White-tailed deer winter feeding strategy in area shared with other deer species
2008
Homolka, M.,Akademie Ved, Brno (Czech Republic). Ustav Biologie Obratlovcu | Heroldova, M.,Akademie Ved, Brno (Czech Republic). Ustav Biologie Obratlovcu | Bartos, L.,Vyzkumny Ustav Zivocisne Vyroby, Prague (Czech Republic)
We analyzed the white-tailed deer winter diet and diets of other deer species (Capreolus capreolus, Cervus elaphus, Dama dama) to get information on their feeding strategy during this critical period of the year. We focused primarily on the consumption of conifer needles, a generally accepted indicator of starvation, and on bramble leaves as an indicator of high-quality items. We tested the following hypotheses: (1) if the environment has a limited food supply, the poorest competitors of the four deer species will have the highest proportion of conifer needles in the diet; (2) the deer will overlap in trophic niches and will share the limited nutritious resource (bramble). The diets were investigated by microscopic analysis of plant remains in the faeces. The volume of bramble decreased in the diet of all four species from November to March. The content of conifer needles in the diet of white-tailed and roe deer was negatively correlated with bramble and in spring made up 90% of their diet volume. On the other hand, conifer needles in the diet of red and fallow deer occurred only in January with snow cover. Fallow and red deer started the compensation of winter starvation at least one month earlier than both roe and white-tailed deer. The high content of conifers in white-tailed deer diet in the second half of the winter fully support the presumption about low nutritional food supply. It can lead to a markedly impaired condition in white-tailed and roe deer. The four species share a limited good quality food supply (bramble) when food is scarce, suggesting that interspecific competition may occur.
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