Dispersal and Dispersion of Black-Tailed Deer: Models and Observations
- 24 May 1983
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Mammalogy
- Vol. 64 (2) , 201-209
- https://doi.org/10.2307/1380549
Abstract
The term dispersal is used to include individual movements out of an area larger than a home range that exhibit no predictable return; many models examining dispersal incorporate time explicitly. Dispersion is defined as the distribution of animals in space, ignoring time since birth. Direction, distance, and age at dispersal were examined for Odocoileus hemionus columbianus on Vancouver Island, B.C., and in western Washington. Empirically, movements >5 km were dispersive. Dispersive movements showed significant directionality as a function of topography; non-dispersive movements showed none. Dispersive movements averaged 15.2 ±5.1 and 12.2 ± 1.7 km for males and females, respectively; comparable values for non-dispersive movements were 1.8 ± 0.3 and 1.7 ± 0.4 km. Movements greater than 12 km were rare (5 to 10%) and generally were made by males. Dispersal was greatest at 1−2 years of age. The sex and age distribution of dispersing individuals suggested that increased access to mates could explain observed patterns. When models were compared statistically with observations, the latter showed neither attributes of a random walk or diffusion process nor normal distribution about birth sites. Observed patterns suggest two phenotypes—“non-dispersers” and “dispersers.”This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:
- Mating systems, philopatry and dispersal in birds and mammalsAnimal Behaviour, 1980
- An Experimental Study of Dispersal in the California Ground SquirrelEcology, 1979
- Inter-troop transfer and inbreeding avoidance in Papio anubisAnimal Behaviour, 1979
- The relationship between density and distance of dispersing insectsEcological Entomology, 1978
- Genetic, Behavioral, and Reproductive Attributes of Dispersing Field Voles Microtus pennsylvanicus and Microtus ochrogasterEcological Monographs, 1971
- Mule Deer Home Range and Dispersal in UtahThe Journal of Wildlife Management, 1966
- The Dynamics of Three Natural Populations of the Deer Odocoileus Hemionus ColumbianusEcology, 1957
- GENETICS OF NATURAL POPULATIONS. X. DISPERSION RATES IN DROSOPHILA PSEUDOOBSCURAGenetics, 1943