Abstract

Breeding dispersal can be of significant ecological and evolutionary importance. Yet, it is seldom considered in mammals. I present data on male red deer (Cervus elaphus) movements between sub-populations in southern Sweden during the rut. I investigated whether these movements could be breeding dispersal driven by mate competition. During the ruts of 1998-2009, I recorded 91 movements of males. The longest movement distance was 18.5 km. Dispersal was not restricted to yearlings or sub-adults, but also observed among adult stags. Of 91 movements observed, 7 were made by yearlings, 46 by sub-adults and 38 by adults. There was a significant move among yearlings and sub-adults towards areas with a higher ratio of females/adult males and towards areas with more females. The movements between rutting areas thereby seemed driven by sexual competition.

Keywords

Breeding dispersal; Deer management; Gene flow; Intra-sexual competition; Reproductive strategy

Published in

Journal of Ethology
2011, Volume: 29, number: 2, pages: 329-336
Publisher: SPRINGER TOKYO

SLU Authors

• Jarnemo, Anders

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-010-0262-9

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/46883