The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a short-acting antipsychotic (acepromazine) on the stress response to transport in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Twenty-one roe deer were submitted to a nine-hour road journey in order to reintroduce and restock this species into Catalonia (north-eastern Spain). The animals were divided into two groups: animals in the treatment group received an intramuscular injection of acepromazine (0.13 mg kg−1 in 0.5 ml; n = 9) while animals in the control group received the same volume of saline (n = 12). Clinical (heart rate and body temperature, measured during transport using remote devices), haematological, and biochemical indicators of stress were used to evaluate the effect of the antipsychotic. Heart rate increased during transportation, but no differences were found between groups. Body temperature decreased during transportation in both groups, but this reduction was faster in acepromazine-treated animals. Comparison of blood parameters before and after transport revealed significantly lower red blood cell counts and haemoglobin concentrations after transport in treated animals compared with control animals; a reduction in lymphocyte count, eosinophil count and serum creatinine levels over transport in treated animals; a decrease in serum potassium levels over transport in the control group; an increase in serum creatine kinase (CK), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities over transport in control animals; an increase in serum urea and chloride concentrations over transport in both groups; and finally, a decrease in serum glucose concentrations in both groups. These results demonstrate the suitability of acepromazine in transport operations in order to reduce the stress response and prevent its adverse effects in roe deer.

As a consequence of the toxicological lead characteristics, a reduction of its exposure should consider all sources. Game meat might contain elevated levels of lead due to the use of lead ammunition. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of acidic marination on the bioavailability of ammunition-derived lead in game meat (Roe deer), using the growing pig as an animal model. Furthermore, the study should provide evidence that the large-area scattering of lead particles leads to noticeable differences in the individual lead intake per game meat portion. Pigs of group A (n 7) received lead-shot game meat, which was cooked in water. Pigs of group B (n 7) received lead-shot game meat, which was first marinated (wine and vinegar) and then cooked. The lead content of both game meat preparations was equal with 0⋅77–0⋅79 mg Pb/portion. Pigs of group C (n 4) received lead-free game meat, which was also marinated and cooked. Additionally, lead acetate was administered intravenously to group D pigs (n 4). Blood samples were taken on elevated time points before and after game meat intake/i.v.-application. The acidic marination increased the bioavailability of orally ingested lead, resulting in significantly higher blood lead concentrations. The bioavailability of lead was 2⋅7 % when game meat was just cooked and 15 % when the meat was marinated before. The considerable variation of the individual blood lead concentrations suggests that an inhomogeneous distribution of ammunition-derived lead particles (in terms of size and number) causes individually non-comparable lead intakes from the consumption of game meat.

The mainstream forestry policy in many European countries is to convert coniferous plantations into (semi-natural) deciduous woodlands. However, woodlands are the main habitat for Ixodes ricinus ticks. Therefore, assessing to what extent tick abundance and infection with Borrelia spirochetes are affected by forest composition and structure is a prerequisite for effective prevention of Lyme borreliosis. We selected a total of 25 pine and oak stands, both with and without an abundant shrub layer, in northern Belgium and estimated tick abundance between April and October 2008–2010. Additionally, the presence of deer beds was used as an indicator of relative deer habitat use. Borrelia infections in questing nymphs were determined by polymerase chain reactions. The abundance of larvae, nymphs, and adults was higher in oak stands compared to pine stands and increased with increasing shrub cover, most likely due to differences in habitat use by the ticks' main hosts. Whereas tick abundance was markedly higher in structure-rich oak stands compared to homogeneous pine stands, the Borrelia infection rates in nymphs did not differ significantly. Our results indicate that conversion towards structure-rich deciduous forests might create more suitable tick habitats, but we were unable to detect an effect on the infection rate.

Data on 22 radio-collared adult female roe deer Capreolus capreolus in the Chizé forest were used to test whether their home-range size was influenced by resource availability and reproductive status. As roe deer females are income breeders and invest heavily in each reproductive attempt, they should be limited by energetic constraints. Thus it was expected that: (1) heavier females should have larger home ranges; (2) that home-range size should decrease with increasing vegetation biomass; (3) home-range size should increase with increasing reproductive effort (i.e. females with two fawns at heel should have larger home ranges than those with one fawn, which should have larger home range than females without fawns). To test these predictions, variation in spring–summer home-range size was studied in 2001 and 2002, using 95% kernel home-range estimation. Results showed that females do not adjust their home-range size in response to body mass or age. Home-range size increased with increasing reproductive success, but the magnitude of the change varied over the period of maternal care. Finally, although their home-range size decreased with increasing plant biomass (slope = −0.11, SE=0.065), female roe deer at Chizé did not fully compensate for declines in food availability by increasing home-range size.

Monitoring rare species of wild ungulates is critical for their conservation management. The Italian roe deer Capreolus capreolus italicus was recently confirmed to be a subspecies in Mediterranean habitats of central and southern Italy. We have monitored this subspecies at Castelporziano, near Rome, since 1988, and detected an abrupt population decline in 2001. We compared distance sampling surveys undertaken before and after the population crash to determine the ability of this method to detect variations in animal density and to investigate which factors may influence the precision of the estimates. We used radio tagged roe deer to evaluate the accuracy of our surveys, comparing distance sampling and mark-resight estimates at the same site, and studying the behavioural reaction of the animals to the presence of an observer. We found that before the crash distance sampling surveys attained a good precision but that the survey conditions influenced both precision and accuracy. Post-crash surveys were less precise, but the difference in density, before and after the crash was highly significant, indicating the potential of the method to quickly detect density variations and so to allow wildlife managers to react without delay to a crisis. The direct test of distance sampling assumptions showed that estimates were almost unbiased. We conclude that the methodology was successful for monitoring this population and that it may be used in other situations where ungulates are rare and efficient monitoring must be attained with restricted budgets.

We summarize the information on the diet of roe deer Capreolus capreolus found in 33 European studies. After giving a short overview of the differences between the existing studies, we compare the information for each season. We submit the information, summarized in a matrix of 83 cases on 10 food groups, to a detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and a two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN). We calculate weighted averages grouping the information by season, habitat, research method and their cross-products. The weighted averages are also used as input for a multivariate ratio analysis. Since the available food items dictate the possible diet composition we further investigate the influence of the habitat on the reported food selection. The influence of season on the diet composition is compared with the effect of the habitat, and other factors such as research method and geographical location of the study site. The review shows that there is relatively little seasonal variation in the diet composition, which is more closely correlated to the habitat than to the season.

Diets of red Cervus elaphus and roe Capreolus capreolus deer in Scottish plantation forests were assessed by botanical and chemical analyses of 144 rumen samples. Samples were taken for summer and winter from four forests with a range of deer densities and ratios. Red deer ate mainly grasses in summer, and a mixture of sedges, rushes, grasses and heaths (ericoid plants) in winter. Roe deer ate predominantly forbs (herbaceous plants other than graminoids) in summer, and a mixture of forbs, heaths and tree and shrub browse in winter. The two species ate significantly different quantities of forbs and grasses (P < 0.001). Both species ate more grasses and forbs in summer, and more heaths in winter (P < 0.05). There were few differences between forests for either red or roe deer in diet composition or its seasonal variation. Washed rumen contents of roe deer contained more nitrogen than did those of red deer (P < 0.05) in both seasons, and both species contained more nitrogen in summer than in winter (P < 0.05). Proportions of the main plant categories within rumens were compared with their abundance recorded in the ground flora. These comparisons showed roe deer to be highly selective, whilst red deer ate plants in proportions similar to their availability. Niche overlap increased and dietary niche breadths widened during the winter. The main overlap was for heaths Calluna vulgaris and Vaccinium myrtillus in winter. However, C. vulgaris is widespread and common and competition was considered to be more likely for forbs and possibly V. myrtillus: the use of some forb species by red deer in summer may limit their availability to roe deer in winter, when they remain an important dietary item. Consideration of the different digestive specializations of the two species suggested that any dietary competition is likely to affect roe deer more than red deer.

Timing of birth was determined for 292 roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) fawns belonging to 146 litters on an island in central Norway between 1991 and 1994, and for 33 fawns belonging to 19 litters from an inland site from 1995 to 1997. On the island site there was no significant variation between years in the mean date of birth, 22 May, nor was there any significant effect of dam age, fawn sex, or litter size. Individual does tended to give birth close to the same date in consecutive years. Mean birth date at the inland site was 5 June. The births showed a relatively high degree of synchrony with 80% occurring within 26 days and 24 days at the island and inland sites, respectively. Copulation dates were much more synchronized than birth dates on the island site. Gestation length averaged 301 days, although individuals varied by up to 26 days. When comparing published data from European populations, there appears to be extensive variation in timing of birth, while birth synchrony is very conservative. There appears to be little possible anti-predator benefit for roe deer in any pattern of birth synchrony. Because of their high post-natal investment and large litter size, we hypothesize that roe deer are constrained to give birth close to the peak of forage productivity.

Sarcocysts morphologically not distinguishable from Sarcocystis gracilis of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus, Cervidae) were found in the skeletal musculature of dwarf zebu and humpless cattle (Bos taurus, Bovidae). We contribute to the identification of this species by means of scanning electron microscopy. Special attention is paid to the species-specific cyst wall structure. Our findings confirm previous descriptions by light and transmission electron microscopy and support the peculiarity and uniqueness of the cyst wall type ‘gracilis’.