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Distribution of an increasing roe deer population in a fragmented Mediterranean landscape

Abstract:

This paper describes roe deer Capreolus capreolus distribution in central Spain, where the species has spread from the mountains into peripheral agricultural areas. In the region, it is more abundant in forest fragments near the mountains than in those further away, in pine and oak woodlands than in sclerophyllous forests, and in forests with open water than in those lacking this resource. The paper also analyzes whether habitat quality and geographic location of forests with respect to roe deeper source areas are the two basic causes of its distribution, as predicted by some models of the species distribution in fragmented landscapes. The results corroborate this hypothesis revealing that roe deer abundance is linked negatively to sclerophyllous forest cover and distance from mountains. We conclude that this type of farmland seems to be sub-optimal for roe deer in comparison with forested, moist mountains.