Livestock grazing affects movements and activity pattern of Italian roe deer in Southern Italy

Reduction of floristic diversity may trigger local competition between native wildlife, particularly ungulates, and livestock. In this study, we analysed spatial and temporal niche partitioning between the vulnerable, endemic Italian roe deer Capreolus capreolus italicus and free-ranging cattle livestock (cattle) in the Gargano National Park in Southern Italy. We carried out an intensive camera-trapping during the territorial phase (March-August) of the roe deer, in 2015, with a stratified sampling design. We placed camera traps in 60 randomly chosen locations, each one sampled for 20 consecutive days, within the borders of the National Park. Camera trap data were used to assess patterns of activity rhythms and overlaps between roe deer and free-ranging livestock, as well as interspecific spatial interactions through two-species occupancy models. Activity rhythms of roe deer and livestock showed a moderate-high overlap (68%), with roe deer mostly active at dawn and dusk and livestock mostly diurnal. The occupancy of the roe deer was the highest where livestock was not recorded and the lowest where it co-occurred with livestock. Thus, our results showed no temporal partitioning between roe deer and livestock. Conversely, differences in the use of space among those species occurred. Specifically, the roe deer seems to avoid the areas most frequented by livestock, probably because of the locally-reduced food availability.