Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus Home Range Size and Daily Distance in the Agricultural Landscape of East‐Central Poland in Relation to Natural and Anthropogenic Factors

ABSTRACT

Home range and daily distance traveled are the basic parameters of animal habitat utilization and emerge from complex interactions between animals and their environment. In this study, the home ranges, core areas, and daily distances traveled of 10 collared roe deer in east‐central Poland were analyzed. The mean home range size for all animals was 136.1 ha (minimum convex polygon of 95% of points), and 69 ha (95% kernel density estimation); the mean core area was 10.9 ha (50% kernel density estimation). Core areas were larger in males than in females and larger in the winter period than in the growing period. Home range size decreased with increasing forest cover and increased with the number of wind turbines. Core area size was influenced only by the sex of the animal and forest cover. Neither the size of the home range nor the size of the core area depended on road density or settlement cover. The relationship between home range size and sex, natural factors, including forest cover, and season, is consistent with previous studies. Mean daily distance traveled for all animals was 3.14 km, and was lower in the growing period than in winter, and in females than in males. The daily distance traveled also decreased with increasing forest cover. Our study indicated a new anthropogenic factor shaping roe deer's spatial behavior in agricultural landscapes (wind farms). We concluded that roe deer have probably adapted behaviorally to wind farms as a new landscape feature. They probably treat wind farms like human settlements, generally avoid them, and use habitats at an appropriate distance from the turbines. We cannot, however, exclude the occasional fleeing behavior of roe deer near turbines. Further research should include a more detailed assessment of the behavior of roe deer and other terrestrial mammal species under the influence of wind farms.