MICROGEOGRAPHIC AND TEMPORAL VARIATION IN MANDIBLE SIZE WITHIN A NEW-ZEALAND FALLOW DEER (DAMA-DAMA) POPULATION

1. Habitat-related differences in size in a population of fallow deer (Dama dama L.) occupying the Blue Mountains, Otago, New Zealand, were identified by using five measurements from the mandibles of 1302 deer collected between 1983 and 1989. The measurements were standardized fo r age and sex, and discriminant analyses were used to compare mandible size between areas within the population's range. 2. Deer from areas containing mainly indigenous beech (Nothofagus) forest were significan tly smaller than those from areas containing mainly exotic plantations , reflecting differences in the availability of preferred foods. 3. Ad ult deer killed between 1983 and 1989 were significantly larger than t hose killed in 1972-73, presumably reflecting habitat improvement resu lting from a progressive reduction in deer density by hunting from 196 0 to 1985. For deer less than 2 years old, however, the increase in si ze between the two periods was smaller (and not significant for female s). 4. These results, coupled with information in diet and food source s, suggest the relationship between deer size and deer density in New Zealand forests is not linear. 5. Standardization for age and sex grea tly simplified analysis of size differences. Diastema height was a mor e sensitive indicator of range-related differences in skeletal size th an the more traditionally used total jaw length.