Two distinct patterns of spatial behaviour of female roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in a mountainous habitat

The home range dynamics of eleven roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) females were studied from 1995 to 1999 in the Foreste Casentinesi National Park, northern Apennines, Tuscany, Italy. The study area is mountainous with almost complete forest cover (95%) and snow usually falls from late October to April. Data were collected with radio-tracking techniques: the annual and bimonthly home range, the overlap percentages of the Kernel home range of consecutive periods and of the same period in different years, and the linear distance between centres of home ranges were calculated and analysed. The first analysis showed two spatial behaviours: stationary and roaming. Roaming females had larger home ranges than stationary ones, and this difference was particularly apparent during winter. Furthermore, different behavioural patterns were found within the roaming roe deer: (i) winter altitudinal migration outside the summer home range; (ii) summer long-distance migration towards birthing and mating areas. The birth period and snow cover during winter are the most important factors influencing female spatial behaviour in this roe deer population. Two distinct patterns of spatial behaviour of female roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in a mountainous habitat P. LAMBERTI 1, L. MAURI 2 and M. APOLLONIO 2,3 1 Dipartimento di Etologia, Ecologia, Evoluzione, Università di Pisa, Via Volta 6, 56126, Pisa, Italy 2 Dipartimento di Zoologia e Antropologia Biologica, Università di Sassari, Via Muroni 25, 07100 Sassari, Italy Received 1 July 2003, accepted 28 January 2004 The home range dynamics of eleven roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) females were studied from 1995 to 1999 in the Foreste Casentinesi National Park, northern Apennines, Tuscany, Italy. The study area is mountainous with almost complete forest cover (95%) and snow usually falls from late October to April. Data were collected with radio-tracking techniques: the annual and bimonthly home range, the overlap percentages of the Kernel home range of consecutive periods and of the same period in different years, and the linear distance between centres of home ranges were calculated and analysed. The first analysis showed two spatial behaviours: stationary and roaming. Roaming females had larger home ranges than stationary ones, and this difference was particularly apparent during winter. Furthermore, different behavioural patterns were found within the roaming roe deer: (i) winter altitudinal migration outside the summer home range; (ii) summer long-distance migration towards birthing and mating areas. The birth period and snow cover during winter are the most important factors influencing female spatial behaviour in this roe deer population.