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Unique spatial behavior of the Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) in the open mountains of Mt. Fuji

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Abstract

The Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) exhibits spatial behavior adapted to forest habitats with relatively stable food supply and climatic conditions, such as sedentary habits, small home ranges, and little seasonal variation in habitat selection. However, investigations have not previously been conducted in open mountainous habitats with high seasonal variability. Therefore, I examined spatial behavior of the Japanese serow in an open mountainous region of Mt. Fuji, central Japan, based on GPS location data. These mountain-dwelling serows had much larger annual home ranges (female: 316.5 ha, male: 373.1 ha) compared with forest-dwelling populations. Spring and summer home range sizes were the largest, and winter home range size was the smallest, ranging from 20.3%–56.1% of maximum. Limited forage and harsh climatic conditions in winter seemed to drive such energy-minimizing behavioral strategies. Selection of vegetation types and elevation varied seasonally, likely because of changes in forage availability and climate conditions. These spatial behaviors in mountain-dwelling serows resemble those of several related mountain ungulates, implying that these behaviors are adaptations to highly seasonal open mountainous habitats. My findings suggest that the main factors affecting spatial behavior are habitat characteristics, such as climate, forage abundance, and seasonality. These findings provide support for an ecological pattern in ungulate spatial behavior whereby closed habitats promote small and stable home ranges, whereas open habitats promote large and seasonally fluctuating home ranges.

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Availability of data and material

All data analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files).

Code availability

The code used in the present study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Tomoya Kanno, Konoka Aiba, Mitsuko Hiruma, Takuma Suzuki, Eri Katsumata, and Akane Washida helped with field work. I thank Gabe Yedid, PhD, from Edanz Group (https://www.edanz.com) for editing a draft of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wildlife Management Center, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai-Cho, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan

    Hayato Takada

  2. Mount Fuji Research Institute, Yamanashi Prefectural Government, 5597-1, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi 403-0005, Kenmarubi, Kamiyoshida, Japan

    Hayato Takada

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  1. Hayato Takada
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Correspondence to Hayato Takada.

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Ethical approval

All investigations were performed in accordance with the Ethics Committee for Animal Experiments, Mount Fuji Research Institute, Yamanashi Prefecture Government (ECAE-01–2013-2019). The study complies with current Japanese laws and adheres to the Mammal Society of Japan guidelines regarding animal welfare.

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Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

10211_2023_418_MOESM1_ESM.xlsx

Supplementary file1 Online Resource 1 The number of GPS locations obtained per season, vegetation type, and individual Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) in the open habitats in mountains of Mt. Fuji, central Japan. Values in parentheses indicate the fix success rate (%). (XLSX 10 KB)

10211_2023_418_MOESM2_ESM.tif

Supplementary file2 Online Resource 2 Home range size as determined by the 100% minimum convex polygon method for the Japanese serows in open mountainous habitats of Mt. Fuji, central Japan, and other forested habitats in previous studies. a: present study; b: Takada et al. (2020a, b); c: Kishimoto and Kawamichi (1996); d: Ochiai et al. (2010) (TIF 382 KB)

10211_2023_418_MOESM3_ESM.xlsx

Supplementary file3 Online Resource 3 Estimates of utilization distribution overlap (BA) by season for each individual Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) in the open mountainous habitats of Mt. Fuji, central Japan. (XLSX 10 KB)

Supplementary file4 Online Resource 4 Row data of statistical analysis. (XLSX 3861 KB)

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Takada, H. Unique spatial behavior of the Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) in the open mountains of Mt. Fuji. acta ethol 26, 127–132 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-023-00418-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-023-00418-4

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