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Food habits of sika deer on the Boso Peninsula, central japan

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Ecological Research

Abstract

The rumen contents of sika deer (Cervus nippon Temminck) on the Boso Peninsula, central Japan, were analyzed to identify local, sexual and age-specific differences in food habits. Graminoids and woody plants were the primary foods throughout the year. In winter, the use of evergreen broad leaves increased. The food habits of sika deer on Boso Peninsula were intermediate between those of populations inhabiting northern and southern Japan. Acorns, mainlyLithocarpus edulis Nakai, were consumed in fall and winter with a peak in October. Since the availability of acorns is not influenced by foraging in previous years, it can be regarded as a stable food supply and hence may be important for deer on the Boso Peninsula. The local difference between the Amatsukominato (AT) area, having a large plantation ofLithocarpus producing acrons, and the Kamogawa-Katsuura (KK) area, having a small plantation ofLithocarpus, was recognized; seeds and fruit were consumed more in AT than in KK in fall and winter. Males consumed more seeds and fruit than females at both sites in fall. This can be attributed to sexual differences in nutritional requirement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Forest Zoology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tokyo, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, 113, Tokyo, Japan

    Masahiko Asada

  2. Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba, Aoba-Cho, Chuou-ku, 260, Chiba, Japan

    Keiji Ochiai

Authors
  1. Masahiko Asada
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  2. Keiji Ochiai
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Asada, M., Ochiai, K. Food habits of sika deer on the Boso Peninsula, central japan. Ecol. Res. 11, 89–95 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02347823

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02347823

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