Effects of Age and Sex on Space Occupation by European Roe Deer

The effects of age and sex on annual home-range characteristics of European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) were investigated by means of radiotracking individuals from a high-density population within a deciduous forest. Subadult males often used more diffuse home ranges than did adults and subadult females, whereas old males exhibited the most concentrated pattern of space occupation. Subadult males also showed a higher dispersal than did subadult females. Such results contrast with those obtained at low densities and suggest that population density influences the process of range acquisition in a sex-dependent way, probably because of the retention of territoriality by adult males at high densities.