Sven Herzog

Home range size estimates of red deer in Germany: environmental, individual and methodological correlates

Home range size (HRS) is the fundamental measure of space use by animals. Despite the importance of the home range concept, there is no consensus on how to estimate the HRS of animals. Assessments of the performance of commonly applied HRS estimators have largely been based on simulated data or on location data of few sample individuals occupying one study area. To empirically evaluate the impact of supplementary feeding, habitat composition, red deer sex, and estimation method (minimum convex polygon (MCP), kernel density estimator (KDE) and α-local convex hull (α-LoCoH)) on HRS, we analysed the data of 183 annual red deer home ranges using a mixed modelling approach. Red deer HRSs were smallest in areas with substantial supplementary feeding, intermediate in areas with closed forest cover but no supplementary feeding, and largest in fragmented landscapes where supplementary feeding rarely occurs. Consistently, male HRSs were larger than female HRSs. While MCP- and KDE-HRS estimates were roughly similar, estimates from the α-LoCoH method were substantially smaller than those of MCP and KDE. Analyses of 342 seasonal HRS largely reflected patterns of annual HRS. However, seasonal HRS differed between seasons and red deer sex. In areas with no or little feeding, red deer adjusted HRS seasonally, whereas red deer supplied with supplementary food during winter did not alter their HRS seasonally. Our study suggests that supplementary feeding and habitat configuration strongly affect the spatial ecology of red deer; this might have considerable sanitary and ecological implications. We suggest that sex differences in annual space use extent are proportional along a resource gradient but are mediated by seasons. Finally, method-related variation in space use studies of animals needs to be considered more cautiously.

Mycobacterial Infections in Free-living Cervids in Germany (2002–2006)

We examined 1,022 free-living roe deer, red deer, and fallow deer for mycobacteria in Germany, 2002–2006. Retropharyngeal lymph nodes and other tissues were processed for culture and isolates were identified with the use of polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing. Mycobacteria were found in 18.3% of deer, with Mycobacterium avium in 14.8%. Other atypical mycobacteria were detected in 5.3%. Members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex were not detected.

Haemoglobin variants within the genus Cervus

Abstract Haemoglobins from a total of 168 red deer (Cervus elaphus), five Japanese Sika deer (Cervus nippon nippon), 49 hybrids between red deer and Sika deer (Cervus elaphus × Cervus nippon) as well as 32 fallow deer (Cervus dama) have been studied by isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gels. One single band showing no variation was found in all animals. All fallow deer exhibited an additional band. With respect to previous investigations on haemoglobin polymorphism, we must assume a high degree of genetic differentiation between European red deer populations at least for one haemoglobin gene locus. Gene duplication in the distant past or persistence of foetal haemoglobin are alternative hypotheses explaining the haemoglobin pattern of fallow deer.

Fructification and genetic structures of Fagus sylvatica mixed stands in upper regions of the Harz mountains

Whereas beech (Fagus sylvatica) forms in most parts of its natural range more or less dense pure or mixed stands, this is not the case in mountainous regions. At the upper limit of its natural range, beech normally forms scattered stands with only few individuals per hectar.