HABITAT USE AND ECOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF HOME-RANGE SIZE IN A SMALL CERVID - THE ROE DEER

1. Summer home range size variation and habitat selection of 35 radio- collared adult female roe deer was studied, using kernel home range es timation and compositional analysis of habitat use. 2. Female roe deer adjust the size of their home range in response to decreasing food su pply, and the hypothesis that female roe deer utilize the minimum area that sustain their energy requirement cannot be rejected. 3. Home ran ge size increased with the visibility in the home range (the average d istance at which sight is blocked by intervening vegetation). This sup ports the hypothesis that cover is important in reducing the risk of p redation and thereby increasing adult survival. 4. Female roe deer spe nd more time near habitat edges, supporting the hypothesis that differ ent habitat types contain complementary resources, e.g. food and cover or different nutrients. Simultaneous access to several habitat types did not have any effect on home range size, possibly because variation in heterogeneity between different home ranges was too low. 5. Female s without fawns had smaller home ranges, possibly because they only ne ed to sustain their own energetic requirements. 6. The analyses of hab itat selection inside each home range showed that the forest types, ch aracterized by high densities of food and low visibility, were preferr ed, suggesting that habitat use is allocated in proportion to either f ood or cover or both.