Dataset Information

Alien or Native? How to Distinguish Feces of Fallow and Roe Deer Using Central Poland as a Case Study.

ABSTRACT: The method of pellet group count is commonly used for estimating population trends of ungulates; however, in the case of species of similar body size, the misidentification rate can be high. Our aim was to find a metrical threshold between pellet groups of roe deer (native species) and fallow deer (alien species) to be applied during fieldwork. The study was conducted in spring 2020 and 2021 in central Poland (lowlands) in areas were only roe or fallow deer occurred. We measured the number of feces in the group, the length and width of five randomly selected feces from each pellet group and the length/width ratio. Roe deer pellets were shorter, narrower and less elongated than those of fallow deer; yet, length was found to be the best discriminant. The most accurate threshold was 1.2 cm, i.e., 12-15% of pellets were over/below this value. The mean number of pellets in a group was lower for roe deer (39.6, SE = 1.6) than for fallow deer (64.5, SE = 1.5). A value of 50-52 pellets best differentiated between the two species. To conclude, combining these two measurements could be an objective method to distinguish between pellet groups of the two species.

SUBMITTER: Gryz J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8833327 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Alien or Native? How to Distinguish Feces of Fallow and Roe Deer Using Central Poland as a Case Study.

Gryz Jakub J Krauze-Gryz Dagny D Klich Daniel D

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI 20220125 3

The method of pellet group count is commonly used for estimating population trends of ungulates; however, in the case of species of similar body size, the misidentification rate can be high. Our aim was to find a metrical threshold between pellet groups of roe deer (native species) and fallow deer (alien species) to be applied during fieldwork. The study was conducted in spring 2020 and 2021 in central Poland (lowlands) in areas were only roe or fallow deer occurred. We measured the number of fe ...[more]

PMID: 35158614

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Project description:Abstract Selective browsing by deer on young trees may impede the management goal of increasing forest resilience against climate change and other disturbances. Deer population density is often considered the main driver of browsing impacts on young trees, however, a range of other variables such as food availability also affect this relationship. In this study, we use browsing survey data from 135 research plots to explore patterns of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) browsing pressure on woody plants in mountainous forests in central Europe. We fitted species‐specific generalised linear mixed models for eight woody taxa, assessing the potential effects of understory characteristics, roe deer abundance and lying deadwood on browsing intensity. Our study reveals conspecific and associational effects for woody taxa that are intermediately browsed by roe deer. Selective browsing pressure was mediated by preferences of plants, in that, browsing of strongly preferred woody taxa as for example mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia) and of least preferred woody taxa, for example Norway spruce (Picea abies) was not affected by the surrounding understory vegetation, while browsing pressure on intermediately browsed species like for example silver fir (Abies alba) was affected by understory characteristics. Contrary to our expectations, roe deer abundance was only positively associated with browsing pressure on silver fir and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), while all other plants were unaffected by deer abundance. Finally, we did not find an influence of lying deadwood volume on the browsing pressure on any woody‐plant species. Overall, our results indicate that patterns in browsing preference and intensity are species‐specific processes and are partly affected by the surrounding understory vegetation. Current management strategies that aim to reduce browsing pressure through culling may be inefficient as they do not address other drivers of browsing pressure. However, managers also need to consider the characteristics of the local understory vegetation in addition to deer abundance and design species‐specific plans to reduce browsing on woody plant taxa. We assessed the associational effects of characteristics of the herb layer cover on the browsing pressure of roe deer on woody plants. We found associational effects for woody taxa that were of intermediate preference to deer, while roe deer abundance only affected browsing pressure on few woody plants. Overall, associational effects of understory characteristics appear to be highly species‐specific and context‐dependent.

Dataset Information

Alien or Native? How to Distinguish Feces of Fallow and Roe Deer Using Central Poland as a Case Study.

Publications

Alien or Native? How to Distinguish Feces of Fallow and Roe Deer Using Central Poland as a Case Study.

Similar Datasets

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