Rusin I.Yu., Volodin I.A., Sitnikova E.F., Litvinov M.N., Andronova R.S., Volodina E.V. 2021. Roaring dynamics in rutting male red deer Cervus elaphus from five Russian populations // Russian J. Theriol. Vol.20. No.1. P.44–58 [in English].

Ivan Y. Rusin [kikimos@yandex.ru], Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, Moscow 119234, Russia; Ilya A. Volodin [volodinsvoc@gmail.com], Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, Moscow 119234, Russia; Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia; Elena F. Sitnikova [sitnikovae@yandex.ru], Bryansk Forest State Nature Reserve, Zapovednaya str. 2, Nerussa, Suzemsky District, Bryansk 242180, Russia; Mikhail N. Litvinov [mnlitvinov@rambler.ru], Komarov Ussuriisky State Nature Reserve, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ussuriisk 692532, Russia; Rimma S. Andronova [rim.andronova@gmail.com], Federal State Institution “Zapovednoe Priamurye”, Kalinina str. 27b, Khabarovsk 680000, Russia; Elena V. Volodina [volodinsvoc@mail.ru], Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia.

doi: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.20.1.06

ABSTRACT. In Russia, current populations of Cervus elaphus sensu lato represent a mix of fragmented remnants of ancestral red deer naturally radiated from their center of origin in Middle Asia and populations, either re-stored by people at places where the native red deer are extinct or kept for agricultural production. Male rutting roaring activity represents an important part of red deer reproduction but there are no methods for unified evaluation of roaring dynamics. This study proposes the criteria for subdividing the entire rut period to phases (start, active, fading), applicable irrespectively to differences in population geographical area, animal density, subspecies or absolute values of call number per hour. With this approach, we estimate stag rutting roaring activity on hourly basis in five populations of red deer belonging to three subspecies by using two spaced automated recording devices per population, recording roars for 5 min/hour, 24 h/day, for 52–60 days of rutting period. Two spaced recorders per population provided similar data on rut dynamics, although absolute values of call number per hour were different. In four of the five study populations, rut period covered approximately the same calendar dates, from the last days of August until the last ten days of October. The mean roaring activity over a rut period differed strongly between populations (from 4–15 calls/h to 319–377 calls/h). Effects of time of day on roaring activity differed between rut phases. The possible reasons of this variability are discussed.

KEY WORDS: automated recording, Cervus elaphus, passive acoustic monitoring, rut period, stag rutting calls; vocal activity.

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