Space use and activity patterns of red deer in a highly forested and in a patchy forest-agricultural habitat

Red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) were fitted with GPS collars to estimate their ha bitat use and feeding ethology. The purpose of the study was to f ind methods to reduce crop damage caused by deer. The collars were programmed to produce an hourly recording of position. Two different types of habitat were studied: a) An undisturbed and variabl e habitat (Zala County), b) A less variable area much disturbed by human activities (Sopron mountains). Comparisons were made between 1) the expansion of home range, 2) the intensity of open h abitats use, and 3) the activity patterns of marked individuals in the two areas. The seasonal change of size of the home ranges show ed similar dynamics in the two regions. The summer home range was always smaller than the autumn-winter ranges. In Zala County, the winter range often overlapped the summer range. In the Sopron mountain area, there was a definite home range shift. The summer home ranges i n the Sopron area were examined using the 60 % Kernel method where differences were usually found between the day and night-time home areas. In the Zala region the phenomenon was not ob served. The autumn-winter home range of stags is larger than that of hinds particularly in the summer. Examined with the minimum convex polygon method the difference is even larger than t he results obtained from the Kernel method, which focuses on density distribution. This shows t hat the autumn-winter movements mostly represent rambling and only in a lesser, but still significant extent derive from the real extension of home ranges. Large differences existed at regional and individua l levels regarding the use of the open habitats. The red deer in Zala used the open habitats in a mo re intensive way than those in Sopron. The daytime activity of the Sopron stags was less t han that of the Zala stags.