| dc.description.abstract | Scent marking and chemical communication play an important role in the behavioural ecology of many species. Scent marking is a form of olfactory communication used by an animal that deposits its odor in specific places to transmit a signal to other animals. Marking of trees is a commonly used form of scent communication in deer species, and especially males rub, sweep or trash vegetation with their antlers. Roe deer are consdered territorial during the mating season and the use of sweep-marked trees by males during the pre-rut and rut is commonly described in the literature. Such sweep-marked trees have a small diameter (1-2 cm) and are rarely re-visited. However, observation by hunters suggest that roe deer also appear to use “marking trees” with larger circumferences compared to sweep-marked trees, and that both sexes display marking behaviour and commonly re-visit these trees, even among years. The main goal of this thesis was to evaluate the use of these marking trees by female and especially male roe deer based on data collected with remote cameras. I found that roe deer used coniferous trees with a diameter of about 10 cm as marking trees. Both female and especially male deer visited those trees, and the visitation rate was highest during the mating season in July/August. The behaviour displayed at marking trees appears to differ from behaviour at sweep-marked trees, which is also supported by the differences in the size of the trees used for marking (found in this study) vs sweep-marking (found in the scientific literature). Further studies are needed to better understand the marking behaviour of deer in general. For roe deer, a direct comparison of visitation rates and more detailed analyses of behaviours observed at sweep-marking trees and marking trees (as defined in this study) may be a next step. | |
