Investigating the mechanism of increased interspecific competition between sika deer and Japanese serow due to increased sika deer population

Research Project

Project/Area Number	18K05724
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Review Section	Basic Section 40010:Forest science-related
Research Institution	Gifu University
Principal Investigator	Ando Masaki 岐阜大学, 応用生物科学部, 准教授 (80526880)
Project Period (FY)	2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2021)
Budget Amount *help	¥4,290,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥990,000) Fiscal Year 2020: ¥260,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥60,000) Fiscal Year 2019: ¥260,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥60,000) Fiscal Year 2018: ¥3,770,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥870,000)
Keywords	ニホンジカ / カモシカ / GPSテレメトリー / 行動圏 / 自動撮影装置 / 土地利用傾向 / 種間相互作用 / カメラトラップ / 種間競争 / GPS首輪 / 主観競争 / 森林 / 生物間相互作用
Outline of Final Research Achievements	To clarify some aspects of interspecific interactions between sika deer and Japanese serow, we (1) used GPS collars to determine the home range of both species and (2) compared habitat use trends using camera traps. The results of (1) showed that serows form exclusive territories against individuals of the same sex. It is also shown that the male deer migrate seasonally, while female deer use a stable home range throughout the year. In addition, for a serow and deer, which had overlapping home ranges, it was confirmed that although the home ranges themselves overlapped significantly, the core areas that were frequently used did not overlap. The results of (2) indicate that there are differences in the habitat use tends of the two species for environmental factors.
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	国内ではニホンジカ(以下、シカ)の個体数増加およびこれに伴う森林下層植生の衰退が問題となっている。シカと同じく大型の草食動物であるカモシカとシカ(以下、両種)とが同所的に生息する地域では、生息域や餌資源を巡る両種間の競争が生じると考えられるが、その詳細は不明である。本研究により、行動圏の重複する両種間でコアエリアの排他的利用が確認され、一部の環境要因においても両種に共通する土地利用傾向があったことから、シカの個体数増加はカモシカに対する空間資源をめぐる競争を亢進させることが示唆された。この成果は、両種の種間相互作用の一旦を明らかにし、両種の保護管理を同所的に行うための重要な知見を提供した。