SYMPATRIC POPULATIONS OF MUNTJAC (MUNTIACUS-REEVESI) AND ROE DEER (CAPREOLUS-CAPREOLUS) - A COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS OF THEIR RANGING BEHAVIOR,SOCIAL-ORGANIZATION AND ACTIVITY

The ranging behaviour, activity and social organization of sympatric p opulations of Reeves' muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) and roe deer (Capreo lus capreolus) in a mainly commercial coniferous forest in eastern Eng land were studied by means of radio-tracking techniques. Muntjac showe d no seasonal changes in range size; muntjac bucks had significantly l arger ranges than does at all times of the year. For roe deer there we re significant seasonal changes in home-range size; bucks had largest ranges in the winter months and smallest ranges in September-October, whereas does had largest ranges during January-February and minimum ra nges during May-June. There was no seasonal change in the number or si ze of muntjac core areas; bucks always had larger and more numerous co re areas than does. Neither was there a seasonal change in the number or size of roe deer core areas; whilst there was no difference in the number of core areas for roe bucks and does, those of bucks were signi ficantly smaller. There was no seasonal change in daily distance trave lled by muntjac bucks or does, or roe bucks, but there was a significa nt seasonal trend for roe docs, whose daily distances travelled were l ongest during January-February and shortest during May-June. Spatial o rganization of muntjac consisted of groups of overlapping doe ranges b ut exclusive buck ranges; these overlapped with one or more groups of doe ranges. During the summer, roe deer buck and doe ranges overlapped , and some doe ranges were shared with other adult does, but buck rang es were exclusive. During the winter, roe deer were more wide-ranging and mixed more freely. There was no evidence for spatial separation of muntjac and roe deer; minimum convex polygon ranges overlapped and co re areas often coincided. Mean annual activity was 69.3 +/- 1.5% for m untjac and 56.4 +/- 1.8% for roe deer. Mean length of active periods w as significantly greater for muntjac than roe deer, and roe deer had s ignificantly longer inactive periods. For muntjac there were peaks of activity at dusk and dawn, with lower levels of activity during the da y and night. For roe deer the dawn and dusk peaks were more clearly de fined, and at most times of the year nocturnal activity was higher tha n diurnal activity. These results are discussed in relation to the phy siology of the two species and their patterns of space and food utiliz ation, and the evidence for resource partitioning between the two spec ies is evaluated. It was shown that neither muntjac nor roe deer had a n effect on the ranging behaviour, activity and social organization of the other species, but that at very high densities muntjac can have a n impact on established roe deer populations by changing their pattern of habitat utilization and by locally reducing their numbers.