institute for Research in Agronomy (INRA) and the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant no. 2010-BLAN-1718-BAMBI)
Subjects: biology, business.industry, Ecology, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Environmental resource management, Functional response, 15. Life on land, Predation, Risk perception, Roe deer, Geography, Habitat, biology.animal, Risk exposure, Scale (map), business, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Selection (genetic algorithm)
Abstract: International audience; 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.
Published: 2015

16. Neophobia is linked to behavioural and haematological indicators of stress in captive roe deer

Author: Anaïs Denailhac, Eric Bideau, A. J. Mark Hewison, Chloé Monestier, Denis Picot, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Nicolas Cebe, Jean-Luc Rames, Hélène Verheyden, Nicolas Morellet, Bruno Lourtet, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Université de Lyon
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, media_common.quotation_subject, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Captivity, Zoology, capreolus capreolus, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, comportement animal, Developmental psychology, behavioural syndrome, chemistry.chemical_compound, Capreolus, physiological parameters, biology.animal, medicine, Personality, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, Chronic stress, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, repeatability, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, novel object, media_common, fructosamine, biology, 05 social sciences, Neophobia, biology.organism_classification, medicine.disease, faune sauvage, Roe deer, captivity, Fructosamine, chemistry, Trait, Animal Science and Zoology, Psychology, néophobie
Abstract: Neophobia is an important personality trait that allows animals to minimize exposure to threat. We investigated the existence of consistent individual differences in the level of neophobia in captive roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, using an experimental set-up. Our main objective was to explore the link between an individual's level of neophobia with behavioural and physiological responses measured during a stressful situation, i.e. capture and restraint, to facilitate characterization of neophobia in the wild. We found that the probability of initiating a feeding bout and the feeding efficiency over bouts both decreased in the presence of a novel object. However, there was pronounced variation in the degree to which individuals were affected by the experimental treatment. First, feeding efficiency decreased the most among individuals that reacted less markedly to an acutely stressful situation (capture). Second, latency between the first visit and the first feeding bout increased the most among individuals that had a higher concentration of fructosamine in their blood, an indicator of chronic stress. Our results indicate that individuals that are more neophobic (high latency to first feeding bout and low feeding efficiency in the presence of a novel object) are also less proactive (low behavioural response to capture, high levels of fructosamine), suggesting the existence of a behavioural syndrome. We conclude that behavioural and physiological parameters measured during capture provide reliable indicators of neophobia for roe deer, providing an exciting new avenue for the study of animal personality in the wild.
Published: 2017

17. Migration in geographic and ecological space by a large herbivore

Author: Atle Mysterud, Nicolas Morellet, Stefano Focardi, Ferdinando Urbano, Marco Heurich, Derek B. Spitz, Wibke Peters, Francesca Cagnacci, John D. C. Linnell, Mark Hebblewhite, Petter Kjellander, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Science, Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Research and Innovation Centre, Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology Department, Edmund Mach Foundation (FEM), Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences [Oslo], Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences [Oslo], University of Oslo (UiO)-University of Oslo (UiO)-Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences [Oslo], University of Oslo (UiO)-University of Oslo (UiO), Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Department of Conservation and Research, Bavarian Forest National Park, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)-Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Department, Harvard University [Cambridge], This paper was conceived and written within the collaborative EURODEER project (paper no. 006 of the EURODEER series, Department of Ecology, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), and Peters, Wibke
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Range (biology), migration spatiotemporelle, Population, Niche, Zoology and botany: 480 [VDP], normalized difference vegetation index, capreolus capreolus, migration animale, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, behavioral plasticity, Capreolus, Settore BIO/05 - ZOOLOGIA, biology.animal, Biologie animale, ungulates, Realized niche width, 10. No inequality, education, Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 [VDP], Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Animal biology, Ecological niche, animal migration, education.field_of_study, partial migration, biology, Ecology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, spatiotemporal variation, faune sauvage, Roe deer, large herbivores, ecological distance, realized niche, niche switching, Spatial variability
Abstract: Partial migration, when only part of the population migrates seasonally while the other part remains resident on the shared range, is the most common form of migration in ungulates. Migration is often defined by spatial separation of seasonal ranges and consequently, classification of individuals as migrants or residents is usually only based on geographic criteria. However, the underlying mechanism for migration is hypothesized to be movement in response to spatiotemporal resource variability and thus, migrants are assumed to travel an “ecological distance” (ED) or shift their realized ecological niches. While ecological and geographic distances should be related, their relationship may depend on landscape heterogeneity. Here, we tested the utility of ecological niche theory to both classify migratory individuals and to understand the underlying ecological factors for migratory behavior. We developed an integrative approach combining measures in geographic and ecological niche space and used this to classify and explain migratory behavior of 71 annual roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) movement trajectories in five European study areas. First, to assess the utility of the ED concept for classifying migratory behavior, we tested whether roe deer sought the same ecological conditions year-round or moved to different ecological conditions by measuring the annual ED travelled and the seasonal niche overlap using multivariate statistics. Comparing methods to classify migrants and residents based on geographic and ecological niche space, we found that migratory roe deer switched between seasons both in geographic and in ecological dimensions. Second, we tested which seasonal ecological factors separated resident from migrant niches using discriminant analysis and which broad-scale determinants (e.g., spatiotemporal forage variation and population density) predicted migration probability using generalized linear models. Our results indicated that factors describing forage and topographic variability discriminated seasonal migrant from resident niches. Determinants for predicting migration probability included the temporal variation (seasonality) and also the spatial variability of forage patches. Last, we also found suggestive evidence for a positive relationship between population density and migration probability. By applying the ecological niche concept to the study of partial migration in ungulates, our work underlines that partial migration is a form of behavioral plasticity. Key words: behavioral plasticity; Capreolus capreolus; ecological distance; large herbivores; niche switching; Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; partial migration; realized niche; spatiotemporal variation; ungulates
Published: 2017

18. Plastic response by a small cervid to supplemental feeding in winter across a wide environmental gradient

Author: Nathan Ranc, Leif Soennichsen, Pavel Sustr, John D. C. Linnell, Michele Rocca, Atle Mysterud, Marco Heurich, Mark Hebblewhite, Anne Berger, Nicolas Morellet, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Ferdinando Urbano, Francesca Cagnacci, Federico Ossi, Petter Kjellander, Robin Sandfort, Max Kroeschel, Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Universität für Bodenkultur Wien = University of Natural Resources and Life [Vienne, Autriche] (BOKU), University of Freiburg [Freiburg], Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), University of Oslo (UiO), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Bavarian Forest National Park, Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology [Pretoria], University of Pretoria [South Africa]-University of Pretoria [South Africa], Global Change Research Centre (CzechGlobe), Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Leibniz Association, Associazione Cacciatori Trentina = Trentino hunters association, Università Iuav di Venezia = Iuav University of Venice (IUAV), Fondazione Edmund Mach - Edmund Mach Foundation [Italie] (FEM), Harvard University, and Ossi, Federico
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Ungulate, Range (biology), winter severity, Climate behavioural responses, alimentation artificielle, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Context (language use), capreolus capreolus, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, comportement animal, facteur biotique, Capreolus, Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA, biology.animal, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, climate behavioral responses, Roe deer, Environmental gradient, 2. Zero hunger, roe deer, artificial feeding, ungulate management, climate change, Biotic component, Ecology, biology, 15. Life on land, roe, deer, biology.organism_classification, faune sauvage, 010601 ecology, 13. Climate action, Spatial ecology, adaptation au changement climatique
Abstract: International audience; Supplemental feeding for ungulates is a widespread practice in many human-dominated landscapes across Europe and North America, mainly intended to seasonally support populations. Surprisingly, little consideration was given so far to the effect of supplemental feeding on ungulate spatial ecology at a large scale, in management and conservation studies. Analyses of the main ecological drivers influencing the use of supplemental feeding sites by ungulates across a gradient of abiotic and biotic factors are currently lacking. We conducted a large-scale assessment of ecological and management drivers of use of feeding station sites in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), a small cervid widely distributed across Europe that is particularly sensitive to winter severity. We tested four competing hypotheses by comparing the time spent at feeding station sites by 180 individual Global Positioning System-collared roe deer from nine populations spanning a wide latitudinal and altitudinal gradient. We found that roe deer used feeding station sites highly opportunistically in response to winter severity across its range. The harshest weather conditions at the northern range limit or the highest elevations provoked an intense use of feeding station sites, which typically peaked at the end of winter, in accordance with the adverse weather and nutritional condition hypotheses. Consistently, milder winters corresponded to a reduced and/or more homogeneous use of supplemental feeding. In general, intensively used feeding station sites heavily conditioned spatial behavior of roe deer. Importantly, biotic factors such as the presence of competitors decreased roe deer use of supplemental feeding station sites. Our results emphasize the importance of this human-induced alteration to resource distribution, especially in the context of the rapidly occurring climate change that is modifying resource availability for ungulate populations.
Published: 2017

19. Parasite abundance contributes to condition-dependent dispersal in a wild population of large herbivore

Author: A. J. Mark Hewison, Lucie Debeffe, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Julie Sevila, Hervé Hoste, Hélène Verheyden-Tixier, Bruno Cargnelutti, Nicolas Morellet, Denis Picot, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Interactions hôtes-agents pathogènes [Toulouse] (IHAP), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, 0303 health sciences, Herbivore, education.field_of_study, biology, Ecology, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Home range, Population, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Life history theory, Roe deer, 03 medical and health sciences, Abundance (ecology), biology.animal, Biological dispersal, Philopatry, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 030304 developmental biology
Abstract: International audience; Parasite abundance has been shown to have major consequences for host fitness components such as survival and reproduction. However, although natal dispersal is a key life history trait, whether an individual's decision to disperse or not is influenced by the abundance of parasites it carries remains mostly unknown. Current and opposing hypotheses suggest that infected individuals should either be philopatric to avoid the energetic costs of dispersal (condition dependence) or disperse to escape from heavily parasitised habitats. From intensive monitoring of a roe deer population inhabiting a multi-use and spatially heterogeneous agricultural landscape, we evaluated the link between an individual's parasite abundance and its propensity to disperse, while accounting for confounding effects of body mass. Dispersal propensity generally decreased with both increasing nematode abundance and with decreasing body mass. Within the dispersing segment of the population, individuals with high nematode abundance left their natal home range later in the season than less parasitised deer. These results clearly show that parasite abundance is an important component of condition-dependent dispersal in large herbivores. However, unexpectedly, three individuals that were both heavily parasitised and of low body mass dispersed. We suggest that this 'leave it ' response to high parasite levels in the natal habitat could represent a last ditch attempt to improve reproductive prospects, constituting a form of emergency life history strategy.
Published: 2014

20. Individual variation in an acute stress response reflects divergent coping strategies in a large herbivore

Author: Nicolas Morellet, Chloé Monestier, A. J. Mark Hewison, Hélène Verheyden, Lucie Debeffe, Emmanuelle Gilot-Fromont, Joël Merlet, Denis Picot, Nicolas Cebe, Jean-Luc Rames, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and University of Saskatchewan [Saskatoon] (U of S)
Subjects: Male, 0106 biological sciences, Coping (psychology), Coping styles, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Individuality, Capture, 01 natural sciences, Body Temperature, Developmental psychology, Fight-or-flight response, Leukocyte Count, Behavioral Neuroscience, Adaptation, Psychological, animal, Repeatability, european roe deer, media_common, 2. Zero hunger, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Behavior, Animal, biology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, 05 social sciences, deer capreolus-capreolus, General Medicine, fitness consequences, great tits, Roe deer, Hematocrit, long-term repeatability, Body mass, Female, Seasons, Psychology, Social psychology, capture stress, media_common.quotation_subject, Energy metabolism, body-mass, 010603 evolutionary biology, Capreolus, biology.animal, [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology, Animals, Personality, environmental-conditions, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, Herbivory, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Acute stress, Herbivore, Deer, Body Weight, Reproducibility of Results, biology.organism_classification, trade-offs, personality, Animal Science and Zoology, Stress, Psychological
Abstract: International audience; Individuals differ in the manner that they cope with risk. When these behavioral differences are manifested in risky or challenging environments (i.e. stressful situations), they are generally interpreted within the "coping style" framework. As studying inter-individual variability in behavior is particularly challenging in the wild, we used a captive facility to explore consistency in the individual behavioral response to an acute stress in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Using behavioral and physiological parameters measured six times across a calendar year, we first quantified individual repeatability and, second, explored the correlations among these parameters that might indicate a coherent stress response. Finally, we analyzed the link between the stress response and individual body mass, a reliable indicator of phenotypic quality in roe deer. We found that the measured parameters were highly repeatable across seasons,-indicating that the individual stress response is consistent over time. Furthermore, there was considerable covariation among the stress response parameters, describing a proactivity-reactivity gradient at the individual level. Finally, proactive individuals had higher body mass than reactive individuals. We suggest that consistent individual differences in energy metabolism and physiology may promote consistent individual differences in behavioral traits, providing a mechanistic link between food acquisition tactics and demographic performance.
Published: 2016

21. Immune gene variability influences roe deer natal dispersal

Author: Jean-Michel Gaillard, Hélène Verheyden, Jean-François Cosson, Joël Merlet, Bruno Cargnelutti, Lucie Debeffe, Emmanuelle Gilot-Fromont, A. J. Mark Hewison, Cécile Vanpé, Erwan Quéméré, Nicolas Morellet, Maxime Galan, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), This study was supported by the 'PATCH' RPDOC ANR project, the 'INDHET'ANR project (ANR-12-BSV7-0023-02) and the French Natl Inst. for Agricultural Research (INRA)., Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), and Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, hétérozygotie, animal diseases, [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes, Zoology, capreolus capreolus, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, adaptation au changement, biology.animal, parasitic diseases, heterozygosity, Immune gene, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, reproductive and urinary physiology, biology, biochemical phenomena, metabolism, and nutrition, Roe deer, genêtic variation, 030104 developmental biology, diversité génétique, Biological dispersal, bacteria, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract: Immune gene variability influences roe deer natal dispersal
Published: 2016

22. Partial migration in roe deer: migratory and resident tactics are end points of a behavioural gradient determined by ecological factors

Author: Petter Kjellander, Atle Mysterud, Federico Ossi, Markus Neteler, Anja Stache, Luca Delucchi, John D. C. Linnell, Stefano Focardi, Marco Heurich, A. J. Mark Hewison, Francesca Cagnacci, Nicolas Morellet, Ferdinando Urbano, Fondazione Edmund Mach - Edmund Mach Foundation [Italie] (FEM), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Department of Research and Documentation, Bavarian Forest National Park, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)-Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), University of Oslo (UiO), Independent, and This paper was conceived and written within the collaborative EURODEER project (paper no. 001 of the EURODEER series
Subjects: Capriolo, 0106 biological sciences, Ungulate, Range (biology), [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], partialL migration, population, Distribution (economics), 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Ungulati, Capreolus, Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA, biology.animal, Ecosystem, GPS location data, EURODEER, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, general phenomenon of migration, biology, Ecology, business.industry, Residence time, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Facultative migration, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, Habitat selection, Roe deer, Geography, Habitat, environmental sciences and ecology, ecological factors, Capreolus capreolus, Residence, ecology, business, Migrazione parziale
Abstract: International audience; Ungulate populations exhibiting partial migration present a unique opportunity to explore the causes of the general phenomenon of migration. The European roe deer Capreolus capreolus is particularly suited for such studies due to a wide distribution range and a high level of ecological plasticity. In this study we undertook a comparative analysis of roe deer GPS location data from a representative set of European ecosystems available within the EURODEER collaborative project. We aimed at evaluating the ecological factors affecting migration tactic (i.e. occurrence) and pattern (i.e. timing, residence time, number of migratory trips). Migration occurrence varied between and within populations and depended on winter severity and topographic variability. Spring migrations were highly synchronous, while the timing of autumn migrations varied widely between regions, individuals and sexes. Overall, roe deer were faithful to their summer ranges, especially males. In the absence of extreme and predictable winter conditions, roe deer seemed to migrate opportunistically, in response to a tradeoff between the costs of residence in spatially separated ranges and the costs of migratory movements. Animals performed numerous trips between winter and summer ranges which depended on factors influencing the costs of movement such as between-range distance, slope and habitat openness. Our results support the idea that migration encompasses a behavioural continuum, with one-trip migration and residence as its end points, while commuting and multi-trip migration with short residence times in seasonal ranges are intermediate tactics. We believe that a full understanding of the variation in tactics of temporal separation in habitat use will provide important insights on migration and the factors that influence its prevalence.
Published: 2011

23. Inferring the effects of landscape structure on roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) movements using a step selection function

Author: Jean-Marc Angibault, Nicolas Morellet, Michel Goulard, Aurélie Coulon, A. J. Mark Hewison, Bruno Cargnelutti, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and Unité de Biométrie et Intelligence Artificielle (UBIA)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Topography, Ungulate, Disturbance (geology), GPS, Geography, Planning and Development, Woodland, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Capreolus, Fragmentation, biology.animal, SSF, Buildings, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Connectivity, Ecology, biology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Fragmentation (computing), biology.organism_classification, [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society, Roads, Roe deer, Geography, Habitat, Landscape ecology
Abstract: International audience; In this study, we sought to understand how landscape structure affects roe deer movements within their home-range in a heterogeneous and fragmented agricultural system of south-western France. We analysed the movements of 20 roe deer fitted with GPS collars which recorded their locations every 2–6 h over several months (mean = 9 months). Based on empirical observations and previous studies of roe deer habitat use, we hypothesised that roe deer should avoid buildings and roads, move preferentially along valley bottoms and through the more wooded areas of the landscape. To test these hypotheses we paired each observed movement step with 10 random ones. Using conditional logistic regression, we modelled a step selection function, which represents the probability of selecting a given step as a function of these landscape variables. The selectedmodel indicated thatmovements were influenced by all the tested landscape features, but not always in the predicted direction: our results suggested that roe deer tend to avoid buildings, roads, valley bottoms and possibly the more wooded areas (although the latter result should be interpreted with caution, as it may be influenced by a bias in the rate of GPS fix acquisition in woods). The distances to buildings and to roads were the most influential variables in the model, suggesting that the avoidance of potential sources of disturbancemay be a key factor in determining ranging behaviour of roe deer in human dominated landscapes.
Published: 2008

24. Interindividual variability in habitat use: evidence for a risk management syndrome in roe deer?

Author: Hélène Verheyden, Nicolas Morellet, Bruno Cargnelutti, Pierrick Blanchard, Lucie Debeffe, Julien Cote, A. J. Mark Hewison, Nadège C. Bonnot, François Klein, Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecotoxicologie & Santé des écosystèmes - ECSECO (ECI), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (ECOLAB), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecosystèmes forestiers (UR EFNO), Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (ECOLAB), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, and Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage (ONCFS)
Subjects: behavioral syndrome, LIFE-HISTORY, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], HUMAN DISTURBANCE, Foraging, Population, behavior at capture, INDIVIDUAL VARIATION, BEHAVIORAL SYNDROMES, Predation, TEMPORAL SCALES, Behavioral syndrome, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, vigilance, biology.animal, TAKING BEHAVIOR, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Herbivore, education.field_of_study, biology, Ecology, risk-taking, [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE], ANIMAL TEMPERAMENT, flight distance, 15. Life on land, Roe deer, Vigilance (behavioural ecology), Habitat, CAPREOLUS-CAPREOLUS, Animal Science and Zoology, body temperature, PREDATION RISK, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis, COPING STYLES
Abstract: International audience; The way an individual reacts to the risk of predation or disturbance may have important consequences for its immediate and future survival. Risk is likely perceived differently by individuals in relation to among-individual differences in correlated behavioral traits, that is, syndromes or personalities. Given that animals can avoid the risk of predation/disturbance through modification of their habitat use, we might expect individuals of differing behavioral types to adopt contrasting tactics of habitat use when faced with risky or stressful situations. We studied the relationship between habitat use and among-individual variation in behavioral profile in a population of roe deer. We hypothesized that an individual's habitat use tactics should be related to their capacity to cope with risky situations. In particular, we predicted that more reactive (risk-averse) roe deer, with relatively high behavioral response and high body temperature at capture, long flight distances and which were more vigilant during feeding, should use riskier open habitat less, particularly when risk is high. We found that although the use of open habitat during the day was negatively correlated with the indices of reactivity at capture, it was also positively correlated with indices of reactivity while foraging in open habitat. Furthermore, most of the behavioral parameters we measured were intercorrelated and moderately repeatable, potentially indexing personality traits. We conclude that there is substantial interindividual variability in how individuals manage risky situations which imposes constraints on how they are able to exploit high-risk habitats, suggesting the existence of a risk management syndrome in this large herbivore.
Published: 2015

25. Time to leave? Immediate response of roe deer to experimental disturbances using playbacks

Author: Simon Chamaillé-Jammes, A. J. Mark Hewison, Bruno Cargnelutti, Sophie Padié, Jean-Louis Martin, Nicolas Morellet, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and French National Institute for Research in Agronomy (INRA), French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant number 2010-BLAN-1718-BAMBI)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, biology, hunting, Ecology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Roe deer, Risk perception, human disturbance, Geography, Disturbance (ecology), risk perception, biology.animal, fleeing behaviour, movement, Reactivity (psychology), Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Agricultural landscapes, Nature and Landscape Conservation
Abstract: International audience; Despite frequent exposure to disturbances or threats, some species seem to be successful in human-dominated landscapes. In order to better understand how these species respond to disturbance linked to human activities, we studied the immediate response of roe deer to playback experiments conducted in an agricultural landscape where human activities are omnipresent and hunting is frequent. During two periods of contrasted hunting risk, we performed playback experiments (with dog barks or tractor engine noises) with experimenters that were either stationary or walked towards the deer. We modelled the probability of fleeing immediately after the start of the experiment. The probability of fleeing was around 0.3 when experimenters were located 100 m away from the deer and did not move but was greater when the experimenters were initially closer to the animal or approached closer to the animal during the experiment. Surprisingly, the responses of roe deer did not vary between periods of contrasting risk or in relation to the type of sound played. This study provides experimental evidence of a high level of reactivity of this sedentary species when confronted with disturbance. We argue that this may partly explain its success in human-dominated environments, allowing it to exploit the rich feeding resources provided by agricultural landscapes in a relatively safe way.
Published: 2015

26. Short- and long-term repeatability of docility in the roe deer: sex and age matter

Author: Michel Goulard, Ulrika A. Bergvall, Lars Jäderberg, A. J. M. Hewison, Lucie Debeffe, Jean-François Lemaître, Hélène Verheyden-Tixier, Morgan David, Jean-Michel Gaillard, C. Monestier, Nicolas Morellet, P. Kjellander, Cécile Vanpé, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Stockholm University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Dynamiques Forestières dans l'Espace Rural (DYNAFOR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse [ENSAT]-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, University of Antwerp (UA), University of Exeter, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse (ENSAT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, media_common.quotation_subject, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Population, mammal, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, Capreolus, biology.animal, Personality, Juvenile, Psychology, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, repeatability, education, capture, Biology, individual differences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, media_common, education.field_of_study, biology, 05 social sciences, Repeatability, biology.organism_classification, Roe deer, Variation (linguistics), personality, Trait, Animal Science and Zoology, Demography
Abstract: Behavioural consistency is a key assumption when evaluating how between-individual differences in behaviour influence life history tactics. Hence, understanding how and why variation in behavioural repeatability occurs is crucial. While analyses of behavioural repeatability are common, few studies of wild populations have investigated variation in repeatability in relation to individual status (e.g. sex, age, condition) and over different timescales. Here, we aimed to fill this gap by assessing within-population variation in the repeatability of docility, as assessed by the individual's response to human handling, in a free-ranging population of European roe deer, Capreolus capreolus. Docility was an equally repeatable behaviour at both short- and long-term timescales, suggesting that this behavioural trait is stable across time. Repeatability did not differ markedly between age and sex categories but tended to be higher in juvenile males than in juvenile females. Finally, contrary to expectation, individual variation in the repeatability of docility was not correlated with individual body mass. Further studies are required to assess the life history consequences of the individual variation in docility we report here. (C) 2015 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Published: 2015

27. Is a proactive mum a good mum? A mother’s coping style influences early fawn survival in roe deer

Author: Nicolas Morellet, Chloé Monestier, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Bruno Cargnelutti, A. J. Mark Hewison, Cécile Vanpé, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR-12-PDOC-0017,PATCH,Plasticité comportementale et AdapTation du CHevreuil aux modifications du paysage(2012), ANR-12-BSV7-0023,INDHET,HETEROGENEITE INDIVIDUELLE DE LA DISPERSION ET DYNAMIQUE DES METAPOPULATIONS(2012), Université de Lyon, and ANR from French National Research Agency [ANR-12-PDOC-0017-01, ANR-12-BSV7-0023-02]
Subjects: Coping (psychology), biology, Offspring, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Confounding, habitat use, biology.organism_classification, Spatial heterogeneity, Roe deer, Behavioral traits, Capreolus, biology.animal, Animal Science and Zoology, maternal care, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, individual differences, body temperature, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Demography, juvenile survival
Abstract: International audience; Individual differences in behavior may strongly shape life-history trajectories. However, few empirical studies to date have investigated the link between behavioral traits and fitness, especially in wild populations. We measured the impact of coping style in female roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) on early survival of their offspring. Specifically, we expected offspring of proactive mothers, which should be more mobile and aggressive, to survive better than those of reactive females, which should be more passive and react less in stressful contexts. To test this prediction, we accounted for confounding effects of variation in early survival linked to habitat heterogeneity, as we also expected bed-site selection to impact fawn survival. Fawn survival was highly dependent on the interaction between habitat use and the coping style of the mother. As expected, fawns of proactive mothers survived better in open habitats. However, unexpectedly, fawns of reactive mothers had the highest survival in closed habitats. Our findings provide clear evidence that interindividual differences in the coping style of the mother can markedly impact early offspring survival and, thereby, female fitness, in wild populations of mammals. Moreover, we provide evidence that fitness consequences of copying styles are habitat-dependent, providing a possible mechanism for the maintenance of within-population variation in behavior.
Published: 2015

28. Spatial structure of roe deer populations: towards defining management units at a landscape scale

Author: S. Fuser, A. J. Mark Hewison, Aurélie Coulon, Maurizio Ramanzin, Nicolas Morellet, Chiara Targhetta, and Audrey Zannèse
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, 0303 health sciences, education.field_of_study, Ecology, biology, Population, Population genetics, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Roe deer, 03 medical and health sciences, Capreolus, Geography, Habitat, biology.animal, Spatial ecology, Spatial variability, Wildlife management, education, 030304 developmental biology
Abstract: Summary 1 A crucial question in wildlife management concerns the definition of ecologically meaningful management units. Management action needs to be co-ordinated at the appropriate spatial scale. There are few practical tools for delimiting pertinent management units for large mammals such as ungulates. 2 Previous work has favoured a molecular approach to determine genetically distinct units, but this may be too costly for routine management. In addition, recent studies have revealed fine-scale heterogeneity in population dynamics of free-ranging ungulates in relation to environmental variability. 3 We combined spatial analysis of environmental heterogeneity (vegetation cover, topography and climate), animal morphology (jaw length) and genetic structure (microsatellites) to define biologically meaningful population units for roe deer Capreolus capreolus in the Belluno province, north-eastern Italy. Jaw length is a sensitive measure of density-dependence and a good proxy for spatial and temporal variation in roe deer population growth. 4 Spatial analysis of environmental variables suggested that the study area should be divided into two, or possibly four, biogeographical regions in relation to variation in altitude and habitat type. There was significant spatial variability in jaw length across the province that clustered into two main regions (with shorter jaws in the north compared with the south), which matched the previously defined biogeographical regions. This spatial structuring was also supported by microsatellite analysis, which revealed two genetically distinct populations, one in the north and one in the south. 5 Synthesis and applications. A multiparameter approach, combining environmental information with data on indices of density-dependence such as jaw length, could be extremely useful for defining ecologically meaningful management units. Indeed, monitoring spatial and temporal variation in jaw length could provide deer managers with a simple way to index population structure and fluctuations in time and space.
Published: 2006

29. Dispersal is not female biased in a resource-defence mating ungulate, the European roe deer

Author: Bruno Cargnelutti, Jean-Marc Angibault, Nicolas Morellet, A. J. M. Hewison, Aurélie Coulon, Jean-François Cosson, Stéphane Aulagnier, Maxime Galan, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), and Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)
Subjects: Male, 0106 biological sciences, SEX BIASED DISPERSAL, Ungulate, Genotype, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], media_common.quotation_subject, Population, MICROSATELLITES, Zoology, Polymerase Chain Reaction, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Competition (biology), Gene flow, ROE DEER, 03 medical and health sciences, Sex Factors, biology.animal, GENE FLOW, Animals, Mating, education, 030304 developmental biology, General Environmental Science, media_common, 0303 health sciences, education.field_of_study, BIOLOGIE DES POPULATIONS, General Immunology and Microbiology, biology, Ecology, Deer, GREENWOOD, DNA, General Medicine, RESOURCE DEFENCE STRATEGY, biology.organism_classification, Roe deer, Genetics, Population, Mate choice, behavior and behavior mechanisms, Biological dispersal, Animal Migration, Female, France, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Research Article
Abstract: International audience; Dispersal is frequently more prevalent in one sex compared to the other. Greenwood proposed that patterns of sex-biased dispersal among birds and mammals are linked to their mating strategies. For species where males defend resources rather than females, he predicted female-biased dispersal, because males should remain at their birth site where they are familiar with the distribution of the resources that they must defend. Greenwood's hypothesis has been extensively supported among birds, where most species exhibit a resource-defence mating strategy. However, almost no equivalent information is available for mammals as males generally defend mates in this group. An exception is the European roe deer, a resource-defence mating ungulate. We thus tested Greenwood's hypothesis on this atypical mammalian model, looking for female-biased dispersal using sex-specific inter-individual genetic distances. We conclusively show that gene flow is not higher among females compared to males in the studied roe deer population, and hence that dispersal is not female-biased, suggesting that male mating strategy is not the primary selective force driving the evolution of dispersal in roe deer. We discuss the role of female mate choice and intra-sexual competition as possible alternative selective pressures involved
Published: 2005

30. A one night stand? Reproductive excursions of female roe deer as a breeding dispersal tactic

Author: Marco Heurich, Ferdinando Urbano, Francesca Cagnacci, Lucie Debeffe, Maryline Pellerin, Pavel Sustr, Petter Kjellander, Christophe Bonenfant, Nicolas Morellet, Atle Mysterud, Stefano Focardi, A. J. Mark Hewison, John D. C. Linnell, Cécile Vanpé, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), and Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: Male, 0106 biological sciences, Ungulate, Mate choice, Inbreeding avoidance, Home range, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Population Dynamics, Population, GPS telemetry, Breeding, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, biology.animal, Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA, Seasonal breeder, Animals, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 030304 developmental biology, 0303 health sciences, education.field_of_study, biology, Ecology, Deer, Reproduction, Rut excursion, biology.organism_classification, Europe, Roe deer, Logistic Models, Geographic Information Systems, Biological dispersal, Female, Seasons, Animal Distribution, Demography
Abstract: International audience; Breeding dispersal, defined as the net movement between successive breeding sites, remains a poorly understood and seldom reported phenomenon in mammals, despite its importance for population dynamics and genetics. In large herbivores, females may be more mobile during the breeding season, undertaking short-term trips (excursions) outside their normal home range. If fertilisation occurs, leading to gene flow of the male genome, this behaviour could be considered a form of breeding dispersal from a genetic point of view. Here, we investigated ranging behaviour of 235 adult roe deer using intensive GPS monitoring in six populations across Europe within the EURODEER initiative. We show that excursions are common from June to August among females, with 41.8 % (vs. 18.1 % of males) making at least one excursion. Most individuals performed only one excursion per season and departure dates for females were concentrated in time, centred on the rutting period, suggesting a link with reproduction. The distance females travelled during excursions was significantly greater than the site-specific average diameter of a male home range, while travel speed decreased once they progressed beyond this diameter, indicating search behaviour or interaction with other male(s) outside the resident male's territory. Because adults are normally highly sedentary, the potential for mating with relatives is substantial; hence, we conclude that rut excursions could be an alternative tactic enabling females to avoid mating with a closely related male. To understand better the ultimate drivers at play, it will be crucial to explore the genetic causes and consequences of this behaviour.
Published: 2014
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31. The link between behavioural type and natal dispersal propensity reveals a dispersal syndrome in a large herbivore

Author: A. J. M. Hewison, Aurélie Coulon, Richard Bon, Nicolas Morellet, Nadège C. Bonnot, Hélène Verheyden-Tixier, Jean Clobert, Cécile Vanpé, Lucie Debeffe, Bruno Cargnelutti, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 'INDHET' ANR grant ANR-12-BSV7-0023-02, 'PATCH' ANR-Postdoc Return project 12-PDOC-0017-01, ANR-12-BSV7-0023,INDHET,HETEROGENEITE INDIVIDUELLE DE LA DISPERSION ET DYNAMIQUE DES METAPOPULATIONS(2012), ANR-12-PDOC-0017,PATCH,Plasticité comportementale et AdapTation du CHevreuil aux modifications du paysage(2012), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM), Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la COnservation (CESCO), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Station d’Ecologie Expérimentale du CNRS à Moulis (SEEM), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Fédération Départementale des Chasseurs de la Haute Garonne, and local hunting associations
Subjects: Male, neophobia, Movement, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], exploration, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Body Temperature, Fight-or-flight response, Capreolus, biology.animal, medicine, Animals, roe deer, Ecosystem, Research Articles, General Environmental Science, Herbivore, General Immunology and Microbiology, biology, Ecology, Deer, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Neophobia, Body Weight, General Medicine, biology.organism_classification, medicine.disease, Low mobility, dispersal syndrome, Roe deer, Phenotype, natal dispersal, Geographic Information Systems, Biological dispersal, Philopatry, Female, France, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Animal Distribution
Abstract: When individuals disperse, they modify the physical and social composition of their reproductive environment, potentially impacting their fitness. The choice an individual makes between dispersal and philopatry is thus critical, hence a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the decision to leave the natal area is crucial. We explored how combinations of behavioural (exploration, mobility, activity and stress response) and morphological (body mass) traits measured prior to dispersal were linked to the subsequent dispersal decision in 77 roe deer Capreolus capreolus fawns. Using an unusually detailed multi-trait approach, we identified two independent behavioural continuums related to dispersal. First, a continuum of energetic expenditure contrasted individuals of low mobility, low variability in head activity and low body temperature with those that displayed opposite traits. Second, a continuum of neophobia contrasted individuals that explored more prior to dispersal and were more tolerant of capture with those that displayed opposite traits. While accounting for possible confounding effects of condition-dependence (body mass), we showed that future dispersers were less neophobic and had higher energetic budgets than future philopatric individuals, providing strong support for a dispersal syndrome in this species.
Published: 2014

32. Short-term effects of hunting on naive black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis): behavioural response and consequences on vegetation growth

Author: Soizic Le Saout, Sophie Padié, Simon Chamaillé-Jammes, Simon Chollet, Steve Côté, Nicolas Morellet, Jake Pattison, Erin Harris, Jean-Louis Martin, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Departement de Biologie & Centre d'Etudes Nordiques, Université Laval [Québec] (ULaval), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and Laskeek Bay Conservation Society
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, NATURAL EXPERIMENT, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, HUMAN DISTURBANCE, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], ecology of fear, 15. Life on land, HABITAT USE, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, trophic cascade, OVERABUNDANT DEER, ROE DEER, Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis, YELLOWSTONE-NATIONAL-PARK, predation risk, Animal Science and Zoology, 14. Life underwater, PLANT-COMMUNITIES, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, black-tailed deer, ELK
Abstract: International audience; Hunting is commonly used to reduce overabundant deer populations that are of socioeconomic and ecological concerns. Recently, it has been suggested that "hunting for fear" might help maximize nonconsumptive effects of hunting and their cascading impacts. We investigated how a predator-free black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis Merriam, 1898) population introduced to the Haida Gwaii archipelago (Canada) responded to short-term hunting for fear. We conducted a hunt that minimized killing and maximized scaring on an island where some deer were marked. Between control and hunted sites, we compared deer use of bait stations and of shoreline areas (i.e., an open and risky area that provided marine subsidies). We also compared the browsing pressure and growth of two grasses and two shrubs. Hunting for fear had no effect on the overall use of bait stations and shorelines. However, in the area exposed to hunting, unmarked deer, which were assumed to be less tolerant of human disturbance, avoided bait stations at the outset of hunting. We concluded that individuals perceive and respond to risk differently. Furthermore, two of the four plant species were less likely to be browsed and had better growth in the experimental area than in the control area, suggesting an indirect effect of hunting on plants mediated by deer behaviour.
Published: 2014

33. Seasonality, weather and climate affect home range size in roe deer across a wide latitudinal gradient within Europe

Author: Christophe Bonenfant, Atle Mysterud, Federico Ossi, Pavel Sustr, Sandro Nicoloso, Petter Kjellander, Nicolas Morellet, Luca Börger, Ferdinando Urbano, Marco Heurich, Francesca Cagnacci, John D. C. Linnell, Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d'études biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), INRA - CEBC, Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology Department, IASMA Research and Innovation Centre, Departement of Research and Documentation, Bavarian Forest National Park, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU), Division of Arctic Ecology (NINA), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Research, Ecology and Environment Dimension ((D.R.E.Am. Italia)), Research, Ecology and Environment Dimension, Department of Biodiversity Research, Global Change Research Centre AS CR, Dipartimento delle Arti e del Disegno Industriale [Venice], IUAV University Venice, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences [Oslo], Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences [Oslo], University of Oslo (UiO)-University of Oslo (UiO)-Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences [Oslo], University of Oslo (UiO)-University of Oslo (UiO), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)-Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Università Iuav di Venezia = Iuav University of Venice (IUAV), EURODEER collaborative project, Autonomous Province of Trento [3479], EU-programme INTERREG IV (EFRE Ziel 3), Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU), Bavarian Forest National Park Administration, Czech Ministry of Education [CZ. 1.05/1.1.00/02.0073], Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), Université de La Rochelle (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), and Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé [France] (USC 1339 INRA)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, animal movements, Range (biology), Home range, Climate, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Latitude, Capreolus, Homing Behavior, Abundance (ecology), biology.animal, Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA, spatio-temporal variation, medicine, Animals, Weather, Animal movement, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Herbivore, biology, Ranging behaviour, Ecology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Deer, Large herbivore, 15. Life on land, Seasonality, medicine.disease, biology.organism_classification, spatiotemporal variation, Roe deer, Europe, Geography, 13. Climate action, [SDE]Environmental Sciences, Geographic Information Systems, Animal Science and Zoology, Female, Seasons, Day length
Abstract: International audience; 1. Because many large mammal species have wide geographical ranges, spatially distant populations may be confronted with different sets of environmental conditions. Investigating how home range (HR) size varies across environmental gradients should yield a better understanding of the factors affecting large mammal ecology. 2. We evaluated how HR size of a large herbivore, the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), varies in relation to seasonality, latitude (climate), weather, plant productivity and landscape features across its geographical range in Western Europe. As roe deer are income breeders, expected to adjust HR size continuously to temporal variation in food resources and energetic requirements, our baseline prediction was for HR size to decrease with proxies of resource availability. 3. We used GPS locations of roe deer collected from seven study sites (EURODEER collaborative project) to estimate fixed-kernel HR size at weekly and monthly temporal scales. We performed an unusually comprehensive analysis of variation in HR size among and within populations over time across the geographical range of a single species using generalized additive mixed models and linear mixed models, respectively. 4. Among populations, HR size decreased with increasing values for proxies of forage abundance, but increased with increases in seasonality, stochastic variation of temperature, latitude and snow cover. Within populations, roe deer HR size varied over time in relation to seasonality and proxies of forage abundance in a consistent way across the seven populations. Thus, our findings were broadly consistent across the distributional range of this species, demonstrating a strong and ubiquitous link between the amplitude and timing of environmental seasonality and HR size at the continental scale. 5. Overall, the variability in average HR size of roe deer across Europe reflects the interaction among local weather, climate and seasonality, providing valuable insight into the limiting factors affecting this large herbivore under contrasting conditions. The complexity of the relationships suggests that predicting ranging behaviour of large herbivores in relation to current and future climate change will require detailed knowledge not only about predicted increases in temperature, but also how this interacts with factors such as day length and climate predictability.
Published: 2013

34. Exploration as a key component of natal dispersal: dispersers explore more than philopatric individuals in roe deer

Author: Aurélie Coulon, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Lucie Debeffe, Richard Bon, Nicolas Morellet, Bruno Lourtet, Bruno Cargnelutti, A. J. M. Hewison, Ecosystèmes forestiers (UR EFNO), Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Service de Radiologie [Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse - HCL], Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse [CHU - HCL], Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL)-Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL), Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité comportement et écologie de la faune sauvage, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, DYNAMICS, Ungulate, Home range, GPS, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Population, home range, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, HOME-RANGE, Capreolus, biology.animal, Juvenile, ungulate, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, roe deer, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, HABITAT SELECTION, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, education.field_of_study, MOVEMENTS, biology, Ecology, 05 social sciences, WILD, biology.organism_classification, Roe deer, juvenile, CAPREOLUS-CAPREOLUS, Biological dispersal, Capreolus capreolus, Animal Science and Zoology, Philopatry, movement, GREAT TITS, FLYING SQUIRRELS, BEHAVIOR, TRAITS
Abstract: International audience; Natal dispersal (i.e. movements between the natal range of an individual and its first breeding site) is a complex process which can have profound impacts on population dynamics. In most species, only a proportion of juveniles actually disperse, but few empirical data are available on the factors that drive the decision to disperse. To understand the behavioural ontogeny of the decision to disperse, we investigated the ranging behaviour of 66 juvenile roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, monitored with GPS collars prior to and during the dispersal phase. We compared the number and features (distance and duration) of exploratory movements during the period prior to dispersal between philopatric individuals and dispersers. Overall, 76% of the juveniles that dispersed during their first spring performed exploratory movements prior to the dispersal period. Indeed, exploration prior to the dispersal phase was much more common among future dispersers than among future philopatric individuals, suggesting that dispersal of juveniles is facilitated to some degree by predispersal exploration forays. Furthermore, the direction of the dispersal event was correlated with the direction of previous exploration, although there was no relationship between exploration distance and subsequent dispersal distance. Thus, it appears that individuals that subsequently disperse first explore their environment, prior to definitively leaving their natal range, probably to obtain information on potential suitable adult ranges. Exploratory movements prior to dispersal can thus provide information that influences an individual's decision on whether or not to disperse and, if so, in which direction. (C) 2013 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Published: 2013

35. Roe deer may markedly alter forest nitrogen and phosphorus budgets across Europe

Author: Frial Abbas, Tanguy Daufresne, Jean-Luc Rames, Jean-Marc Angibault, Joël Merlet, Bruno Cargnelutti, Héélèène Verheyden, Stéphane Aulagnier, Denis Picot, Bruno Lourtet, Nicolas Morellet, A. J. M. Hewison, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Inst. National de la Recherche Agronomique, government of Syria, Institut Jacques Monod (IJM (UMR_7592)), Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecosystèmes forestiers (UR EFNO), Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Ecotoxicologie & Santé des écosystèmes - ECSECO (ECI), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (ECOLAB), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Clinique Saint-Yves [Rennes]
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, SELECTION, Nutrient cycle, LAND, Ungulate, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, IMPACT, ECOLOGY, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, STOICHIOMETRY, Nutrient, biology.animal, ECOSYSTEMS, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, 2. Zero hunger, Forest floor, biology, Ecology, business.industry, Biogeochemistry, FRAGMENTED LANDSCAPE, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, SOILS, Roe deer, Agriculture, CAPREOLUS-CAPREOLUS, Secondary forest, Environmental science, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, business
Abstract: International audience; Most forests in Europe are patchily distributed within the agricultural landscape. Therefore, forest biogeochemistry in Europe cannot be understood without considering the connectivity of nutrient cycles between forest patches and fertilized cropland. In this paper, we quantified the role of roe deer, the most widespread wild ungulate in Europe, as a vector of nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilized fields to forest patches, in a typical agricultural landscape of southwestern Europe. We derived a model of nutrient transfer from a data set on deer density, landscape-use by individual deer, and nutrient content in feces. The model shows that the magnitude of nutrient transfer is highly sensitive to the proportion of forest patches within the landscape, and to the way deer use the landscape to feed and defecate. Hence, the magnitude of nutrient transfer varies substantially across the landscape. Locally, deer may significantly fertilize the forest, transferring the equivalent of almost 20% of the atmospheric deposition of nitrogen, and the equivalent of 0.13% of the total stock of phosphorus from cropland to forest patches each year. These inputs may markedly influence the biogeochemistry of forests in the long run, and the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio available to trees and forest plants. These results highlight the significant, but, heterogeneous, role of wild ungulates in forest biogeochemistry across Europe.
Published: 2012

36. Condition-dependent natal dispersal in a large herbivore: heavier animals show a greater propensity to disperse and travel further

Author: Bruno Lourtet, Richard Bon, Nicolas Morellet, A. J. Mark Hewison, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Lucie Debeffe, Bruno Cargnelutti, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Male, habitat heterogeneity, GPS, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Population Dynamics, 01 natural sciences, SEXUAL SELECTION, BELDINGS GROUND-SQUIRRELS, roe deer, ungulates, HABITAT SELECTION, TERRITORIAL UNGULATE, education.field_of_study, biology, Ecology, FRAGMENTED LANDSCAPE, Spatial heterogeneity, Female, France, Seasons, Population, WHITE-TAILED DEER, Context (language use), Metapopulation, Environment, 010603 evolutionary biology, HOME-RANGE, Capreolus, Sex Factors, Animals, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Herbivore, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Deer, Body Weight, DEER CAPREOLUS-CAPREOLUS, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, BODY-MASS, body mass, EUROPEAN ROE DEER, Geographic Information Systems, Biological dispersal, Animal Science and Zoology, Philopatry, condition-dependent dispersal, Animal Distribution, dispersal distance
Abstract: International audience; 1. Natal dispersal is defined as the movement between the natal range and the site of first breeding and is one of the most important processes in population dynamics. The choice an individual makes between dispersal and philopatry may be condition dependent, influenced by either phenotypic attributes and/or environmental factors. 2. Interindividual variability in dispersal tactics has profound consequences for population dynamics, particularly with respect to metapopulation maintenance. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying this variability is thus of primary interest. 3. We investigated the ranging behaviour of 60 juvenile European roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, monitored with GPS collars for 1 year prior to their first reproduction, from 2003 to 2010 in South-West France. Dispersal occurs across a spatial continuum so that dividing individuals into two categories (dispersers vs. philopatric) may lead to information loss. Therefore, to investigate condition-dependent dispersal more accurately, we developed an individual-based measure of dispersal distance, which took into account interindividual variation in ranging behaviour. We assessed the influence of body mass, the degree of habitat heterogeneity and sex on dispersal initiation date, dispersal propensity and distance. 4. The overall population dispersal rate was 0.34, with a mean +/- SD linear distance between natal and post-dispersal home ranges of 12.3 +/- 10.5 km. Dispersal distances followed a classical leptokurtic distribution. We found no sex bias in either dispersal rate or distance. Forest animals dispersed less than those living in more heterogeneous habitats. Heavier individuals dispersed with a higher probability, earlier and further than lighter individuals. Our individual-based standardised dispersal distance increased linearly with body mass, with some suggestion of a body mass threshold of 14 kg under which no individual dispersed. 5. Natal dispersal in roe deer was thus dependent on both phenotypic attributes and environmental context. Our results suggest that population connectivity can be altered by a change in average body condition and is likely higher in the rich and heterogeneous habitats typical of modern day agricultural landscapes.
Published: 2012

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

Author: Nicolas Morellet, Jean-Marc Angibault, Stéphane Aulagnier, Tanguy Daufresne, Joël Merlet, Bruno Cargnelutti, Bruno Lourtet, Hélène Verheyden, A. J. Mark Hewison, Frial Abbas, Ecosystèmes Forestiers et Paysages, Centre national du machinisme agricole, du génie rural, des eaux et forêts (CEMAGREF), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Syrian Ministry of Higher Education, and French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Subjects: Male, 0106 biological sciences, DEER, Foraging, Population, WHITE-TAILED DEER, Environment, Generalist and specialist species, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, WINTER BODY-MASS, Capreolus, Nutriment, biology.animal, SIKA-DEER, Animals, Herbivory, Mast (botany), HABITAT SELECTION, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Roe deer, 2. Zero hunger, Herbivore, education.field_of_study, FEMALE ROE, biology, Agricultural intensification, Ecology, DEER CAPREOLUS-CAPREOLUS, Plants, FOREST FRAGMENTATION, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, Gastrointestinal Contents, Diet, HOME-RANGE SIZE, 010601 ecology, Habitat, SURVIVAL, Female, France, Seasons, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, RESPONSES
Abstract: International audience; 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.
Published: 2011

38. Age-specific variation in male breeding success of a territorial ungulate species, the european roe deer

Author: Petter Kjellander, Olof Liberg, Nicolas Morellet, Daniel Delorme, A. J. Mark Hewison, Cécile Vanpé, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Department of Ecology, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de Recherches Appliquées sur les Cervidés- Sanglier, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)-Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Ungulate, senescence, media_common.quotation_subject, animal diseases, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Biology, Territoriality, capreolus capreolus, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, microsatellites, 03 medical and health sciences, Capreolus, biology.animal, territoriality, Genetics, ungulate, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 030304 developmental biology, Nature and Landscape Conservation, media_common, 0303 health sciences, Ecology, Reproductive success, biology.organism_classification, Antler, paternity analyses, faune sauvage, Roe deer, Variation (linguistics), reproductive success, Animal Science and Zoology, Reproduction, age of 1st breeding, Demography
Abstract: We investigated age-specific variation in male yearly breeding success (YBS) using genetic estimates obtained from 2 populations of a territorial ungulate, the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). YBS in both populations was markedly age-structured, with 3 distinct stages, supporting the dome-shaped pattern of variation commonly reported for age-dependent variation in life-history traits of ungulates. YBS was low at 2 years of age, peaked at 3–8 years of age, and tended to decline afterwards (senescence). Most males successfully reproduced for the 1st time at 3 years of age, which is well after their physiological maturity. The few successful young males (i.e., 2 year olds) were likely fast-growing individuals that could successfully hold a territory. The high variance in YBS and antler size for old males at Bogesund, Sweden, suggests that only some males of this age class are able to maintain large antlers and, hence, retain their territories.
Published: 2009

39. Access to mates in a territorial ungulate is determined by the size of a male's territory, but not by is habitat quality

Author: Michel Goulard, Olof Liberg, A. J. Mark Hewison, Petter Kjellander, Nicolas Morellet, Cécile Vanpé, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Dynamiques Forestières dans l'Espace Rural (DYNAFOR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse [ENSAT]-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management, the private foundations of ‘Oscar och Lilli Lamm stiftelser’, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse (ENSAT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)
Subjects: Male, 0106 biological sciences, Ungulate, RESOURCES, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Antlers, Territoriality, TERRITORY QUALITY, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Population density, Sexual Behavior, Animal, Capreolus, biology.animal, REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS, Animals, Body Size, MATING TACTICS, Polygyny, Ecosystem, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Population Density, UNGULATES, biology, Reproductive success, Ecology, Deer, Reproduction, biology.organism_classification, Antler, 010601 ecology, Roe deer, Phenotype, Female, Animal Science and Zoology, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Demography
Abstract: International audience; 1- Territoriality is commonly associated with resource defence polygyny, where males are expected to gain access to females by anticipating how resources will influence female distribution and competing for resource-rich sites to establish their zone of dominance. 2-We tested this hypothesis in European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) by simultaneously assessing the influence of resources on female distribution and the influence of female distribution on male distribution and breeding success using paternity analyses. 3-Females did not fully distribute themselves among male territories in relation to resources. As a result, relative female abundance in a male's territory depended on territory size, but not on its habitat quality. In turn, relative female abundance in a male's territory determined, at least partially, his breeding success. 4-Interestingly, male territory size, and hence access to females, was partly determined by male body mass (all males) and by residual antler size (subadults only). The latter result suggests that large antlers may be important to young males for establishing their first territory, which is then usually retained for all subsequent reproductive seasons. 5-To conclude, although territoriality of male roe deer has certainly evolved as a tactic for ensuring access to mates, our results suggest that it does not really conform to a conventional resource defence polygyny strategy, as males seem to gain no obvious benefit from defending a territory in an area of high habitat quality in terms of enhanced access to mates. 6-This may explain the stability of male territories between years, suggesting that male territoriality conforms to an 'always stay' and 'low risk–low gain' mating strategy in roe deer.
Published: 2009

40. The effect of capture on ranging behaviour and activity of the european roe deer Capreolus capreolus

Author: Jean-Marc Angibault, Bruno Lourtet, Nicolas Morellet, Mark Hewison, Bruno Cargnelutti, Héélèène Verheyden, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, shelter, space use, Home range, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], home range, Zoology, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, capreolus capreolus, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, stress, Capreolus, biology.animal, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, roe deer, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Nature and Landscape Conservation, disturbance, biology, Ecology, 05 social sciences, telemetry, Space use, Ranging, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, Study Characteristics, Roe deer, Habitat, capture and handling effects
Abstract: Locating and monitoring animals using tracking devices is a method commonly used for many taxa to study characteristics such as home-range size, habitat selection, movement patterns and other aspects of ranging behaviour. Fitting such devices requires the capture and handling of the study organism and researchers must then assume that a monitored animal behaves in a 'normal' way. We investigated whether the capture and handling of roe deer Capreolus capreolus induced behavioural alterations. In particular, we expected that the roe deer would exhibit a 'seeking a refuge and waiting before returning' strategy immediately after release, taking shelter far from the capture scene, in closed habitat, and exhibiting a reduced activity level. We evaluated the effect of capture and handling on 112 roe deer equipped with GPS collars, during a period of 50 days after release. We compared the first 10 days after release with the subsequent days for the following behavioural parameters: distance to the barycentre of their GPS fixes, presence in forest habitat, distance to the nearest forest patch, distance to a source of human disturbance, and activity level. We found pronounced differences in terms of spatial behaviour, habitat use and overall activity level between the two periods in GPS monitored roe deer. We also found differences in terms of spatial displacement between the sexes, with females responding less than males, and among age classes, with yearlings responding most and fawns least, to the capture and handling event. Finally, spatial displacement of roe deer increased with openness of the habitat due, in part, to the scarcity of available shelter in open areas. We conclude that the roe deer exhibited a strategy consisting of seeking a refuge and waiting before returning after capture, handling and fitting of a collar, with displacement towards a refuge habitat, in or near woodland, avoidance of sources of human disturbance and reduced activity levels. From a practical point of view, we recommend removing data during the first days of monitoring as behavioural alterations due to capture and handling may be pronounced.
Published: 2009

41. Hunting increases vigilance levels in roe deer and modifies feeding site selection

Author: Stéphane Aulagnier, Sarah Benhaiem, A. J. Mark Hewison, Marion Delon, Bruno Lourtet, Hélène Verheyden, Bruno Cargnelutti, Nicolas Morellet, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Ecosystèmes Forestiers et Paysages, and Centre national du machinisme agricole, du génie rural, des eaux et forêts (CEMAGREF)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, FEEDING BEHAVIOUR, Ungulate, ANTIPREDATOR BEHAVIOUR, genetic structures, Foraging, Zoology, Trade-off, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Predation, ROE DEER, Hunting season, Capreolus, biology.animal, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, UNGULATE, biology, LANDSCAPE, Ecology, 05 social sciences, digestive, oral, and skin physiology, ECOLOGY OF FEAR, social sciences, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, FORAGING, Roe deer, Vigilance (behavioural ecology), TRADE-OFF, [SDE]Environmental Sciences, Animal Science and Zoology, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, human activities
Abstract: International audience; The mortality risk from hunting/predation should increase animals' vigilance and modify their selection of feeding sites. This risk may thus be costly if vigilance interferes with feeding and/or if animals select poorer but safer feeding sites. We observed the vigilance behaviour of roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, feeding in a fragmented landscape during and outside the hunting season and compared food availability and local landscape features at these feeding sites with random paired sites. Roe deer spent more time vigilant during the hunting season than outside it. During the hunting season, vigilance decreased as the woodland extent within an 800 m radius increased, but this was not the case outside the hunting season. Vigilance decreased with increasing distance to houses, both during and outside the hunting season. When food is abundant, interference with feeding may be low because animals can simultaneously process food (chewing) and be vigilant. During the hunting season, the total time spent vigilant while chewing increased with increasing food abundance to a lesser extent than outside the hunting season, suggesting a higher level of costly exclusive vigilance during the hunting season. Outside the hunting season animals selected feeding sites that provided more food, but during the hunting season, as risk (proximity to houses) was positively correlated with food availability, animals no longer selected feeding sites on the basis of food availability. Taken together, our results indicate that roe deer trade off risk avoidance for food availability in hunted populations.
Published: 2008

42. Ranging behaviour and excursions of female roe deer during the rut

Author: A. J. M. Hewison, E. Richard, Jean-Marc Angibault, Cécile Vanpé, Nicolas Morellet, Bruno Cargnelutti, UR 0035 CEFS Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage., Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Delmotte, Stéphane, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), and Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Male, [SDV.OT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], Rut, Home range, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], home range, spatial behaviour, Motor Activity, capreolus capreolus, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Behavioral Neuroscience, Capreolus, Homing Behavior, biology.animal, Animals, search intensity, Body Weights and Measures, roe deer, biology, Behavior, Animal, Ecology, [SDV.OT] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], gps, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Deer, General Medicine, biology.organism_classification, faune sauvage, Roe deer, Mate choice, Harassment, Animal Science and Zoology, Female, France, Seasons, Demography
Abstract: Radiotracking of two roe deer Capreolus capreolus (1 female, 1 male) in a Mediterranean habitat (Matorrals) with a detailed analysis of the vegetation showed that within their annual home range the deers selected particular habitat types, according to the season. The northern slope was preferred by both animals. Comparatively to female, male had a larger annual home range (150 ha vs. 130 ha), composed of more widely scattered sites of preferred use in more seasonal vs variable habitat types. Habitat selection in different seasons was affected by several factors: i) in all seasons, abundance of Rubus ulmifolius and Rosa ssp., ii) strong winds, especially in winter, that caused the male to move to southern slope, iii) disturbance by hunting dogs in autumn that forced deers into one or two refuge zones, iv) aspect of deer biology, such as territory marking by the male and giving birth by the female, which modified not only behaviour but also use of space. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that, during the rutting period, female roe deer may undertake short excursions, outside of their normal home range, possibly to mate with a reproductive partner. To address this question, we analysed the ranging behaviour of 27 female roe deer Capreolus capreolus, equipped with GPS collars, inhabiting a fragmented landscape in France. We compared female movements during the rutting period with a non-rutting period over two summers using a recently published approach. Search intensity and home range size were significantly greater during the rutting period. The difference in home range size between the two periods was significantly greater in 2006 compared to 2005 and in open compared to closed habitat. We were not able to identify any influence of body mass on the difference in ranging behaviour between the two periods. Visual analysis of movement trajectories for 11 females revealed that 5 (45%) performed an excursion for a duration of a few hours to several days. We speculatively suggest that female rut excursions provide an opportunity for active mate choice in roe deer, where males are territorial, although we cannot rule out the alternative explanation that these movements are a means to avoid male harassment.
Published: 2008

43. Using radio-tracking and direct observation to estimate roe deer Capreolus capreolus density in a fragmented landscape: A pilot study

Author: Aurélie Coulon, Bruno Cargnelutti, Hélène Verheyden, Jean-Marc Angibault, Emmannuel Serrano, A. J. Mark Hewison, Jean-Luc Rames, Nicolas Morellet, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Subjects: capture-mark-recapture, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Population, edge effects, Woodland, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, capreolus capreolus, Capreolus, biology.animal, roe deer, ungulates, woodland fragmentation, Sample area, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Nature and Landscape Conservation, education.field_of_study, density, biology, Ecology, Direct observation, Forestry, 15. Life on land, Census, biology.organism_classification, Roe deer, Radio tracking, Geography
Abstract: In this pilot study, we estimate roe deer Capreolus capreolus density in a fragmented landscape, using radio-tracking and direct observation in a Petersen- Lincoln framework with the joint hypergeometric maximum likelihood estimator. We used radio-tracking to obtain a direct count of the number of marked animals potentially observable in a given sample area, thus avoiding edge effects. We then carried out a coordinated observation survey, including drive beating, to ascertain the proportion of marked roe deer in the population sampled and thus generate a population estimate. Surveys were repeated three times in four sample blocks within the fragmented landscape, and estimates were compared to a sample block of a central forest in the same area. In general, roe deer are difficult to observe and census, but our experimental set-up in the fragmented landscape enabled us to observe on average 75% of marked animals present in a given survey (compared to 21.5% in the central forest). The variability in capture probability between individuals was low as three quarters of all marked individuals were observed in all, or all but one, of the surveys. Density estimates were largely similar across the sample blocks of the fragmented landscape (4.0-7.9 deer/100 ha), but lower than in the central forest (34.3 deer/100 ha). The variability of daily population estimates was quite low and similar in the fragmented landscape (CV of 25.9%) and the central forest (CV of 25.3%). Taking availability of woodland into account, the density in the fragmented landscape was as high, or higher, than in the central forest, reaching an exceptional 145.3 deer/100 ha of woodland in one survey area.
Published: 2007

44. Hind foot length: an indicator for monitoring roe deer populations at a landscape scale

Author: Guy Van Laere, A. J. Mark Hewison, Nicolas Morellet, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Karine Saint-Hilaire, Alain Baïsse, Carole Toïgo, Audrey Zannèse, ProdInra, Migration, Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Fédération Départementale des Chasseurs du Tarn, Partenaires INRAE, Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Fédération régionale des chasseurs de Midi-Pyrénées, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage (ONCFS), Université de Lyon, CNERA Cervides Sanglier, and ONCFS
Subjects: Ungulate, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Population, Wildlife, Population density, ROE DEER, DENSITE DE LA POPULATION, Capreolus, BODY SIZE, biology.animal, HIND FOOT LENGTH, Wildlife management, education, Nature and Landscape Conservation, education.field_of_study, BIOLOGIE DES POPULATIONS, biology, Ecology, POPULATION MONITORING, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT, Fishery, Roe deer, LINEAR MODELS, [SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio], Geography, ECOLOGICAL INDICATOR, Habitat, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, ECOLOGIE
Abstract: International audience; Wildlife managers frequently use estimates of population densities to guide ungulate management. Because it is nearly impossible to obtain accurate counts, these estimates are based on indices. Thus, managers continue to seek new index methods that could help them better monitor and manage ungulate populations. In this paper we examine the usefulness of hind foot length as an ecological indicator of density dependence for monitoring roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) populations. We used the hind feet of all roe deer shot over an entire province for 13 years that were collected by wildlife managers from the Tarn Hunter Federation (France) to conduct this research. Information on the sex, date, and shooting locality were recorded by hunters, and animal age was determined by wildlife managers. We divided the province into 3 biogeographical regions and investigated the relationship between hind foot length of roe deer fawns, spring and summer climate (temperature and precipitation), and an index of deer density (number of shot roe deer per square kilometer) by region using linear models. Hind foot length differed between sexes and between regions. In 2 out of 3 regions, we observed a negative relationship between hind foot length and our index of roe deer density. Further, hind foot length was lower when springs (but not summers) were cold or wet. We interpreted these trends in relation to changes in population density and habitat structure. We concluded that hind foot length is a useful indicator for assessing the density-dependent relationship between roe deer populations and their environment and for monitoring population trends.
Published: 2006

45. How does environmental variation influence body mass, body size, and body condition? Roe deer as a case study

Author: Carole Toïgo, Guy Van Laere, Mark Hewison, Nicolas Morellet, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage (ONCFS), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), and Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, [SDV.OT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, Body size, BODY MASS, medicine.disease_cause, Body weight, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Population density, ROE DEER, CONDITION ENVIRONNEMENTALE, biology.animal, medicine, GAUSSEN INDEX, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, BIOLOGIE DES POPULATIONS, biology, Ecology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Environmental factor, Environmental variation, Roe deer, POPULATION DENSITY, PHENOTYPIC QUALITY, Body condition, ECOLOGIE, [SDV.MHEP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology
Abstract: International audience; We tested the influence of population density and of drought intensity (measured as the Gaussen Index in spring and summer of the year of birth) on winter body mass, hind foot length, and body condition of roe deer fawns. Body mass decreased with increasing density and increased with increasing Gaussen Index in summer, in a similar way for both males and females. Hind foot length of males showed the same response. On the other hand, hind foot length of females decreased with increasing density only after dry summers, hence when environmental conditions were very harsh. Body condition was affected neither by density nor by drought intensity. Our results indicate that body mass and size are much better indicators of phenotypic quality than body condition in roe deer. The sex-specific responses of body size to environmental conditions could correspond to a differential allocation in favour of daughters by heavier than average roe deer mothers.
Published: 2006

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

Author: Eric J. Petit, Jean-Marc Angibault, Aurélie Coulon, Stéphane Aulagnier, A. J. M. Hewison, Maxime Galan, Nicolas Morellet, Jean-François Cosson, Bruno Cargnelutti, institut de recherches sur les grands mammifères, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Ethologie, éVolution, Ecologie (EVE), Ethologie animale et humaine (EthoS), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Unité comportement et écologie de la faune sauvage, Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), and Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Male, Genotype, FLUX DE GENE, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Population, Population Dynamics, Woodland, Environment, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Gene flow, 03 medical and health sciences, Sex Factors, Gene Frequency, CONNECTIVITY, DISPERSAL, biology.animal, Genetics, GENE FLOW, Animals, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 030304 developmental biology, Isolation by distance, 0303 health sciences, education.field_of_study, Habitat fragmentation, BIOLOGIE DES POPULATIONS, biology, Geography, Models, Genetic, Ecology, Deer, ISOLATION BY DISTANCE, 15. Life on land, Roe deer, Genetics, Population, HABITAT FRAGMENTATION, [SDE]Environmental Sciences, Biological dispersal, Female, France, Landscape connectivity, Microsatellite Repeats
Abstract: International audience; 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.
Published: 2004

47. L'indice de consommation : un nouvel outil qui utilise la pression d'abroutissement comme indicateur de suivis des populations de cervidés

Author: Nicolas Morellet, Champely, S., Gaillard, J. -M, Ballon, P., Boscardin, Y., Irstea Publications, Migration, Écosystèmes forestiers et paysages (UR EFNO), Centre national du machinisme agricole, du génie rural, des eaux et forêts (CEMAGREF), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon, Ecosyst Forestiers & Paysages, Département des Sports, Centre de Recherche et d'Innovation sur le Sport (EA647) (CRIS), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon, Biodémographie évolutive, Département écologie évolutive [LBBE], Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), and Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (Inria)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: [SDE] Environmental Sciences, CEMAGREF, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Bayesian statistics, browse-deer interaction, browsing index, [SDE]Environmental Sciences, Capreolus capreolus, winter feeding, browsing pressure, roe deer, EFNO, France, monitoring population
Abstract: Usual counts of deer populations generally show low reliability, especially at the high-density levels deer have recently reached in most parts of Europe. Since 1990, researchers and managers have looked for index methods to replace counts. Monitoring vegetation changes over time in response to deer browsing could be useful for managers to index deer abundance. We assessed the feasibility of using Aldous-derived vegetation surveys to monitor the population-habitat interaction over time. We first developed an original statistical procedure to define a reliable measure of deer browsing. Then we applied our browsing index to a case study involving a roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population that was monitored intensively over 18 years and increased 5-fold in size. Our browsing index closely tracked the roe deer population size, the species-specific browsing rates differed widely, and bramble (Rubus sp.) could be reliably used to assess total browsing pressure of roe deer. Because it is an easy tool to use and involves much lower costs than traditional counts, our browsing index can be viewed as an efficient and reliable indicator of ecological change according to deer population status., Les méthodes de dénombrement des populations de cervidés ont une faible précision spécialement aux niveaux élevés de densité atteints dans beaucoup d'endroits en Europe. Depuis 1990, les chercheurs et gestionnaires ont cherché à développer des méthodes indiciaires à la place des comptages. Le suivi des modifications de la végétation dans le temps en réponse à l'abroutissement des cervidés peut s'avérer utile pour les gestionnaires chargés de suivre l'abondance de leurs populations de chevreuils. Nous avons examiné la possibilité d'utiliser des suivis de la végétation basés sur la méthode d'Aldous pour suivre dans le temps les interactions entre les populations et leur habitat. Dans un premier temps nous avons développé un procédé original pour définir un outil de mesure de l'abroutissement fiable et robuste au plan statistique. Ensuite nous avons testé cet indice au cas d'une population de chevreuils suivie intensément depuis 18 ans et qui s'est multipliée par 5 au cours de cette période. Notre indice de consommation suit étroitement les fluctuations des niveaux de populations de chevreuils. La ronce (Rubus sp.) est un bon indicateur de la pression totale d'abroutissement du chevreuil. Notre indice peut être considéré comme un outil de suivi des populations de chevreuils reflétant de façon fiable les modifications de l'utilisation de la végétation et qui de plus s'avère d'un emploi facile et rapide à mettre en oeuvre.
Published: 2001

48. Etude de l'hétérogénéité spatiale de l'utilisation des ressources forestières hivernales par les cervidés

Author: Benoı̂t Guibert, Nicolas Morellet, Ecosystèmes Forestiers et Paysages, Centre national du machinisme agricole, du génie rural, des eaux et forêts (CEMAGREF), Direction Technique et Commerciale, Département Forêt et Environnement, Office National des Forêts (ONF), Irstea Publications, Migration, and Écosystèmes forestiers et paysages (UR EFNO)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, [SDE] Environmental Sciences, CEMAGREF, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Spatial distribution, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Capreolus, biology.animal, CEVENNES, Wildlife management, EFNO, Nature and Landscape Conservation, 2. Zero hunger, LOZERE, biology, Ecology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Forestry, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, Spatial heterogeneity, Fagaceae, Roe deer, Geography, Forest resource, [SDE]Environmental Sciences, ONF, Woody plant
Abstract: Monitoring red deer (Cervus elaphus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) populations is a key aspect of wildlife management in Europe, so the utilization of resources must be considered. However, the spatial distribution of resources used has often been overlooked. We studied spatial heterogeneity of winter forest resources used by deer and applied an indirect method to evaluate the browsing pressure of these cervids in a forest of the Cévennes National Park (Lozère, France). We analyzed the pattern of browsing by principal component analysis (PCA) and graphical display. We demonstrated that heather (Calluna vulgaris), bilberry (Vaccinium sp.) and beech (Fagus sylvatica), which figured in more than 50% of the browsing observed, were unevenly consumed in the study area. Moreover, the deer consumed more beech outside high beech forest. Our methodology provides a helpful tool to monitor browse-ungulate interaction by taking into account the availability of key browse resources., Améliorer la gestion des populations de cerfs et de chevreuils en Europe est devenue une question d'actualité. Cependant, la distribution spatiale de l'utilisation des ressources alimentaires a été souvent ignorée. Nous avons étudié l'hétérogénéité spatiale de l'utilisation par les cervidés de la nourriture hivernale disponible en évaluant la pression moyenne d'abroutissement dans une forêt située dans le Parc National des Cévennes (Lozère, France). Nous avons analysé la distribution de l'utilisation des espèces par une analyse en composantes principales (ACP) et cartographié l'information. Il a été montré que la callune (Calluna vulgaris), la myrtille (Vaccinium myrtillus) et le hêtre (Fagus sylvatica), représentant plus de 50 % de l'abroutissement observé, étaient consommés de façon hétérogène sur la zone d'étude. Ainsi le hêtre par exemple était beaucoup plus consommé en dehors de la zone de hêtraie pure. Notre approche fournit un outil précieux pour étudier les interactions entre la végétation et son utilisation en tenant compte de la disponibilité des ressources.
Published: 1999

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