Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Demographic crash associated with high parasite load in an experimental roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
European Journal of Wildlife Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In March 2002, ten roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) were released in a partly wooded 14.2-ha enclosure to investigate the effect of high population density on vegetation cover and demographic parameters. However, in mid 2003, five animals died after rapid emaciation. Two other deer were killed to carry out further post-mortem examination. In addition to a general loss of body mass and injuries in males caused by the healthiest of them, we found a high level of parasitism. The remaining animals received anti-parasite treatment, and four other treated roe deer were added into the enclosure. All the deer were then captured and treated against parasites twice a year, the fawns being removed when first captured. Four years after the crash, the population seemed healthy: deaths no longer occurred; mean adult body mass reached 27.6 kg in March; females produced on average 1.6 fawns per year, with a mean body mass of 13.8 kg in October and 16.7 kg in March. Furthermore, undergrowth cover changed little since March 2004. These results suggest that outbursts of parasites may cause population crashes in high-density situations before the onset of nutritive stress and may explain certain cases of ‘abnormal’ (massive) mortality recorded in roe deer.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

References

  • Aguirre A, Bröjer C, Mörner T (1999) Descriptive epidemiology of roe deer mortality in Sweden. J Wildl Dis 35:753–762

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aldous S (1944) A deer browse method. J Mammal 25:130–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen R, Linnell J (1998) Ecological correlates of mortality of roe deer fawns in a predator-free environment. Can J Zool 76:1217–1225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen R, Linnell J (2000) Irruptive potential in roe deer: density-dependent effects on body mass and fertility. J Wildl Manage 64:698–706

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arneberg P (2001) An ecological law and its macroecological consequences as revealed by studies of relationships between host densities and parasite prevalence. Ecography 24:352–358

    Google Scholar 

  • Augustine D, McNaughton S (1998) Ungulate effects on the functional species composition of plant communities: herbivore selectivity and plant tolerance. J Wildl Manage 62:1165–1183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cabaret J, Dakkak A, Bahaida B (1980) A technique for the evaluation of the number of lungworm first stage larvae in sheep faeces. Br Vet J 136:296–298

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Bosschere H, Casaer J, Neukermans A, Baert K, Ceulemans T, Tavernier P, Roels S (2006) Severe alopecia due to demodicosis in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in Belgium. Vet J 174:665–668

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dhabhar F, McEwen B (1997) Acute stress enhances while chronic stress suppresses cell-mediated immunity in vivo: a potential role for leukocyte trafficking. Brain Behav Immun 11:286–306

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Drozdz J, Dudzinski W (1993) Changes in the intensity of infection of the roe deer, Capreolus capreolus (L.), with abomasum nematodes in relation to host density in a hunting ground. Acta Parasitol 38:29–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Focardi S, Raganella Pelliccioni E, Petrucco R, Toso S (2002) Spatial patterns and density dependence in the dynamics of a roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population in central Italy. Oecologia 130:411–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox M (1997) Pathophysiology of infection with gastrointestinal nematodes in domestic ruminants: recent developments. Vet Parasitol 72:285–308

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gaillard J-M, Sempere A, Boutin J-M, Van Laere G, Boisaubert B (1992) Effects of age and body weight on the proportion of females breeding in a population of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Can J Zool 70:1541–1545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaillard J-M, Delorme D, Boutin J-M, Van Laere G, Boisaubert B (1996) Body mass of roe deer fawns during winter in two contrasting populations. J Wildl Manage 60:29–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaillard J-M, Boutin J-M, Delorme D, Van Laere G, Duncan P, Lebreton D (1997) Early survival in roe deer: causes and consequences of cohort variation in two contrasted populations. Oecologia 112:502–513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasbarre L (1997) Effects of gastrointestinal nematode infection on the ruminant immune system. Vet Parasitol 72:327–343

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gill R, Johnson A, Francis A, Hiscocks K, Peace A (1996) Changes in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) population density in response to forest habitat succession. For Ecol Manag 88:31–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gulland F (1992) The role of nematode parasites in Soay sheep (Ovis aries L.) mortality during a population crash. Parasitology 105:493–503

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kjellander P, Gaillard J-M, Hewison M (2006) Density-dependent responses of fawn cohort body mass in two contrasting roe deer populations. Oecologia 146:521–530

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lamarque F, Barrat J, Hatier C, Artois M (1999) Causes of mortality in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) diagnosed by an epidemiological surveillance network in France. Gibier faune sauvage 16:101–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovari S, Herrero J, Conroy J, Maran T, Giannatos G, Stübbe M, Aulagnier S, Jdeidi T, Masseti M, Nader I, de Smet K, Cuzin F (2008) Capreolus capreolus. In: 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. http://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed 18 May 2009

  • Maizeret C, Boutin J-M, Cibien C, Carlino J-P (1989) Effects of population density on the diet of roe deer and the availability of their food in the Chizé forest. Acta Theriol 34:235–246

    Google Scholar 

  • Milner J, Elston D, Albon S (1999) Estimating the contributions of population density and climatic fluctuations to interannual variations in survival of Soay sheep. J Anim Ecol 68:1235–1247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mouron D, Boisaubert B, Lamarque F, Sanaa M (1998) Recensement des collisions véhicules-grands mammifères sauvages. Evolution entre les inventaires de 1984–1986 et 1993–1994. In: Havet P, Taran E, Berthos J-C (eds) Proc XXIIIrd Congr Int Union Game Biologists, Lyon, France, 1–6 Sept. Gibier Faune Sauvage. Game Wildl Sci 15(hors série/Suppl. 3):855–865

  • Mysterud A, Yoccoz NG, Stenseth NC, Langvatn R (2001) Effects of age, sex and density on body weight of Norwegian red deer: evidence of density dependent senescence. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 268:911–919

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pettorelli N, Gaillard J-M, Van Laere G, Duncan P, Kjellander P, Liberg O, Delorme D, Maillard D (2002) Variations in adult body mass in roe deer: the effects of population density at birth and of habitat quality. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 269:747–753

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raynaud J-P (1970) Etude de l’efficacité d’une technique de coproscopie quantitative pour le diagnostic de routine et le contrôle des infestations parasitaires de bovins, ovins, équins et porcins. Ann Parasitol Hum Comp 45:321–342

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2005) R: a language and environment for statistical computing, reference index version 2.x.x. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0. http://www.R-project.org. Accessed 27 Apr 2009

  • Rooney T, Dress W (1997) Species loss over sixty-six years in the ground layer of heart’s content, an old growth forest in Pennsylvania. Nat Areas J 17:297–305

    Google Scholar 

  • Saint Andrieux C, Pfaff E (2007) Tableaux de chasse Cerf-Chevreuil-Sanglier. Saison 2005–2006. http://www.oncfs.gouv.fr/events/point_faune/mammifere/2007/FS276_TC_cerf_chevreuil_sanglier0506.pdf. Accessed 27 Apr 2009

  • Salak-Johnson J, McGlone J (2007) Making sense of apparently conflicting data: stress and immunity in swine and cattle. J Anim Sci 85(E suppl):E81–E88

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Segerstrom S, Miller G (2004) Psychological stress and the human immune system: a meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry. Psychol Bull 130:601–630

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair J, Lochmiller R (2000) The winter immunoenhancement hypothesis: associations among immunity, density, and survival in prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) populations. Can J Zool 78:254–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solberg E, Jordhoy P, Strand O, Aanes R, Loison A, Saether B-E, Linnell J (2001) Effects of density-dependence and climate on the dynamics of a Svalbard reindeer population. Ecography 24:441–451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart K, Bowyer T, Dick B, Johnson B, Kie J (2005) Density-dependent effects on physical condition and reproduction in North American elk: an experimental test. Oecologia 143:58–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stien A, Irvine R, Ropstad E, Halvorsen O, Langvatn R, Albon S (2002) The impact of gastrointestinal nematodes on wild reindeer: experimental and cross-sectional studies. J Anim Ecol 71:937–946

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terrier M-E (2005) Bilan de l’étude de la mortalité anormale du chevreuil en 1999–2000. http://www.oncfs.gouv.fr/events/point_faune/suivi-sanitaire/2005/bilan_emac1105.pdf. Accessed 27 Apr 2009

  • Toïgo C, Gaillard J-M, Van Laere G, Hewison M, Morellet N (2006) How does environmental variation influence body mass, body size and body condition? Roe deer as a case study. Ecography 29:301–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vincent J-P, Bideau E, Hewison M, Angibault J-M (1995) The influence of increasing density on body weight, kid production, home range and winter grouping in roe deer Capreolus capreolus. J Zool Lond 236:371–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaffaroni E, Citterio C, Sala M, Lauzi S (1997) Impact of abomasal nematodes on roe deer and chamois body condition in an alpine environment. Parasitologia 39:313–317

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Midi-Pyrénées Region for financial support, as well as to the ETBS at Bourges and to the Chizé reserve, which provided the roe deer. We are also grateful to Jean-Yves Jouglar and Pascal Versigny, from the National Veterinary College of Toulouse, who performed part of post-mortem examinations and of the egg counts. We thank Peter Winterton who checked the language of the manuscript. The authors declare that the experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed (France).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, P. O. Box 52627, 31326, Castanet-Tolosan Cedex, France

    Marie-Line Maublanc, Eric Bideau, Denis Picot, Jean-Luc Rames & Jean-François Gerard

  2. Inter Vivos, La Barberie, 50700, Urville, France

    Michel Dubois

  3. JE2533-USC Afssa “Vecpar”, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, UFR de Pharmacie, 51 rue Cognacq-Jay, 51096, Reims Cedex, France

    Hubert Ferté

Authors
  1. Marie-Line Maublanc
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eric Bideau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Denis Picot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jean-Luc Rames
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Michel Dubois
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Hubert Ferté
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jean-François Gerard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marie-Line Maublanc.

Additional information

Communicated by F.-J. Kaup

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Maublanc, ML., Bideau, E., Picot, D. et al. Demographic crash associated with high parasite load in an experimental roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population. Eur J Wildl Res 55, 621–625 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-009-0298-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-009-0298-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation