Habitat utilization distribution of sika deer (Cervus nippon)

Thakur Dhakal; Gab-Sue Jang; Minhan Kim; Ji Hyung Kim; JoongYeol Park; Sang-Jin Lim; Yung-Chul Park; Do-Hun Lee

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20793

Habitat utilization distribution of sika deer (Cervus nippon)

Heliyon. 2023 Oct 7;9(10):e20793. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20793. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Thakur Dhakal¹, Gab-Sue Jang¹, Minhan Kim², Ji Hyung Kim³, JoongYeol Park⁴, Sang-Jin Lim⁴, Yung-Chul Park⁴, Do-Hun Lee²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Life Sciences, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea.
² National Institute of Ecology (NIE), Seocheon 33657, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Division of Forest Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Habitat-specific and movement-related behavioral studies are essential for the development of sustainable biodiversity management practices. Although the number of studies on sika deer is increasing, habitat utilization distribution (UD)-related studies remain limited. In this study, we investigated the habitat UD behavior of sika deer (Cervus nippon) using a literature survey and an experimental study on Suncheon Bonghwasan Mountain, South Korea. We reviewed home range-related literature on sika deer published between 1982 and 2019 in order to assess their estimation methods, study region, and research background. We observed that the number of studies on sika deer has increased. The minimum convex polygon (MCP) has been utilized the most to estimate habitat UD, followed by the kernel density (KD), the Brownian bridge model, and a combination of these methods. The average home ranges (95 % utilization distribution) of sika deer from the literature survey were 236.99 ha and 1183.96 ha using the minimum convex polygon and kernel density approaches, respectively. The five female deer in our experimental study on Suncheon Bonghwasan Mountain had a mean home range of 66.831 ± 15.241 ha using the MCP approach and 78.324 ± 20.82 ha using the KD approach. The UD behavior of sika deer explored in this research is expected to benefit future scholars and policymakers when formulating deer management and wildlife conservation strategies.

Keywords: Home range; Invasive mammal; Minimum convex polygon; South Korea; Wildlife.