Adaptive response of Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) to climate and altitude in the temperate forests of South Korea

Understanding climatic effect on wildlife is essential to prediction and management of climate change’s impact on the ecosystem. The climatic effect can interact with other environmental factors. This study aimed to determine effects of climate and altitude on Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) activity in temperate forests of South Korea. We conducted camera trapping to investigate roe deer’s activity level from spring to fall. Logistic regressions were used to determine effects of diel period, temperature, rain, and altitude on the activity level. A negative relationship was noted between temperature and the activity level due to thermoregulatory costs. Roe deer activity exhibited nocturnal and crepuscular patterns during summer and the other seasons, respectively, possibly due to heat stress in summer. In addition, the effect of temperature differed between high- and low-altitude areas. In low-altitude areas, temperature affected negatively the activity level throughout the study..., The camera trapping method was used to observe temporal variations in roe deer capture (sampling days: September to October 2021 and April to August 2022). In the study area, a 5 × 6 grid design (interval = 600 m) was established, and one trail camera (Spec Ops Elite HP4; Browning Co., USA) was deployed corresponding to each cell of the grid. The study period was divided into five seasons, and further analyses were performed for each season: spring (15 April to 15 May, 960 trap-days), early summer (16 May to 30 June, 1380 trap-days), summer (1 July to 31 August, 1860 trap-days), early fall (September, 900 trap-days) and fall (October, 810 trap-days). The camera-plot altitudes were categorised into four classes: 600 (600–800 m asl, n = 3), 800 (800–1,000 m asl, n = 10), 1,000 (1,000–1,200 m asl, n = 11) and 1,200 (1,200–1,400 m asl, n = 6). We created a roedeer variable as presence/absence of observation per 2-h in each altitude class. In order to account for sampling effort depending on..., , This README file was generated on 2023-09-22 by Tae-Kyung Eom.

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Title of Dataset: Adaptive response of Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) to climate and altitude in the temperate forests of South Korea
2. Author Information
A. Principal Investigator Contact Information
Name: Tae-Kyung Eom
Institution: Chung-Ang University
Address: Ansung, South Korea
Email: [e-mail]

B. Associate or Co-investigator Contact Information
Name: Jae-Kang Lee
Institution: Chung-Ang University
Address: Ansung, South Korea

Name: Dong-Ho Lee
Institution: Chung-Ang University
Address: Ansung, South Korea

Name: Hyeongyu Ko
Institution: Chung-Ang University
Address: Ansung, South Korea

Name: Shin-Jae Rhim
Institution: Chung-Ang University
Address: Ansung, South Korea
3. Date of data collection (single date, range, approximate date): 2021-2022
4. Geographic location of data collection: Mt. Gariwang, Pyeo...