Description
Due to rapid global land use change, large predators are recolonizing human-dominated landscapes. Managing the (perceived) risk created by both carnivores and humans requires novel behavioral adaptations in prey species such as deer. Therefore, we measured the spatial behavior, vigilance and foraging behavior of red deer in a recreational area where a wolf pack recently established. We installed wildlife camera’s across a gradient of wolf space use, close to (20 m) and further from (100 m) from hiking trails which are used by both humans and wolves. Additionally we measured recreation intensity and browsing on the vegetation to assess effects of humans and wolves on deer behavior and their browsing impact. Closer to trails, deer visited our plots less and for shorter time compared to further away from trails, yet only during the day. When trails were more intensely used for recreation, visitation frequency was lower, visit duration was shorter, and the proportion of time spent on browsing was lower. Yet we did not measure differences in browsing damage on the vegetation. In contrast, effects of wolf space-use on deer were much weaker and ambiguous. Our study indicates that deer react more strongly and predictably to recreation than to novel wolf presence.| Period | 20-Sept-2022 |
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| Event title | Netherlands Annual Ecology Meeting 2022 |
| Event type | Conference |
| Conference number | 15 |
| Organiser | Netherlands Ecological Research Network (NERN) |
| Location | Lunteren, NetherlandsShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | National |