Dataset Information

Ecotype Variation in Trace Element Content of Hard Tissues in the European Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus).

ABSTRACT: Animals living in anthropogenic habitats bear a multitude of costs, which are directly or indirectly associated with human activities. Among others, an elevated exposure to environmental pollution can have negative consequences for wildlife populations. We examined the differences in the concentrations of trace elements between the field and forest ecotype of the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Naturally, roe deer inhabited various types of woodlands (forest ecotype), but within the last century, they adapted to life in a human-transformed agricultural areas (field ecotype), which could be associated with an increased exposure to pollution. In this study, we measured concentrations of seven trace metals (barium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, strontium, zinc) and fluoride in skull bones and permanent teeth of more than 230 roe deer from 8 study plots in East-Central Europe. We found that field roe deer had higher concentrations of four trace metals (copper, iron, lead, strontium) and fluoride compared with forest roe deer. These differences were consistent with variations in the general level of environmental contamination within the study plots, as assessed with trace element content in wild plants. Our study indicates that bone and teeth of the European roe deer can be used as a valid indicator of environmental pollution. Also, we expect that elevated exposure of field roe deer to environmental pollution can have negative consequences for wild populations of this species, as well as for the consumers of venison.

SUBMITTER: Demesko J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6326995 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Ecotype Variation in Trace Element Content of Hard Tissues in the European Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus).

Demesko Jan J Markowski Janusz J Demesko Eva E Słaba Mirosława M Hejduk Janusz J Minias Piotr P

Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology 20181115 1

Animals living in anthropogenic habitats bear a multitude of costs, which are directly or indirectly associated with human activities. Among others, an elevated exposure to environmental pollution can have negative consequences for wildlife populations. We examined the differences in the concentrations of trace elements between the field and forest ecotype of the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Naturally, roe deer inhabited various types of woodlands (forest ecotype), but within the las ...[more]

PMID: 30443665

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Project description:Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are found in various habitats, from pure forest cultures to agricultural areas and mountains. In adapting to the geographically and seasonally differentiating food supply, they depend, above all, on an adapted microbiome. However, knowledge about the microbiome of wild ruminants still needs to be improved. There are only a few publications for individual species with a low number of samples. This study aims to identify a core microbiota for Bavarian roe deer and present nutrient and microbiota portraits of the individual habitat types. This study investigated the roe deer's rumen (reticulorumen) content from seven different characteristic Bavarian habitat types. The focus was on the composition of nutrients, fermentation products, and the rumen bacterial community. A total of 311 roe deer samples were analysed, with the most even possible distribution per habitat, season, age class, and gender. Significant differences in nutrient concentrations and microbial composition were identified for the factors habitat, season, and age class. The highest crude protein content (plant protein and microbial) in the rumen was determined in the purely agricultural habitat (AG), the highest value of non-fibre carbohydrates in the alpine mountain forest, and the highest fibre content (neutral detergent fibre, NDF) in the pine forest habitat. Maximum values for fibre content go up to 70% NDF. The proportion of metabolites (ammonia, lactate, total volatile fatty acids) was highest in the Agriculture-Beech-Forest habitat (ABF). Correlations can be identified between adaptations in the microbiota and specific nutrient concentrations, as well as in strong fluctuations in ingested forage. In addition, a core bacterial community comprising five genera could be identified across all habitats, up to 44% of total relative abundance. As with all wild ruminants, many microbial genera remain largely unclassified at various taxonomic levels. This study provides a more in-depth insight into the diversity and complexity of the roe deer rumen microbiota. It highlights the key microorganisms responsible for converting naturally available nutrients of different botanical origins.

Project description:Background. Understanding species distribution, especially areas of overlapping habitat between sympatric species, is essential for informing conservation through natural habitat protection. New protection strategies should simultaneously consider conservation efforts for multiple species that exist within the same landscape, which requires studies that include habitat overlap analysis. Methods. We estimated the potential habitat of cervids, which are typical ungulates in northern China, using the present locations of red deer (Cervus elaphus; N = 90) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus; N = 106) in a Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model. Our study area was a human-dominated landscape in the Tieli Forestry Bureau located at the southern slope of the Lesser Xing'an Mountains. We grouped 17 environmental predictor variables into five predictor classes (terrain, habitat accessibility, land cover, vegetation feature, and interference), which were used to build habitat suitability models. Results. Habitat accessibility and human interferences were found to have the strongest influence on habitat suitability among the five variable classes. Among the environmental factors, distance to farmland (26.8%), distance to bush-grass land (14.6%), elevation (13.5%), and distance to water source (12.2%) were most important for red deer, distance to farmland (22.9%), distance to settlement (21.4%), elevation (11.6%), and coverage of shrub-grass (8%) were most important for roe deer. Model accuracy was high for both species (mean area under the curve (AUC) = 0.936 for red deer and 0.924 for roe deer). The overlapping habitat comprised 89.93 km(2) within the study area, which occupied 94% of potentially suitable habitat for red deer and 27% for roe deer. Conclusions. In terms of habitat suitability, roe deer showed greater selectivity than red deer. The overlapping habitat was mostly located in the eastern mountains. The southwestern plain was not a suitable habitat for deer because it was close to Tieli City. Regarding management measures, we suggest that priority protection should be given to the potential areas of overlapping deer habitats found in this study.

Dataset Information

Ecotype Variation in Trace Element Content of Hard Tissues in the European Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus).

Publications

Ecotype Variation in Trace Element Content of Hard Tissues in the European Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus).

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