Red deer and damages: Red deer space use, population ecology and level of grazing damages to farmland and forests

In Norway, there has been a large increase in the red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) population, especially in the core areas in western Norway and the population is historically high. Consequently, damages to forests and agricultural grassland have increased and with economic consequences for stakeholders. However, there is a limited understanding of spatial and temporal variation in browsing and grazing patterns of economically important tree species and crops. A deeper understanding of red deer population ecology and patterns of space use is a key to predict damages and to mitigate their impact in human-dominated landscapes and forests. The main objectives for this PhD study are: 1. Quantify the severity of grazing and browsing damages on forests and agricultural grassland and determine spatial risk factors. 2. Identify areas and habitats with overlap in niche between red deer, moose and reindeer to assess risk of disease transmission across species. To achieve objective one, we will combine data on grazing damages to agricultural grasslands, to economically important tree species, and a large dataset of tracking GPS-marked red deer. To achieve objective two we will utilize a large dataset on GPS tagged red deer, moose and reindeer marked on and around Hardangervidda.