Premium
Population density and group composition of Japanese sika deer ( Cervus nippon yakushimae ) in an evergreen broad‐leaved forest in Yakushima, southern Japan
Author(s) -
Agetsuma Naoki,
Sugiura Hideki,
Hill David A.,
AgetsumaYanagihara Yoshimi,
Tanaka Toshiaki
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
ecological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1440-1703
pISSN - 0912-3814
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1703.2003.00571.x
Subject(s) - cervus , evergreen , evergreen forest , biology , population , ecology , population density , zoology , geography , demography , sociology
The population density of Japanese sika deer ( Cervus nippon yakushimae Kuroda and Okada) in an evergreen broad‐leaved forest in Yakushima, southern Japan, was surveyed over 4 years from 1998 to 2001. Two approximately 50 ha study sites, Hanyama and Kawahara, were established with a total of 4 km of census trails at each site. The estimated densities of sika deer at the two sites were 43–70 deer km −2 at Hanyama and 63–78 deer km −2 at Kawahara, although these values might be underestimates. The adult sex ratio (number of adult males : number of adult females) ranged from 0.6 to 1.0 at Hanyama, and from 0.4 to 0.9 at Kawahara. Mean group size was 1.9 deer (male group, 1.5 deer; female group, 1.6 deer; mixed group, 3.6 deer). The population density of sika deer was relatively high compared to other sites in Japan, with the exception of very small (<10 km 2 ) islands. Possible explanations for this naturally high density of sika deer in an evergreen broad‐leaved forest in Yakushima are discussed.