RESEARCH PAPER
Are females more scared than males? Sexual differences in the spatiotemporal responses of deer to wolves
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1
Research Unit of Behavioral Ecology, Ethology and Wildlife Management – Department of Life Sciences – University of Siena. Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100, Siena, Italy.
2
NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo 90133, Italy.
Online publication date: 2025-04-22
Corresponding author
Leonardo Gallotta
Research Unit of Behavioral Ecology, Ethology and Wildlife Management – Department of Life Sciences – University of Siena. Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100, Siena, Italy.
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ABSTRACT
Predators can indirectly stimulate the development of anti-predator strategies in prey species. Within populations, these behavioral responses may vary according to sex and age classes of individuals, although the existing literature presents conflicting results. Using camera trapping, spatiotemporal responses to the wolf Canis lupus were assessed in relation to sex and age classes in two prey species, the fallow deer Dama dama and the roe deer Capreolus capreolus, within a Mediterranean area recently recolonized by this canid. In fallow deer, results suggest stronger temporal avoidance in females than in adult males, increasing their diurnal activity as the wolf detection rate increased and reducing their temporal overlap with the predator. In roe deer, the avoidance responses were less marked, but females, particularly during the warm period, exhibited different activity patterns compared to males. Smaller body size (fallow deer) and presence of offspring are expected to make females more vulnerable to predation, which would emphasize the perceived predation risk in these individuals, in turn promoting a stronger response to predators compared to males. Females of both species may adopt different activity patterns from males to minimize temporal overlap with the wolf and reduce the risk of direct predator encounters. By providing support to sexual differences in antipredator responses, our results provide a novel contribution to increasing knowledge on the indirect effects of recolonizing predators in human-dominated landscapes of Europe.