THE POPULATION MODELING OF FALLOW DEER AND WILD BOAR IN A MEDITERRANEAN ECOSYSTEM

The population ecology of ungulates in Mediterranean ecosystems is as yet poorly documented. This study is based on 5-year counts of fallow deer (Dama dama) and wild boar (Sus scrofa). Since the counts of ungul ates in woodlands are usually quite difficult, biased and unprecise, i ndependent methods were used to check their reliability and estimates of the vital rates were derived from the field data. Age-structured mo dels were constructed with environmental randomness and density-depend ence for the wild boar, because this species seems to be more deeply i nfluenced by environmental factors than fallow deer. For the former sp ecies, the study showed, by simulation, that a mixed harvesting policy (constant effort plus fixed escapement) may work better than other, m ore commonly used, approaches. The results presented here are relevant for management and conservation of wild ungulate populations in Italy and in other Mediterranean countries.