| dc.description.abstract | As human development expands across the planet, there are fewer places where animals can find a safe refuge. This leads to animals encroaching on human settlements and an increase in animal-human interactions. As this increases nonlethal exposure to humans, some animals respond by decreasing vigilance and anti-predator behaviors. Vigilance is measured through alert distance, at which point the animal first reacts to the approaching threat and antipredator behavior is measured through flight initiation distance, when the animal escapes from the area of the predator. This study measures the alert distance (AD) and flight initiation distance (FID) in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in response to human observer on foot in open agricultural fields in Midt-Telemark Norway to determine which variables influence AD and FID.
A total of 119 observations were made over two seasons from August to December 2022 and 2023. Of the factors studied, FID was most affected by AD and AD was most affected by start distance and illumination. Start distance is the distance at which the human observer first starts to observe the roe deer, with our results showing an increase in start distance correlating to an increase in AD. Illumination indicates the amount of moonlight at the time of the observation, with our results showing an increase in illumination correlating to a decrease in AD, indicating that moon phases have an effect on roe deer vigilance. FID decreased with a decrease in AD as being alert sooner correlated to an escape sooner regardless of distance to forest or houses. | |