Sammendrag
We studied food preferences, patch and habitat selection of European
roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) by snow-tracking radio-tagged
individuals. To account for the possible biases patch/habitat selection
have on measures of food preferences, we adopted a new method that
compared diet choice with availability within each forage patch
successively, rather than to some home range or study area average.
There was no difference in food preference between males and females or
between day and night. When compared to random sites 50 m from feeding
site (patch scale), selection was random with regard to cover, but
feeding sites had a higher food availability index than random sites.
Roe deer selected feeding sites with more cover during cold weather,
whereas the food availability index had no effect at this scale
(habitat scale). Roe deer selected more open habitat and feeding sites
closer to human settlement at night and as snow depth increased. Female
roe deer tended to select more hidden foraging sites than did males.
Direct evidence of a trade-off was found between selection of food
availability and canopy cover/distance to human settlement, but not
between food availability and hiding cover.
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