Investigating population dynamics of red deer in different ecological contexts
Barbara Vuillaume  1  , Maryline Pellerin  2@  , Christophe Bonenfant  3@  , Ludovic Say  4@  , Vivien Siat  5@  , Etienne Guillaumat  6  , Adrien Gérard  6  , Sébastien Devillard  4@  
1 : Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique : UMR5558
2 : Office Français de la Biodiversité
ministère de la Cohésion des Territoires et du ministère de la Transition écologique et solidaire
3 : Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique, VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
43 Bld du 11 Novembre 1918 69622 VILLEURBANNE CEDEX -  France
4 : Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive  (LBBE)
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique : UMR5558
43 Bld du 11 Novembre 1918 69622 VILLEURBANNE CEDEX -  France
5 : Office Française de la Biodiversité
ONCFS, ministère de la Cohésion des Territoires et du ministère de la Transition écologique et solidaire
6 : Domaine National de Chambord
Domaine National de Chambord

In the context of climate change and expanding human impact, habitat fragmentation has become a pressing issue, driving terrestrial populations to varying degrees of isolation and adaptation to fragmentation. Some populations successfully maintain connectivity with others, while others face isolation, leading to potential challenges such as high population density, its associated negative impacts on demographic parameters like survival and reproduction, and likely inbreeding depression. Understanding the intricate interplay between population dynamics, environmental factors, and genetic processes is essential for effective wildlife management and conservation. We investigated three decades of population dynamics on two red deer populations in France, living in very different ecological contexts: one inhabiting an open, unfragmented environment in La Petite Pierre (Grand Est), and the other enclosed by a wall at the Chambord national estate. For each population, we built a Bayesian Integrated Population Model (IPM) to reconstruct past population dynamics and predict future short-term trajectories to advise on harvest management. Our models incorporated modeling of survival for three age classes and both sexes, as well as reproduction, harvest, and population counts while considering density-dependent effects. We assessed survival estimates with multi-state models accounting for reproductive status and dispersion. Despite their divergent ecological contexts, both populations exhibited key traits typical of wild ungulates, including high adult female survival rates (around 0.9) and robust pregnancy rates (>0.8). The Chambord population appears healthier than one might expect from a closed population isolated for centuries, possibly due to efficient management strategies such as harvest plans and the large surface area of the territory, around 5 times larger than the average deer home range. Our ongoing analysis, including an assessment of genetic diversity, should deepen our understanding of these populations' dynamics, helping us elucidating how red deer adapt to environmental changes such as habitat fragmentation and harvest pressure.


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