Developing methods to monitor performance and health of deer

 

Background

Photo: Neil McIntyre

The majestic red deer is a famous icon of Scotland’s natural heritage and plays an important role in the sustainability of rural economies. However, an exponential rise in the population density of deer has had detrimental impacts on the habitat in which they reside. The damage caused to regenerating native woodland from increasing grazing pressure has in some areas led to a reduction in the diversity of associated fauna and flora species.

In order to predict how deer populations across Scotland will respond to future changes in both climate and land use, it is essential to monitor their performance and health under a wide range of current environmental conditions and deer and habitat management strategies.  This information can be used to keep deer numbers at sustainable levels and to maintain a healthy and stable population.

Research 

Photo: Neil McIntyre

The Scottish Government, via the Deer Commission for Scotland, has commissioned Forest Research and the Macaulay Institute, to develop a suite of measures of deer performance and health. The project will focus upon open-hill red deer across Scotland. We plan to identify those variables that can be measured with the greatest consistently and those that provide the most useful management data. This information will be used to produce a robust monitoring system that can not only be applied in the long-term but that is also appropriate for deer managers to undertake independently in the future. 

The project benefits from the formation of a Steering Group consisting of individuals with many years of experience of research and deer management and from the opportunity to conduct a pilot study in the first year. This will enable us to test our initial data collection package and to make any modifications before the main study commences in the second year.

The current phase of the project involves the recruitment of a minimum of 20 large open-hill estates across Scotland and the continued development of our pilot data collection package.

Contact

Rebecca Brassey
Ecology Division
Forest Research
Northern Research Station
Roslin
Midlothian EH25 9SY

Tel: 0131 445 8716
Email: rebecca.brassey@forestry.gsi.gov.uk