Food habits of Japanese deer in an evergreen forest: Litter-feeding deer

Abstract

We observed the feeding behaviors of wild Japanese sika deer (Cervus nippon yakushimae) in a warm temperate broad-leaved evergreen forest of the island of Yakushima using the focal animal sampling Deer also fed on animal matters as minor food items, such as the feces of monkeys and raccoon dogs, bones of deer and monkeys, and bird carcasses. Animal matters constituted 0.3-1.6% of the seasonal diet.Sympatric monkeys supplied food to deer as a result of their daily activities. Monkey-supplied foods 2 comprised 1.7-10.9% of the seasonal diet of sika deer. Monkeys tended to supply many fruits and seeds.Overall, 75.0% of the annual deer diet consisted of forest litter, even though deer had access to abundant living edible leaves in the study area. Therefore, sika deer in this forest ecosystem function ecologically as decomposers rather than primary consumers.

Effects of time and environmental conditions on the quality of DNA extracted from fecal samples for genotyping of wild deer in a warm temperate broad-leaved forest

“…Deer in the study area were well habituated (Agetsuma et al 2011) and researchers could follow them and observe their behavior at close quarters. On May 20, 2015, we followed three female deer and collected their fecal pellets just after defecation.…”

Plant constituents affecting food selection by sika deer

“…Furthermore, it is sometimes uncertain whether the locations in which the ungulates were shot to obtain the rumens are coincident with their foraging grounds and the environmental availability of food items eaten (Bee et al ). Browsing marks are difficult to consistently quantify across various food types (Wam and Hjeljord ), and if ungulates frequently feed on forest litter, such as fallen leaves and fruits (Gayot et al , Soumya et al , Agetsuma et al , Tsuji et al ), there are often no traces of consumption. Some of these difficulties can be resolved by conducting feeding experiments in captivity and semi‐captivity.…”

“…Direct observation of the feeding behavior of wild animals in their natural habitats has the potential to avoid most of the methodological problems that are inherent in indirect dietary analyses and food selection experiments in captivity as discussed above, provided the plant species, plant parts, and even the condition of food plants that are eaten can be sufficiently identified (Agetsuma et al ). Direct observation also provides information of potential foods that are available to specific animals when they select food items.…”

“…Direct observation also provides information of potential foods that are available to specific animals when they select food items. However, the feeding behavior of wild ungulates is often difficult to observe and consequently, few such studies have been conducted (Hjeljord et al , Agetsuma et al ).…”

Is deer herbivory directly proportional to deer population density? Comparison of deer feeding frequencies among six forests with different deer density

“…Another possibility is that the deer shifted to litter fall as main food items. Agetsuma et al (2011) observed deer foraging behavior around HNYM and reported that 75% of the deer diet consisted of forest litter, such as fallen leaves, flowers or fruits. Thus, it seems likely that the dependence on litter fall as the diet increased along with increasing deer density in the forests where deer density was higher than 20 deer/km 2 , which resulted in the nonlinear relationship between deer density and deer herbivory.…”