Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Habitat Selection of Invasive Sika Deer Cervus nippon Living in a UK Lowland Heathland-Woodland-Grassland Mosaic: Implications for Habitat Conservation Management

Anita Diaz, Sean Walls, Debbie Whitmarsh, Martin Smith, Iain Green

Journal of Scientific Research and Reports · pp. 1–15 · Published 4 Jan 2018

10.9734/JSRR/2017/38579

Abstract

Understanding the factors determining the choice and use of habitats by invasive species is key to the conservation management of habitats and may also enable species to be harnessed as conservation tools. Here we explore the habitat use of an invasive population of sika deer, Cervus nippon on internationally important heathland in a landscape of heathland, grassland and woodland in southern UK. We used radio telemetry to test two hypotheses 1) grasses form a major part of the diet of non-native UK sika deer throughout the year 2) deer select grassland habitats above other habitats available. Results showed that although grasses form a major part of their diet, the strongest habitat selection was for heathland, the habitat that offered the least nutrient reward but which offered a source of roughage in the diet and some harbourage from human disturbance.  This has implications for the conservation management of heathlands used by sika deer as it strongly indicates that heathland is a vulnerable habitat due to being favoured by sika deer but that its vulnerability can be reduced by coupling population control with targeted habitat management action such as increased disturbance or the removal of harbourage.

Grazing ecology habitat management deer grazing impacts

References (25)

  1. 1 Resource Selection by Animals : Statistical design and analysis for field studies [DOI]
  2. 2 Compositional Analysis of Habitat Use From Animal Radio‐Tracking Data [DOI]
  3. 3 Grazing Lawns: Animals in Herds, Plant Form, and Coevolution [DOI]
  4. 4 The Potential Conservation Value of Non‐Native Species [DOI]
  5. 5 Characteristics of plant cell walls affecting intake and digestibility of forages by ruminants. [DOI]
  6. 6 Lessons learned from invasive plant control experiments: a systematic review and meta-analysis [DOI]
  7. 7 Factors influencing public preferences for invasive alien species management [DOI]
  8. 8 Invasives: A Major Conservation Threat [DOI]
  9. 9 Facilitation of Red Deer Grazing by Cattle and Its Impact on Red Deer Performance [DOI]
  10. 10 THE PERILS OF HAVING TASTY NEIGHBORS: GRAZING IMPACTS OF LARGE HERBIVORES AT VEGETATION BOUNDARIES [DOI]
  11. 11 Pollinator networks, alien species and the conservation of rare plants:Trinia glaucaas a case study [DOI]
  12. 12 Food habits of sika deer and nutritional value of sika deer diets in eastern Hokkaido, Japan [DOI]
  13. 13 Facilitative interactions between an exotic mammal and native and exotic plants: hog deer (Axis porcinus) as seed dispersers in south-eastern Australia [DOI]
  14. 14 Why do sika deer, Cervus nippon, debark trees in summer on Mt. Ohdaigahara, central Japan? [DOI]
  15. 15 Food habits of sika deer on the Boso Peninsula, central japan [DOI]
  16. 16 Flight behaviour and observability in human-disturbed sika deer [DOI]
  17. 17 Home range size and habitat use in radio-collared female sika deer at high altitudes in the Tanzawa Mountains, Japan
  18. 18 Deer-proof fence prevents regeneration of Picea jezoensis var. hondoensis through seed predation by increased woodmouse populations [DOI]
  19. 19 Use of mires and food habits of sika deer in the Oze Area, central Japan [DOI]
  20. 20 Population Density and Range Use of Sika Deer, Cervus nippon, on Mt. Ohdaigahara, Central Japan [DOI]
  21. 21 Seasonal Nutrient Content in Food Plants of White-Tailed Deer on the South Texas Plains [DOI]
  22. 22 Sexual Differences in Foraging Behavior of Sika Deer, Cervus nippon [DOI]
  23. 23 Patterns of habitat use and activity in British populations of sika deer of contrasting environments [DOI]
  24. 24 A record of acorn eating by sika deer in western Japan [DOI]
  25. 25 Seasonal changes in digestibility, passage rate and rumen fermentation of alfalfa hay in sika deer (Cervus nippon) under restricted feeding [DOI]

Cited by 6

Habitat utilization distribution of sika deer (Cervus nippon)

Thakur Dhakal, Gab-Sue Jang, Minhan Kim · Heliyon · 2023

Wild UK deer as carriers of livestock lameness associated pathogens

Simon R. Clegg, Andrew S. Cooke, Elektra Poluha · Research in Veterinary Science · 2026

Showing 2 of 6 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

33

Page views

0

PDF downloads

10

Outbound clicks

6

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.