Understanding the degree of spatial fidelity of individuals within a species increases our ability to manage appropriately. Elk (Cervus elaphus) is a highly managed species in the Intermountain West, but there is little research evaluating summer home range fidelity of individual elk. We evaluated fidelity of 72 adult female elk to individual summer-fall home ranges in the White River study area in northwestern Colorado during two consecutive summers. Based on individual kernel-estimated utilization distributions, we used (1) the Volume of Intersection (VI) statistic and (2) interannual distances between centers of mass to compare summer range overlap and distribution. We also examined the role of landcover in summer habitat selection by elk from three distinct perspectives: landscape, individual, and philopatric. While many previous habitat studies included landscape analysis, few incorporate individual analysis and none contain a philopatric assessment, to our knowledge. We found adult female elk in the White River Study area exhibit fidelity to individual home ranges. VI values indicated that 93% of the elk showed some home range overlap, with a median value of 0.42 (SE = 0.02, n = 72). Between-year center-of-mass distances ranged from 183 m to 34,170 m (x = 3819, SE = 619, n = 72), while within-year maximum distances between location points ranged from 4,320 m to 31,680 m (x = 13,958, SE = 628, n = 72). Our landcover results indicated elk can be characterized as both generalists and specialists. While elk occurred across a very diverse landscape, we found a preference for Aspen-Mixed Conifer, Aspen, and Dry-Mesic Spruce-Fir landcover types, and a general avoidance of Agriculture, Sagebrush Steppe, Subalpine Meadow, and Grassland. We also found a high degree of similarity in landcover composition between years for individual elk. Elk home range fidelity could impact habitat management, specifically with respect to browsing and successful aspen (Populus tremuloides) regeneration. Incorporation of the philopatric perspective into future elk behavior and habitat selection studies could make results more rigorous and expand understanding of landscape-level results.

Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt die Fortführung eines Projektes dar, in dem kausale Zusammenhänge zwischen Umweltfaktoren und dem Auftreten von Winterneuschälschäden an Fichte durch Rotwild im Harz und im Solling untersucht werden sollten. Ergänzt um die Analyse und detaillierte Darstellung der Datengrundlage der beiden Untersuchungsgebiete bedient sich diese Arbeit zunächst einfacher statistischer Tests zur Quantifizierung der während drei Inventurjahren mittels Klumpenstichprobe ermittelten Schälschäden. Hierbei werden die Werte mit Jagdstrecken- und Forsteinrichtungsdaten sowie Geländeparametern univariat assoziiert und die jeweiligen Chancenverhältnisse der Parameterklassen ausgewiesen. Im Anschluss werden die potentiellen Einflussfaktoren dann mittels binärer logistischer Regressionen sowie durch generalisierte lineare Modelle auf ihren Effektwert als erklärende Variable in multivariaten Modellen hin untersucht. Für die Durchführung dieser Untersuchung werden zu Beginn entsprechende Arbeitshypothesen aufgestellt. Die Berechnung der Chancenverhältnisse zeigt einen starken Zusammenhang zwischen vorangegangener Schäle und dem Auftreten neuer Winterschäle am Stichprobenpunkt. Ebenso lassen sich erhöhte Jagdstreckenergebnisse mit vermehrter Neuschäle assoziieren. Während junge Bestände häufiger Schälschäden aufweisen als ältere Bestände, lassen sich in Bezug auf die untersuchten Geländeausprägungen kaum eindeutige Aussagen treffen. Die Ergebnisse der Regressionsmodelle variieren in ihrem Niveau der Modellanpassung und des Erklärungspotentials und bleiben hinsichtlich ihrer Aussagekraft im Solling gegenüber dem Harz zurück. Je nach Inventurjahr und Gebiet werden unterschiedliche Variablen als Effektparameter ausgewiesenen. Zudem widersprechen sie einander zum Teil in ihrer Effektrichtung. Auch das Vorhandensein von Altschälvorkommen wird nicht in allen Modellen als erklärende Variable hinzugezogen. Die generalisierten linearen Modelle im Harz weisen für die reliefbasierten Parameter wiederkehrende Effekte. Ungeachtet der variierenden Effektstärke bleibt deren Ausprägung über die gesamte Untersuchungsreihe hinweg gleich. So lassen sich mit zunehmender Hangneigung eine Erhöhung und in Abhängigkeit von der Hangrichtung zumindest Unterschiede des Schälrisikos feststellen. Während das Schälrisiko mit zunehmender Exponiertheit des Stichprobenpunktes im Gelände sinkt, weisen Standorte mit einem höheren Strahlungspotential im Januar auch höhere Schälschädigungsraten auf. Die in dieser Arbeit erlangten Ergebnisse korrespondieren zum Teil mit den Erfahrungen anderer Autoren, zeigen jedoch auch Unterschiede zu deren Ergebnissen. Die widersprüchlichen Effektwerte der eigenen Untersuchungen lassen dabei grundsätzliche Zweifel an der Zuverlässigkeit der durch multivariate Modelle ausgewiesenen kausalen Zusammenhänge aufkommen. Neben einem geeigneten Stichprobendesign werden insbesondere auch eine zielgerichtete Parameterauswahl und -erhebung als entscheidende Faktoren für die spätere statistische Analyse hervorgehoben. Als Voraussetzung für die Schaffung eindeutig interpretierbarer Ergebnisse wird nachfolgenden Arbeiten von der Verschneidung ursprünglich nicht für die Untersuchung bestimmter Daten abgeraten und stattdessen eine studienabhängige Erhebung empfohlen.

Šio darbo tikslas buvo išstudijuoti elninių žvėrių (briedžių, tauriųjų elnių ir europinių stirnų) gausumą 2009-2010 m. žiemojimo periodu Kuršėnų urėdijos miškuose ir palyginti skirtingų miškų gautus rezultatus. Tyrimai atlikti 18 miškų, naudojant McCain netiesioginę elninių žvėrių apskaitą pagal jų paliekamus ekskrementus bei Aldous medžių pažeidimo metodą. Pagal atliktus tyrimus, vidutinis elninių žvėrių tankumas Kuršėnų urėdijos miškuose 2009-2010 m. žiemojimo periodu buvo 14, 7 individų tūkstančiui hektarų. Briedžių tankumas tirtame regione buvo du kartus didesnis, lyginant su vidutiniu briedžių tankumu visoje Lietuvos teritorijoje, tauriųjų elnių – labai panašus, o stirnų buvo dvigubai mažesnis. Taigi, tirtuose miškuose yra gausu stambiųjų elninių, tačiau jie konkuruoja su stirnomis. Vidutinis briedžių ir tauriųjų elnių tankumas tirtuose miškuose atitinka ekologinį ir ūkiškai leistiną elninių žvėrių gausumą Lietuvos miškams, o stirnų yra du kartus mažesnis, tačiau, atsižvelgiant į mitybinę konkurenciją, taurusis elnias laikomas pagrindine elninių žvėrių rūšimi tirtoje vietovėje, tad pagrindinis dėmesys turėtų būti skiriamas jo populiacijų gausinimui. Elniniai žvėrys pagal mitybos specializaciją renkasi skirtingus biotopus. Didžiausias briedžių gausumas nustatytas krūmynuose, tauriųjų elnių – pievose, o europinių stirnų – dirbamų laukų biotopuose. Vidutinis dendrofloros panaudojimo pašarams intensyvumas Kuršėnų urėdijos miškuose buvo 18,5 %, bet netgi didžiausi pažeidimai... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of this study was to find out the density of cervids during wintering period in Kušėnai forests and to compare gathered data with density in different forest. The research have been conducted in 18 forests, using McCain indirect record by excrement and Aldous trees damage method. Studies have shown that the average density of cervids in surveyed areas is 14.7 individuals per thousand hectares. Moose density in this region is twice higher than average moose density in whole Lithuania, red deer – very similar, roe deer density is half lower. Therefore, explored forests is rich of large ungulate mammals, but they compete with roe deers. The average abundance of red deer and moose satisfies commercially and ecologicaly acceptable ones, also roe deer density is more than two times smaller, bur in aspect of the competition diet, red deer is considered to be the main cervid species in studied forests, so more attention should be paid to increase their population. Cervids by specificity of their species in different forests choose similar biotopes. The highest abundance of moose were in scrubs, red deer – in meadows, roe deer – in cultivated fields. The average of tree damage in stydy areas is 18.5 percent, but even the highest nutrient load does not exceed the recommended rate (30–40 %), so there is no danger to natural forest regeneration.

Endozoochory is an important part of plant-animal relationship. In model area of the Doupov Mountains large herbivore mammals, such as red deer, sika deer and wild boar, act as effective seed dispersers. Out of 282 dung samples 29 719 seedlings of 91 species emerged. The most common species was Urtica dioica (80 % of all seedlings). The amount of seeds in dung as well as species composition were highly dependent on dispersing animal, both showed strong seasonality and differences between two studied localities. Frequency of species in dung did not correspond to their frequency in vegetation suggesting strong preferences of herbivores as predators. However more research is needed to test this hypothesis. Given very high time demands for samples processing beforehand the emergence experiment, the influence of concentration by washing through on seedling emergence and species composition was tested. According to preliminary results more seedlings and species emerge from concentrated samples. However, concentration has no effect on emergence of U. dioica as the most common species. Concentration of samples by running water is recommended for faster emergence in greenhouse conditions. Preliminary results also suggest that the approximation of number of seedlings/species on weight of dry mass is not...

Hormonal aspects of antler growth regulation Erika Kužmová Abstract Deer antlers are the only mammalian organ that completely regenerates and therefore they became an object of rising interest as a potential model for bone growth and development. In recent years, it has been confirmed that annual regeneration of the antler is initiated from the stem cell niche localised in the pedicle periosteum. Antlers grow to the length at the tip. Only a little is known about endocrine stimulation of antler growth and some discrepancy has arisen between in vivo and in vitro studies over the decades. As the secondary sexual character, the antler cycle timing and growth are linked to seasonal levels of testosterone. Since the levels are at their minimum during the antler growth phase, according to many mainly in vitro studies, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) tends to be accepted as the "antler stimulating hormone". Since the conclusion about the role of IGF-1 was contradictory to previous opinions and also in contrast with our own experience, we aimed to verify the role of IGF-1 in vitro. Our ex- periments were based on existing in vivo studies demonstrating the importance of testosterone, even in its low levels, and on the hypothesis that testosterone should be the "antler stimulating hormone". We performed in vitro...

Information about large mammals in Turkey usually does not go further than species lists or annual counts of particular species such as the wild goat. Camera trapping is a very useful technique to overcome this deficiency by gathering information about species presence, numbers, habitat use and behavior. Hence, a one year long camera trap study was conducted to demonstrate the diversity, activity, distribution patterns, habitat preferences and interspecific interactions of medium and large mammals in a 148 km2 large pine woodland near Ankara. Brown bear (Ursus arctos), wolf (Canis lupus), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), golden jackal (Canis aureus), jungle cat (Felis chaus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), Eurasian badger (Meles meles), stone marten (Martes foina), red deer (Cervus elaphus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), brown hare (Lepus europaeus), Caucasian squirrel (Sciurus anomalus) and southern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus concolor) were the 13 mammal species captured during the study. Spatial segregation was observed among canid species indicating intraguild competition and competitive exclusion. Prey-predator interactions were documented at both spatial and temporal scales between wolves, deer and wild boars. Red deer showed seasonal and sex differences in activity patterns that appeared to be influenced by wolf predation risk. The presence of two felids unknown to the local people were revealed by camera trapping, showing the utility of this technique for such secretive and rare species. However, the low encounter rates for particular species such as lynx, brown bear and jungle cat indicated the importance of the length of study. Based on various evidence, resident adult population sizes were estimated for wolf (2-5), Eurasian lynx (2-4), brown bear (0-2) and jungle cat (2-3). The study showed that lynx can exist in high densities in a relatively small area when prey species are abundant. This study area hosted a rich mammal fauna in spite of human activities such as livestock grazing, logging and hunting. A relatively intact ecosystem, high altitudinal and habitat diversity, and a positive attitude of local people are believed to be the reasons of this observed high diversity.

Deux enquêtes épidémiologiques mises en place dans les forêts de Brotonne et de Mauny, en Normandie, ont montré que la tuberculose à Mycobacterium bovis était présente à des pourcentages de prévalence importants chez les cerfs élaphes (Cervus elaphus) et les sangliers (Sus scrofa). La souche de M. bovis isolée est la même que celle qui circule dans les élevages bovins voisins depuis au moins 1995. Les sensibilité, spécificité et valeurs prédictives de l'examen nécropsique en tant qu'outil diagnostique indiquent qu'il peut être utilisé pour suivre la maladie dans les populations de cerfs élaphes où la tuberculose bovine est bien installée. La différence du cadre lésionnel entre les cerfs et les sangliers suggère que le cerf joue un rôle plus important dans la dissémination de l'infection. Un modèle déterministe montre qu'une stratégie de lutte fondée sur l'éradication des cerfs élaphes et sur un ramassage exhaustif de viscères permettrait d'obtenir une disparition de l'infection.

This thesis deals with a migration and other movements of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in the Šumava mountains. I analysed several parameters of migrations such as distance, pace, and timing of activity/movements in both sexes. I also analysed annual and daily activity rhythms and changes of daily activity during migrations and other movements.

The biological and socioeconomic feasibility of restoring elk (Cervus elaphus) to Virginia was assessed. Biological feasibility was determined by evaluating habitat suitability for elk while considering potential impacts of elk on existing fauna and flora in Virginia. Suitability was assessed by creating a habitat suitability index (HSI) model that measured the availability and accessibility of open foraging areas and forested cover areas, the availability of permanent water sources, and the degree of fragmentation by roads. Eight areas were identified as potential elk habitat: 1 in Southwest Virginia, 4 in the Shenandoah Mountains (Shenandoah, Highland, Big Meadows, Peaks of Otter), and 3 in the Southern Piedmont (Danville, Brookneal, Rehobeth). The highest potentials for supporting an elk herd were found in the Highland and Big Meadows study areas, medium biological feasibilities were found in the Southwest, Shenandoah, and Brookneal study areas, and low biological feasibilities were found in the Peaks of Otter, Danville, and Rehobeth study areas. A restored elk herd could negatively affect indigenous fauna and flora by changing the structure and diversity of existing forested ecosystems, but impacts can be minimized by maintaining elk populations at or below cultural carrying capacity. The introduction of diseases during restoration and possible transmission of those diseases from elk to humans, livestock, and other wildlife also are concerns, but these issues can be addressed by following a risk minimization protocol. Socioeconomic feasibility was assessed with a statewide mail survey of Virginia residents, 4 regional stakeholder workshops, an analysis of economic costs and benefits associated with elk restoration, and an assessment of the risks of elk-human conflicts in each of the 8 study areas. Overall, most (61%) respondents agreed that elk restoration would be good for Virginia. However, the low response rate (30%) and low confidence among respondents (49%) in their knowledge about elk indicated that most residents do not have the interest and/or necessary information to form a definitive opinion. Residents believe that the greatest benefits of restoration would be the value-based and indirect ecological benefits, such as returning an extirpated species to its native range, whereas the greatest perceived costs were the economic impacts to property, crop depredation, and public safety hazards. In contrast, local stakeholder representatives identified economic returns from increased tourism due to the presence of elk and the creation of new recreational opportunities as the most anticipated benefits; important concerns were the potential for property damage by elk, the potential impacts on local ecosystems, and the costs of implementing and administering an elk restoration program and subsequent elk management. Proposed resolutions for these issues varied by region. Representatives from the Southwest and northern Shenandoah Mountain (Shenandoah and Big Meadows study site) Regions preferred not to restore elk, whereas those from the southern Shenandoah Mountain (Highland and Peaks of Otter study site) and the Southern Piedmont Regions preferred to start out small with a carefully controlled and monitored "experimental" population. Economic benefits of elk restoration, as determined through analysis of data from other eastern states currently managing elk populations, are associated with tourism and the revenues brought to the community during elk hunting seasons, whereas economic costs are associated with crop damage, elk-vehicle collisions, and the administrative costs of managing an elk herd. Although the initial costs of transporting, releasing, and monitoring a founder population likely will exceed immediate benefits, once an elk population is established, benefits likely will exceed costs. However, an equitable distribution of costs and benefits must be devised so that the individuals who bear the costs are afforded a comparable or greater set of benefits. Risk of landowner elk-conflicts was examined by comparing human population densities and growth rates, percent private versus public land, and agricultural trends across the 8 study areas. Highest risk for elk-human conflicts was identified in the Southern Piedmont Region and in the Shenandoah study site, risk was moderate in the Southwest, Big Meadows, and Peaks of Otter study sites, and risk in the Highland study site was low. Overall, the Highland study site had the highest feasibility for elk restoration of all study areas examined; the Big Meadows and Southwest study sites both demonstrated moderate feasibility. Restoration in these areas is possible so long as management objectives remain flexible, plans are made in advance to address potential concerns, and the public is involved in the decision-making processes both before and after elk are released. / Master of Science

No / Red deer stags produce an androgen-dependent mane of long hairs only in the breeding season; in the non-breeding season, when circulating androgen levels are low, the neck hair resembles the rest of the coat. This study was designed to determine whether androgen receptors are present in deer follicles throughout the year or only in the mane (neck) follicles when circulating testosterone levels are high in the breeding season. Although androgens regulate much human hair growth the mechanisms are not well understood; they are believed to act on the hair follicle epithelium via the mesenchyme-derived dermal papilla. The location of androgen receptors in the follicle was investigated by immunohistochemistry and androgen binding was measured biochemically in cultured dermal papilla cells derived from mane and flank follicles during the breeding season and from neck follicles during the non-breeding season. Immunohistochemistry of frozen skin sections using a polyclonal antibody to the androgen receptor localised nuclear staining only in the dermal papilla cells of mane follicles. Saturation analysis assays of 14 primary dermal papilla cell lines using [(3)H]-mibolerone demonstrated high-affinity, low-capacity androgen receptors were present only in mane (breeding season neck) cells; competition studies with other steroids confirmed the specificity of the receptors. Androgen receptors were not detectable in cells from either the breeding season flank nor the non-breeding season neck follicles. The unusual biological model offered by red deer of androgen-dependent hair being produced on the neck in the breeding, but not the non-breeding season, has allowed confirmation that androgen receptors are required in follicle dermal papilla cells for an androgen response; this concurs with previous human studies. In addition, the absence of receptors in the non-breeding season follicles demonstrates that receptors are not expressed unless the follicle is responding to androgens. Androgen receptors may be induced in mane follicles by seasonal changes in circulating hormone(s).