Home range study of the Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis agyropus) using radio and GPS tracking in South Korea: Comparison of daily and seasonal habitat use pattern

Abstract

The water deer (Hydropotes inermis) is one of the most primitive extant deer of the family Cervidae. Unlike Chinese water deer, Korean water deer have rarely been studied, even though they have relatively well remained in Korea. In particular, the home range of the Korean water deer has not yet been studied. Here we estimated the home range of the Korean water deer using two different methods (GPS and radio tracking) and analyzed the home range according to sex, time, and season. The mean home range size of four individuals was 2.77 km 2 and 0.34 km 2 under the 95% minimum convex polygon (MCP) and the 50% kernel (K) method, respectively. There seemed to be a difference in home range size between males (3.30 km 2) and females (2.25 km 2) under the 95% MCP method. We also found a difference in home range size between day (1.90 km 2) and night (2.43 km 2) by 95% MCP method. In addition, a home range size difference was observed between summer (4.65 km 2) and spring (0.48 km 2) or fall (0.85 km 2) using the 95% MCP method. Water deer seemed to have a larger home range in night than in day, and males also have a larger home range. We presumed that the GPS tracking method of the code division multiple access system could be a very useful tool for understanding the ecology of the water deer using the radio tracking method. Using these tracking methods and through future research, we can better understand the habitat use pattern of these water deer. © The Ecological Society of Korea.