Activity patterns, diurnal and nocturnal behaviour of the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) in the Jataí Ecological Station, Brazil
The marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) is the largest cervid in South America. It is morphologically adapted to the marshes and floodplains that constitute its habitat. The global distribution of the marsh deer has been reduced with 65 % in the last four decades, due to habitat destruction and frag...
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| Format: | Otro |
| Language: | Swedish Inglés |
| Published: |
2009
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| Online Access: | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10801/ |
| _version_ | 1855571754390388736 |
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| author | Lehndal, Lina |
| author_browse | Lehndal, Lina |
| author_facet | Lehndal, Lina |
| author_sort | Lehndal, Lina |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | The marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) is the largest cervid in South America. It is morphologically adapted to the marshes and floodplains that constitute its habitat. The global distribution of the marsh deer has been reduced with 65 % in the last four decades, due to habitat destruction and fragmentation, caused by agriculture, cattle grazing and the construction of large hydroelectric dams. It is now threatened with extinction in Brazil. In 1998, five marsh deer were reintroduced in the Jataí Ecological Station, São Paulo State, Brazil, and the population had in 2006 increased to about 20 animals. In this study, we tagged three female marsh deer from the Jataí population with GPS-collars, and from two of them we successfully received data. The marsh deer's activity was recorded in intervals of 5 to 10 minutes, 24 hours a day and for several months, which has never been done before in this species. Activity was measured in two ways; as neck movements and as distance moved in between two recorded time intervals. My results showed that the marsh deer were primarily nocturnal, but with some diurnal activity, especially in the afternoon, whilst activity at dusk and dawn was low. The deer seemed to have moved more in January-February than in November-December, whereas the amount of neck movements did not change over time. No difference between areas used at day and night was detected for the focal animals. The reason for the marsh deer's activity pattern is suggested to be partly due to predator pressure, but the main explanation seems to be environmental conditions, notably temperature. To draw reliable conclusions on the activity patterns of the Jataí-population throughout all seasons, further studies with larger sample sizes and a study period over at least one year would be needed. |
| format | Otro |
| id | RepoSLU10801 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Swedish Inglés |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| publishDateSort | 2009 |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU108012017-09-12T12:12:41Z https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10801/ Activity patterns, diurnal and nocturnal behaviour of the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) in the Jataí Ecological Station, Brazil Lehndal, Lina Animal ecology The marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) is the largest cervid in South America. It is morphologically adapted to the marshes and floodplains that constitute its habitat. The global distribution of the marsh deer has been reduced with 65 % in the last four decades, due to habitat destruction and fragmentation, caused by agriculture, cattle grazing and the construction of large hydroelectric dams. It is now threatened with extinction in Brazil. In 1998, five marsh deer were reintroduced in the Jataí Ecological Station, São Paulo State, Brazil, and the population had in 2006 increased to about 20 animals. In this study, we tagged three female marsh deer from the Jataí population with GPS-collars, and from two of them we successfully received data. The marsh deer's activity was recorded in intervals of 5 to 10 minutes, 24 hours a day and for several months, which has never been done before in this species. Activity was measured in two ways; as neck movements and as distance moved in between two recorded time intervals. My results showed that the marsh deer were primarily nocturnal, but with some diurnal activity, especially in the afternoon, whilst activity at dusk and dawn was low. The deer seemed to have moved more in January-February than in November-December, whereas the amount of neck movements did not change over time. No difference between areas used at day and night was detected for the focal animals. The reason for the marsh deer's activity pattern is suggested to be partly due to predator pressure, but the main explanation seems to be environmental conditions, notably temperature. To draw reliable conclusions on the activity patterns of the Jataí-population throughout all seasons, further studies with larger sample sizes and a study period over at least one year would be needed. Sumphjorten är Sydamerikas största hjort. Dess habitat utgörs av träsk och flodbäddar vilket den har anpassats till morfologiskt. Sumphjortens globala distribution har reducerats med 65 % under de senaste fyra decennierna, på grund av habitatförstörelse och -fragmentering, som orsakats av jordbruk, bete av boskap och stora dammbyggen. Sumphjorten är nu utrotningshotad i Brasilien. År 1998 återintroducerades fem hjortar i Jataí Ecological Station i delstaten São Paolo, Brasilien och år 2006 hade populationen ökat till cirka 20 individer. I denna studie märktes tre vajor från Jataí-populationen med GPS-halsband, och från två av dessa genomfördes en lyckad datainsamling. Sumphjortarnas aktivitet registrerades med tidsintervall av 5 – 10 minuter, dygnet runt under flera månaders tid, något som aldrig tidigare gjorts för denna art. Aktiviteten mättes på två sätt, både som antal nackrörelser och antal meter som hjorten förflyttat sig mellan två mätintervall. Resultaten visade att sumphjorten framförallt var nattaktiv men med viss aktivitet under dagen, främst under eftermiddagen, medan aktiviteten var låg vid skymning och gryning. Hjorten förflyttade sig mer i januari-februari än i november-december, medan antalet nackrörelser inte förändrades beroende på månad. Jag fann ingen skillnad mellan vilka områden som användes på dagen och på natten av de studerade djuren. Sumphjortens aktivitetsmönster kan delvis förklaras med predatortrycket, men den främsta orsaken verkar vara miljöförhållanden, framförallt det varma klimatet. För att kunna dra några säkra slutsatser om Jataí-populationens aktivitetsmönster över olika säsonger behövs ytterligare studier med större provstorlek och en studieperiod på minst ett år. 2009-10-16 Other NonPeerReviewed application/pdf sv https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10801/1/lehndal_l_170912.pdf Lehndal, Lina, 2008. Activity patterns, diurnal and nocturnal behaviour of the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) in the Jataí Ecological Station, Brazil. UNSPECIFIED, Skara. Skara: (VH) > Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) <https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/view/divisions/OID-880.html> urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-6823 eng |
| spellingShingle | Animal ecology Lehndal, Lina Activity patterns, diurnal and nocturnal behaviour of the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) in the Jataí Ecological Station, Brazil |
| title | Activity patterns, diurnal and nocturnal behaviour of the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) in the Jataí Ecological Station, Brazil |
| title_full | Activity patterns, diurnal and nocturnal behaviour of the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) in the Jataí Ecological Station, Brazil |
| title_fullStr | Activity patterns, diurnal and nocturnal behaviour of the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) in the Jataí Ecological Station, Brazil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Activity patterns, diurnal and nocturnal behaviour of the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) in the Jataí Ecological Station, Brazil |
| title_short | Activity patterns, diurnal and nocturnal behaviour of the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) in the Jataí Ecological Station, Brazil |
| title_sort | activity patterns, diurnal and nocturnal behaviour of the marsh deer (blastocerus dichotomus) in the jataí ecological station, brazil |
| topic | Animal ecology |
| url | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10801/ https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10801/ |