Site fidelity trumps disturbance: aerial shooting does not cause surviving fallow deer (Dama dama) to disperse

Andrew J. Bengsen; Sebastien Comte; Lee Parker; David M. Forsyth; Jordan O. Hampton

doi:10.1071/WR24098

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Next Contents Vol 51(9)

Site fidelity trumps disturbance: aerial shooting does not cause surviving fallow deer (Dama dama) to disperse

Andrew J. Bengsen

^A ^* , Sebastien Comte

^B ^C , Lee Parker ^A , David M. Forsyth

^B ^C and Jordan O. Hampton

^D

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, 4 Marsden Park Road, Calala, NSW 2340, Australia.

^B Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, 1447 Forest Road, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia.

^C Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

^D School of Veterinary Medicine and Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: andrew.bengsen@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Handling Editor: Lyn Hinds

Wildlife Research 51, WR24098 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR24098

Submitted: 7 June 2024 Accepted: 23 August 2024 Published: 16 September 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Aerial shooting is an important tool for managing the economic and environmental impacts of widespread wild fallow deer populations in eastern Australia and could be crucial for mounting an effective response to an emergency animal disease incursion. However, there is a concern that the disturbance caused by aerial shooting could cause infected animals to disperse, thereby transmitting pathogens to previously uninfected areas.

Aims

We sought to describe the nature and extent of spatial behavioural changes in fallow deer exposed to aerial shooting to: (1) assess the risk that aerial shooting poses to disease spread, and (2) better understand how aerial shooting can contribute to routine deer management programs.

Methods

We contrasted movement rates, activity range areas, and daily activity patterns of 48 GPS-collared fallow deer before, during and after exposure to aerial shooting at three sites in New South Wales.

Key results

No collared deer left its pre-shoot activity range area during shooting or within 30 days after shooting finished. Observed behaviour changes included increased daily and hourly distance travelled by female deer during and after shooting, increased activity range areas for female deer after shooting, and increased nocturnal activity in female and male deer during shooting. However, observed changes were minor, temporary, localised, and variable among sites.

Conclusions

Collared deer showed strong site fidelity despite repeated intense disturbance and substantial population reductions. We found no evidence to support concerns that aerial shooting poses a hazard of disease spread.

Implications

Aerial shooting should be retained as a key control tool for managing wild fallow deer populations in Australia, including for reducing disease host population densities in the event of an emergency animal disease incursion.

Keywords: antipredator behaviour, disease management, disturbance, helicopter, movement ecology, population control, predation risk, site fidelity.

References

Animal Health Australia (2023) ‘Operational manual: wild animal response strategy (version 5.0).’ (Australian Veterinary Emergency Plan (AUSVETPLAN): Canberra, Australia)

Bates D, Mächler M, Bolker B, Walker S (2015) Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software 67, 1-48.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bengsen AJ, Hampton JO, Comte S, Freney S, Forsyth DM (2021) Evaluation of helicopter net-gunning to capture wild fallow deer (Dama dama). Wildlife Research 48, 722-729.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bengsen AJ, Forsyth DM, Pople A, Brennan M, Amos M, Leeson M, Cox TE, Gray B, Orgill O, Hampton JO, Crittle T, Haebich K (2023) Effectiveness and costs of helicopter-based shooting of deer. Wildlife Research 50, 617-631.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Benhamou S (2011) Dynamic approach to space and habitat use based on biased random bridges. PLoS ONE 6, e14592.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Benhamou S, Cornélis D (2010) Incorporating movement behavior and barriers to improve kernel home range space use estimates. The Journal of Wildlife Management 74, 1353-1360.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bojarska K, Gerber N, Herzog S, Isselstein J, Meiβner M, Riesch F, Signer J, van Beeck Calkoen S, Zetsche M, Balkenhol N (2024) Red deer responses to drive hunts are related to habitat and landscape characteristics. The Journal of Wildlife Management 88, e22583.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bonnot NC, Couriot O, Berger A, Cagnacci F, Ciuti S, De Groeve JE, Gehr B, Heurich M, Kjellander P, Kröschel M, Morellet N, Sönnichsen L, Hewison AJM (2020) Fear of the dark? Contrasting impacts of humans versus lynx on diel activity of roe deer across Europe. Journal of Animal Ecology 89, 132-145.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Borkowski J, Pudełko M (2007) Forest habitat use and home-range size in radio-collared fallow deer. Annales Zoologici Fennici 44, 107-114.
| Google Scholar |

Brooks ME, Kristensen K, van Benthem KJ, Magnusson A, Berg CW, Nielsen A, Skaug HJ, Mächler M, Bolker BM (2017) glmmTMB balances speed and flexibility among packages for zero-inflated generalized linear mixed modeling. The R Journal 9, 378-400.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Brown JS (1999) Vigilance, patch use and habitat selection: foraging under predation risk. Evolutionary Ecology Research 1, 49-71.
| Google Scholar |

Buetre B, Wicks S, Kruger H, Millist N, Yainshet A, Garner G, Duncan A, Abdalla A, Trestrail C, Hatt M, Thompson L-J, Symes M (2013) ‘Potential socio-economic impacts of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Australia.’ (ABARES: Canberra, ACT, Australia)

Calenge C (2006) The package “adehabitat” for the R software: a tool for the analysis of space and habitat use by animals. Ecological Modelling 197, 516-519.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Childress MJ, Lung MA (2003) Predation risk, gender and the group size effect: does elk vigilance depend upon the behaviour of conspecifics? Animal Behaviour 66, 389-398.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ciuti S, Davini S, Luccarini S, Apollonio M (2003) Variation in home range size of female fallow deer inhabiting a sub-Mediterranean habitat. Revue d’Écologie 58, 381-395.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ciuti S, Muhly TB, Paton DG, McDevitt AD, Musiani M, Boyce MS (2012) Human selection of elk behavioural traits in a landscape of fear. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279, 4407-4416.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Comte S, Thomas E, Bengsen AJ, Bennett A, Davis NE, Brown D, Forsyth DM (2023) Cost-effectiveness of volunteer and contract ground-based shooting of sambar deer in Australia. Wildlife Research 50, 642-656.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Cox TE, Paine D, O’Dwyer-Hall E, Matthews R, Blumson T, Florance B, Fielder K, Tarran M, Korcz M, Wiebkin A, Hamnett PW, Bradshaw CJA, Page B (2023) Thermal aerial culling for the control of vertebrate pest populations. Scientific Reports 13, 10063.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Cripps JK, Pacioni C, Scroggie MP, Woolnough AP, Ramsey DSL (2019) Introduced deer and their potential role in disease transmission to livestock in Australia. Mammal Review 49, 60-77.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Davini S, Ciuti S, Luccarini S, Apollonio M (2004) Home range patterns of male fallow deer Dama dama in a sub-mediterranean habitat. Acta Theriologica 49, 393-404.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Davis NE, Bennett A, Forsyth DM, Bowman DMJS, Lefroy EC, Wood SW, Woolnough AP, West P, Hampton JO, Johnson CN (2016) A systematic review of the impacts and management of introduced deer (family Cervidae) in Australia. Wildlife Research 43, 515-532.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

de Boer HY, van Breukelen L, Hootsmans MJM, van Wieren SE (2004) Flight distance in roe deer Capreolus capreolus and fallow deer Dama dama as related to hunting and other factors. Wildlife Biology 10, 35-41.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Dyal JR, Miller KV, Cherry MJ, D’Angelo GJ (2022) White-tailed deer movement in response to helicopter surveys. Wildlife Society Bulletin 46, e1383.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Efford M, Warburton B, Spencer N (2000) Home-range changes by brushtail possums in response to control. Wildlife Research 27, 117-127.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

FAAST (2020) ‘The faast manual. Version 2.3 (August 2020).’ (National Parks & Wildlife Service, NSW Local Land Services and NSW Department of Primary Industries, on behalf of the NSW Government: Sydney, Australia)

Fisher KA, Stankowich T (2018) Antipredator strategies of striped skunks in response to cues of aerial and terrestrial predators. Animal Behaviour 143, 25-34.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Fisher A, Day M, Gill T, Roff A, Danaher T, Flood N (2016) Large-area, high-resolution tree cover mapping with multi-temporal SPOT5 imagery, New South Wales, Australia. Remote Sensing 8, 515.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Forrester TD, Casady DS, Wittmer HU (2015) Home sweet home: fitness consequences of site familiarity in female black-tailed deer. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 69, 603-612.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Forsyth DM, Ramsey DSL, Veltman CJ, Allen RB, Allen WJ, Barker RJ, Jacobson CL, Nicol SJ, Richardson SJ, Todd CR (2013) When deer must die: large uncertainty surrounds changes in deer abundance achieved by helicopter- and ground-based hunting in New Zealand forests. Wildlife Research 40, 447-458.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Forsyth DM, Pople A, Nugent G (2023a) Ecology, impacts and management of wild deer in Australia. Wildlife Research 50, i-vii.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Forsyth DM, Comte S, Bengsen AJ, Hampton JO, Pople A (2023b) ‘Glovebox guide to managing feral deer.’ (A PestSmart publication, Centre for Invasive Species Solutions: Canberra, Australia)

Gehr B, Bonnot NC, Heurich M, Cagnacci F, Ciuti S, Hewison AJM, Gaillard J-M, Ranc N, Premier J, Vogt K, Hofer E, Ryser A, Vimercati E, Keller L (2020) Stay home, stay safe – site familiarity reduces predation risk in a large herbivore in two contrasting study sites. Journal of Animal Ecology 89, 1329-1339.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Ham C, Donnelly CA, Astley KL, Jackson SYB, Woodroffe R (2019) Effect of culling on individual badger Meles meles behaviour: potential implications for bovine tuberculosis transmission. Journal of Applied Ecology 56, 2390-2399.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Hampton JO, Bengsen AJ, Pople A, Brennan M, Leeson M, Forsyth DM (2022) Animal welfare outcomes of helicopter-based shooting of deer in Australia. Wildlife Research 49, 264-273.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hone J (1990) Predator-prey theory and feral pig control, with emphasis on evaluation of shooting from a helicopter. Australian Wildlife Research 17, 123-130.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ikeda T, Takahashi H, Igota H, Matsuura Y, Azumaya M, Yoshida T, Kaji K (2019) Effects of culling intensity on diel and seasonal activity patterns of sika deer (Cervus nippon). Scientific Reports 9, 17205.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Kay SL, Fischer JW, Monaghan AJ, Beasley JC, Boughton R, Campbell TA, Cooper SM, Ditchkoff SS, Hartley SB, Kilgo JC, Wisely SM, Wyckoff AC, VerCauteren KC, Pepin KM (2017) Quantifying drivers of wild pig movement across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Movement Ecology 5, 14.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Kie JG (1999) Optimal foraging and risk of predation: effects on behavior and social structure in ungulates. Journal of Mammalogy 80, 1114-1129.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kreling SES, Gaynor KM, McInturff A, Calhoun KL, Brashares JS (2021) Site fidelity and behavioral plasticity regulate an ungulate’s response to extreme disturbance. Ecology and Evolution 11, 15683-15694.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Latham ADM, Cecilia Latham M, Herries D, Barron M, Cruz J, Anderson DP (2018) Assessing the efficacy of aerial culling of introduced wild deer in New Zealand with analytical decomposition of predation risk. Biological Invasions 20, 251-266.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Latham ADM, Davidson B, Warburton B, Yockney I, Hampton JO (2020) Efficacy and animal welfare impacts of novel capture methods for two species of invasive wild mammals in New Zealand. Animals 10, 44.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Lima SL, Bednekoff PA (1999) Temporal variation in danger drives antipredator behavior: the predation risk allocation hypothesis. The American Naturalist 153, 649-659.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Lima SL, Dill LM (1990) Behavioral decisions made under the risk of predation: a review and prospectus. Canadian Journal of Zoology 68, 619-640.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Lone K, Loe LE, Meisingset EL, Stamnes I, Mysterud A (2015) An adaptive behavioural response to hunting: surviving male red deer shift habitat at the onset of the hunting season. Animal Behaviour 102, 127-138.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Merrill JA, Cooch EG, Curtis PD (2006) Managing an overabundant deer population by sterilization: effects of immigration, stochasticity and the capture process. Journal of Wildlife Management 70, 268-277.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Metzgab LH (1967) An experimental comparison of screech owl predation on resident and transient white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus). Journal of Mammalogy 48, 387-391.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Mighell E, Ward MP (2021) African swine fever spread across Asia, 2018–2019. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 68, 2722-2732.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Mitchell WA, Lima SL (2002) Predator-prey shell games: large-scale movement and its implications for decision-making by prey. Oikos 99, 249-259.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Mulley RC (2023) Fallow deer (Dama dama). In ‘Strahan’s mammals of Australia’. 4th edn. (Eds AM Baker, IC Gynther) pp. 738–739. (Reed New Holland)

Mysterud A, Rauset GR, Van Moorter B, Andersen R, Strand O, Rivrud IM (2020) The last moves: the effect of hunting and culling on the risk of disease spread from a population of reindeer. Journal of Applied Ecology 57, 2509-2518.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Nugent G (1994) Home range size and its development for fallow deer in the Blue Mountains, New Zealand. Acta Theriologica 39, 159-175.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Nugent G, McShea WJ, Parkes J, Woodley S, Waithaka J, Moro J, Gutierrez R, Azorit C, Mendez Guerrero F, Flueck WT, Smith-Flueck JM (2011) Policies and management of overabundant deer (native or exotic) in protected areas. Animal Production Science 51, 384-389.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Pecorella I, Ferretti F, Sforzi A, Macchi E (2016) Effects of culling on vigilance behaviour and endogenous stress response of female fallow deer. Wildlife Research 43, 189-196.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Pulliam HR (1973) On the advantages of flocking. Journal of Theoretical Biology 38, 419-422.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

R Core Team (2023) ‘R: a language and environment for statistical computing.’ (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria)

Ramsey D, Spencer N, Caley P, Efford M, Hansen K, Lam M, Cooper D (2002) The effects of reducing population density on contact rates between brushtail possums: implications for transmission of bovine tuberculosis. Journal of Applied Ecology 39, 806-818.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Roberts G (1996) Why individual vigilance declines as group size increases. Animal Behaviour 51, 1077-1086.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Statham H, Statham M (1996) Movements of fallow deer (Dama dama) in tasmania and the effects of population sampling on dispersal. Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Kings Meadows, Tasmania.

Stewart DG, Gulsby WD, Ditchkoff SS, Collier BA (2022) Spatiotemporal patterns of male and female white-tailed deer on a hunted landscape. Ecology and Evolution 12, e9277.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Susila EB, Daulay RSD, Hidayati DN, Prasetyowati SRB, Wriningati , Andesfha E, Irianingsih SH, Dibia IN, Faisal , Supriyadi A, Yupiana Y, Hidayat MM, Zainuddin N, Wibawa H (2023) Detection and identification of foot-and-mouth disease O/ME-SA/Ind-2001 virus lineage, Indonesia, 2022. Journal of Applied Animal Research 51, 487-494.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Switzer PV (1993) Site fidelity in predictable and unpredictable habitats. Evolutionary Ecology 7, 533-555.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Tablado Z, Jenni L (2017) Determinants of uncertainty in wildlife responses to human disturbance. Biological Reviews 92, 216-233.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Taylor D, Katahira L (1988) Radio telemetry as an aid in eradicating remnant feral goats. Wildlife Society Bulletin 16, 297-299.
| Google Scholar |

Tracey JP, Fleming PJS (2007) Behavioural responses of feral goats (Capra hircus) to helicopters. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 108, 114-128.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Turner GF, Pitcher TJ (1986) Attack abatement: a model for group protection by combined avoidance and dilution. The American Naturalist 128, 228-240.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Williams SC, DeNicola AJ, Ortega IM (2008) Behavioral responses of white-tailed deer subjected to lethal management. Canadian Journal of Zoology 86, 1358-1366.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Wood SN (2011) Fast stable restricted maximum likelihood and marginal likelihood estimation of semiparametric generalized linear models. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B: Statistical Methodology 73, 3-36.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Zeileis A, Leisch F, Hornik K, Kleiber C (2002) strucchange: an R package for testing for structural change in linear regression models. Journal of Statistical Software 7, 1-38.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |