Abstract
The behaviour of active male roe deerCapreolus capreolus Linnaeus, 1758 was studied in a wild population on Storfosna island (Norway), during the pre-territorial and territorial seasons (February–August) of 1994. Observed behaviours were grouped in seven categories (mating, aggression, display, marking, vigilance, moving and maintenance), and the proportion of time spent in each behaviour by three age classes (yearlings, subadults and adults) was compared. Time spent in each behaviour varied significantly between months for all male age classes. From February to August, time spent in maintenance decreased, while time spent in vigilance increased. The time spent in mating increased both in adult and subadults but did not vary significantly for yearlings throughout the months. When comparing age classes within a month, there were no significant differences in time spent in each behaviour. Surprisingly, adult territorial males did not invest significantly more time in mating, with respect to yearlings and subadults. This may be consistent with the oligogynous mating system of roe deer, in which the reproductive success is divided amongst several years and their territoriality, which could be a tactic to reduce the competition for mating.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altmann J. 1974. Observational study of behavior — sampling methods. Behaviour 49: 227–267.
Andersen R. and Linnell J. D. C. 1997. Variation in maternal investment in a small cervid; the effect of cohort, sex, litter size and time of birth in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) fawns. Oecologia 109: 74–79.
Apollonio M., Festa-Bianchet M. and Mari F. 1989. Correlates of copulatory success in a fallow deer lek. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 25: 89–97.
Bowyer R. T. 1981. Activity, movement, and distribution of Roosevelt elk during rut. Journal of Mammalogy 62: 574–582.
Bromley P. T. 1991. Manifestations of social dominance in pronghorn bucks. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 29: 147–164.
Carranza J., Fernandez-Llario P. and Gomendio M. 1996. Correlates of territoriality in rutting red deer. Ethology 102: 793–805.
Clutton-Brock T. H., Albon S. D., Gibson R. M. and Guinness F. E. 1979. The logical stag: adaptive aspects of fighting in red deer (Cervus elaphus L.). Animal Behaviour 27: 211–225.
Clutton-Brock T. H., Guinness F. E. and Albon S. D. 1982. Red deer. Behaviour and Ecology of Two Sexes. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh: 1–400.
Clutton-Brock T.H. 1988. Reproductive success. University of Chicago Press, London: 1–548.
Clutton-Brock T. H., Green D., Hiraiwa-Hasegawa M. and Albon S. D. 1988. Passing the buck: resource defense, lek breeding and mate choice in fallow deer. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 23: 281–296.
Coltman D. W., Festa-Bianchet M., Jorgenson J. T. and Strobeck C. T. 2002. Age-dependent sexual selection in bighorn rams. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 269: 165–172.
Ellenberg H. 1978. The population ecology of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L. Cervidae) in central Europe. Spixiana 2: 5–211.
Flint A. P. F. and Krzywiński A. 1997. Sex differences in time budgeting in roe deer during the rut. Acta Theriologica 42: 313–320.
Haley M. P., Deutsc C. J. and Le Boeuf B. J. 1994. Size, dominance and copulatory success in male northern elephant seals,Mirounga angustrurostris. Animal Behaviour 48: 1249–1260.
Hewison A. J. M., Vincent J. P., Joachim J., Boisaubert B., Angibault J. M. and Cibien C. 1998. Modelling the effects of woodland fragmentation on roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) distribution in agricultural landscapes. Gibier Faune Sauvage 1998: 323–329.
Jarman M. V. 1979. Impala social behaviour: territory, hierarchy, mating, and the use of space. Advances in Ethology 21: 1–92
Johansson A. and Liberg O. 1996. Functional aspects of marking behaviour by male roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Journal of Mammalogy 77: 558–567.
Komers P. E., Messier F. and Gates C. C. 1994. Plasticity of reproductive behaviour in wood bison bulls: when subadults are given a chance. Ethology Ecology Evolution 6: 313–330.
Leuthold W. 1978. On social organisation and behaviour of the gerenuk Litocranius walleri (Brooke 1878). Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 47: 194–216.
Liberg O., Johansson A., Andersen R. and Linnell J. D. C. 1998. Mating system, mating tactics and the function of male territoriality in roe deer. [In: The European roe deer: the biology of success. R. Andersen, P. Duncan and J. D. C. Linnell, eds]. Scandinavian University Press, Oslo: 221–256.
Linnell J. D. C. and Andersen R. 1995. Site tenacity in roe deer: short-term effects of logging. Wildlife Society Bullettin 23: 31–35.
Linnell J. D. C. and Andersen R. 1998a. Territorial fidelity and tenure in roe deer bucks. Acta Theriologica 43: 67–75.
Linnell J. D. C. and Andersen R. 1998b. Timing and synchrony of birth in a hider species, the roe deerCapreolus capreolus. Journal of Zoology, London 244: 497–504.
Maher C. R. and Byers J. A. 1987. Age-related changes in reproductive effort of male bison. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 21: 91–96.
Maher C. R. 1991. Activity budgets and mating system of male pronghorn antelope at Sheldon-National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada. Journal of Mammalogy 72: 739–744.
Maher C. R. 1994. Pronghorn male spatial organization — population differences in degree of non-territoriality. Canadian Journal of Zoology-Revue Canadienne De Zoologie 72: 455–464.
Miquelle D. G. 1990. Why don’t moose eat during the rut. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 27: 145–151.
Moore N. P., Kelly P. F., Cahill J. P. and Hayden T. J. 1995. Mating strategies and mating success of fallow (Dama dama) bucks in a non-lekking population. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 36: 91–100.
Owen-Smith N. 1993. Age, size, dominance and reproduction among male kudus: mating enhancement by attrition of rivals. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 32: 177–184.
Pélabon C. and Komers P. E. 1997. Time-budget variations in relation to density-dependent social interactions in female and yearling male fallow deer during the rut. Canadian Journal of Zoology 75: 971–977.
Pélabon P., Komers P. E., Birgersson B. and Ekvall K. 1999. Social interactions of yearling male fallow deer during rut. Ethology 105: 247–258.
Rice W. R. 1989. Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43: 223–225.
Roff D. A. 1992. The evolution of life histories. Chapman and Hall, London: 1–535.
San José C., Lovari S. and Ferrari N. 1996. Temporal evolution of vigilance in roe deer. Behavioural Processes 38: 155–159.
SPSS for Windows 11.0 2000. SPSS Inc., USA.
Stearns S. 1992. The evolution of life histories. Oxford University Press, New York: 1–262.
Strandgaard H. 1972. The roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) at Kalr and the factors regulating its size. Danish Review of Game Biology 7: 1–205.
Turner D. C. 1979. An analysis of time budgeting by roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in an agricultural area. Behaviour 71: 246–290.
Turner D. C. 1980. A multi-variate analysis of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population activity. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 87: 991–1002.
Wahlström L. K. 1994. The significance of male-male aggression for yearling dispersion in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 35: 409–412.
Walther F. R., Mungall E. C. and Grau G. A. 1983. Gazelles and their relatives — a study in territorial behaviour. Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, New Jersey: 1–239.
Yoccoz N. G., Mysterud A., Langvatn R. and Stenseth N. C. 2002. Age-and density-dependent reproductive effort in male red deer. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 269: 1523–1528.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Associate Editor was Magdalena Niedzialkowska.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Melis, C., Hoem, S.A., Linnell, J.D.C. et al. Age-specific reproductive behaviours in male roe deerCapreolus capreolus . Acta Theriol 50, 445–452 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03192638
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03192638