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The successful management of large herbivores requires the monitoring of a set of indicators of ecological change (IEC) describing animal performance, herbivore impact on habitat and relative animal abundance. Roaring counts during the rut have often been used to assess the abundance of red deer Cervus elaphus populations, but a formal evaluation of this method is still lacking. In this paper, we examined the usefulness of the number of red deer recorded during roaring counts for managing red deer populations. Using standardised spotlight counts applied for the monitoring of red deer at La Petite Pierre, France, as a reference method, we found that roaring counts did not correlate with spotlight counts. Moreover, we did not find any evidence that roaring counts decreased with increasing number of male and female red deer harvested in the reserve during the previous hunting season. We thus conclude that managers should not rely on roaring counts for managing red deer populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examined the factors which affect beech Fagus sylvatica bark stripping by red deer Cervus elaphus in a mixed forest. Researchers conducted the study in the Vosges Mountains, France, where beech Fagus sylvatica bark is heavily stripped by red deer Cervus elaphus. They investigated whether the seasonal variation in the frequency of beech bark stripping by red deer was linked with bark nutritive value or bark mechanical properties. They found that bark composition was the same between stripped and non-stripped trees spring and summer. They concluded that beech bark stripping by red deer in the Vosges Mountains may not be due to nutritional needs, but it could help deer in improving digestion efficiency.

1. Timing and synchrony of reproduction are regarded as crucially important factors for fitness in seasonal environments. Natural selection has probably favoured temperate and arctic female herbivores that match reproduction with onset of plant growth in spring. However, breeding synchrony may also be affected by variation in phenotypic quality of females in a population, because females in poor body condition have been found to delay ovulation and subsequent calving. 2. We compared breeding phenology, i.e. the timing and synchrony of rutting (roaring, sexual aggregation) and calving of red deer ( Cervus elaphus L.) in France (latitude: 49°N) and Norway (latitude: 63°N). We hypothesized (H1) that calving and rutting were later at the site with latest onset of plant growth. 3. We further quantified overall environmental predictability as the sum of annual constancy and seasonality and tested three different (not mutually exclusive) hypotheses about breeding synchrony: (H2a) the population experiencing most seasonal plant phenology should show the highest breeding synchrony; (H2b) overall predictability of plant phenology should determine breeding synchrony; and (H2c) breeding should be more synchronized in the population with lowest female body weight variation within age classes because they ovulate more synchronously. 4. Calving and rutting, as well as onset of plant phenology, were later in Norway than in France, complying with the first hypothesis. Plant growth in spring was overall more predictable and also more seasonal in Norway than France. Hence we expected higher breeding synchrony in Norway than in France according to H2a and H2b. Variance in female body weight was slightly higher in France than in Norway, which should also cause more synchronized breeding in Norway than in France (H2c). Contrary to all predictions, variance in rutting and calving dates was around two times higher in Norway than in France. 5. We suggest two alternative explanations of breeding synchrony. A more variable topography in Norway can make optimal birth date more variable on a local scale than in France, thereby maintaining a higher genetic variance for calving date in Norwegian red deer. Further, population age structure may play a role, as ovulation varies according to female age. Clearly, processes of breeding synchrony are far more complex than previously realized. Journal of Animal Ecology (2005) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2005.00987.x [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The biometric and morphologic study of the Cervids remains from the Mid-Villafranchian deposit of Saint-Vallier (Drôme, France) was presented. Three Cervid taxa are recognized in the upper fossiliferous layer (LD3): “Cervus” philisi valliensis, C. ramosus medius and Eucladoceros ctenoides vireti. The first and the second are the most abundant species in the site. Their post-cranial bones are described and compared with some recent Cervids like Fallow Deer (genus Dama) and Red Deer (Cervus elaphus). The characters linking “C.” philisi with the recent Fallow Deer are recognized. If “C.” philisi and C. ramosus teeth and antlers are diagnostic, the post-cranial bones determination is less simple: the best character to determinate them is the size, but it is not always fruitful. I show that a combination of size, bone proportions and morphological characters allows us to discriminate the two species. The third taxon instead is larger and cannot be mistaken with the others. Two Cervid taxa are found in the lower fossiliferous layer (LD2): a large species and a small one. Morphologically and biometrically, they are very similar to Eucladoceros ctenoides vireti and C. ramosus medius from the upper layer, and they could belong to the same subspecies. The presence of a third species (?“Cervus” philisi) is probable but not sure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]