Home range and habitat selection of an insular fallow deer (Dama dama L.) population on Little St. Simons Island, Georgia, USA

A better understanding of habitat use and home range size for an exotic fallow deer (Dama dama L.) population in coastal Georgia is needed to understand the relationship between this introduced species and the barrier island ecosystem. These spatial requirements will aid in management decisions to limit negative impacts to the deer or sensitive habitats. We describe annual and seasonal home range and habitat use of seven fallow deer fitted with GPS collars. Home ranges of females averaged 130.3 +/- 0.45 ha based on a 95% local convex hull (LoCoH) nonparametric kernel method. Home ranges of adult males were highly variable, ranging from 56.9 to 354.8 ha. We examined site fidelity by analyzing shifts in core areas and percent overlap across seasons. Only one individual exhibited a seasonal range shift; all other deer demonstrated a high level of site fidelity. Based on compositional analysis of habitat use versus availability, fallow deer avoided salt marshes but showed individual variation in selection of other habitats. Maritime shrub was the most commonly preferred habitat type on the barrier island. Fallow deer have adapted to effectively use available habitats on the barrier island and have successfully excluded native white-tailed deer from recolonizing LSSI.