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Animals
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Strategies for Monitoring and Managing Wild Ungulate Populations
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Strategies for Monitoring and Managing Wild Ungulate Populations

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Wildlife".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 2990

Editors

Dr. Rita Tinoco Torres

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: wildlife ecology and management; reintroduction biology; wildlife zoonoses; wildlife monitoring; landscape ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ana Manuel Figueiredo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: One Health; wildlife zoonoses; veterinary parasitology; wildlife genetics; conservation medicine; wildlife ecology and management; wildlife conservation and management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wild ungulates are key components of terrestrial ecosystems, influencing vegetation dynamics, predator-prey relationships, and human communities that depend on them. Addressing their positive and negative impacts on ecosystems requires effective monitoring methods and adaptive management strategies grounded in sound science and tailored to the local context. This Special Issue invites contributions that advance our understanding of effective strategies for monitoring and managing wild ungulate populations in both protected and human-modified environments.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and case studies that explore the following topics:

  • Innovative and traditional monitoring techniques (e.g., remote sensing, camera trapping, telemetry, genetic sampling);
  • Population modelling and trend analysis;
  • Responses to environmental change and anthropogenic pressures;
  • Conflict mitigation strategies and policy frameworks;
  • Conservation planning.

By bringing together a diverse range of perspectives and methodologies, this Issue seeks to inform future conservation efforts and promote the resilience of wild ungulate populations around the world.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Rita Tinoco Torres
Dr. Ana Manuel Figueiredo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • wildlife monitoring
  • wildlife management
  • ungulates

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 4552 KB  
Article
Exploratory Ecology of Reintroduced Elk in Virginia
by Braiden A. Quinlan, Heather N. Abernathy, David M. Kalb, Jacalyn P. Rosenberger, Emily D. Thorne, William Mark Ford and Michael J. Cherry
Animals 2026, 16(12), 1917; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16121917 - 20 Jun 2026
Viewed by 308
Abstract
Reintroductions of extirpated species are an important tool in wildlife conservation. Understanding how reintroduced populations acclimatize to novel environments can lend insight into social learning that in turn is valuable for assessing reintroduction success and maximizing efficacy of subsequent efforts. During 2012, 2013, [...] Read more.
Reintroductions of extirpated species are an important tool in wildlife conservation. Understanding how reintroduced populations acclimatize to novel environments can lend insight into social learning that in turn is valuable for assessing reintroduction success and maximizing efficacy of subsequent efforts. During 2012, 2013, and 2014, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources implemented soft releases of elk (Cervus canadensis) translocated to southwestern Virginia from eastern Kentucky. We investigated home range establishment and post-release movements of these reintroduced elk (n = 60). We found adults moved farther from the release site than either yearlings or calves (F = 6.93, p = 0.001). Elk released in 2012 and 2013 took similar amounts of time to establish home ranges (median 181 days, range 108–214 days; and median 189 days, range 147–209 days, respectively), but individuals released in 2013 remained closer to the release site (x¯ = 605.5 m, SD = 335.7 m, closer) presumably by joining established social groups. However, the 2014 cohort generally took longer to establish home ranges (median: 231 days; range: 56–258 days) and moved farthest from the release site (x¯ = 1360.2 m, SD = 293.9 m, farther than 2012 individuals) possibly due to the larger cohort size and resulting intraspecific competition, or the earlier release date that year. Our findings suggest the number of consecutively released cohorts, the timing of the release, and the composition of age classes for released individuals are important considerations for reintroductions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies for Monitoring and Managing Wild Ungulate Populations)
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16 pages, 823 KB  
Article
Eucalyptus Plantation Management Shapes Roe Deer Site-Use Patterns
by Guilherme Ares-Pereira, Rita Tinoco Torres, Daniela Teixeira, Rui G. Morgado, Jorge F. Henriques, Guilherme Castro, Ana Magalhães, Cátia Lima, Cláudia Camarinha and Luís Miguel Rosalino
Animals 2026, 16(11), 1613; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16111613 - 26 May 2026
Viewed by 502
Abstract
The expansion of Eucalyptus plantations has raised concerns about their effects on wildlife, yet the influence of stand-level management on roe deer remains poorly understood. We investigated how plantation management shapes roe deer responses in central Portugal using 375 camera-trap deployments from 2019 [...] Read more.
The expansion of Eucalyptus plantations has raised concerns about their effects on wildlife, yet the influence of stand-level management on roe deer remains poorly understood. We investigated how plantation management shapes roe deer responses in central Portugal using 375 camera-trap deployments from 2019 and 2020 and four session-specific single-season occupancy models that separated detection probability from site-use probability. Across sessions, stand size was retained mainly in the detection component, indicating that variation in camera-trap sampling coverage influenced detectability more consistently than ecological site use. Support for site-use effects varied among periods, but the strongest result emerged in the 2020 dry season, when site use was lower in reforestation stands than in afforestation stands and temporal responses differed among production regimens. The 2020 wet season also supported a positive effect of time since intervention on site use after accounting for broad spatial structure. By contrast, the 2019 wet season informed detection only, whereas the 2019 dry season showed non-linear relationships weakened by overdispersion and QAICc sensitivity. Overall, our findings indicate that Eucalyptus plantations should not be treated as ecologically uniform systems, because roe deer responses depend on when and how stands are managed, with reforestation representing the most disruptive phase. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies for Monitoring and Managing Wild Ungulate Populations)
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14 pages, 2798 KB  
Article
Linking Seasonal Dietary Strategies and Selectivity to Inform Forage Restoration for Przewalski’s Gazelle on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
by Lili Hou and Ming Xu
Animals 2026, 16(5), 794; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16050794 - 4 Mar 2026
Viewed by 979
Abstract
Understanding the forage resources that sustain endangered herbivores under strong seasonal constraints is essential for effective habitat restoration. Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii), an endemic ungulate restricted to the Qinghai Lake Basin on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, persists in fragmented subpopulations facing pronounced [...] Read more.
Understanding the forage resources that sustain endangered herbivores under strong seasonal constraints is essential for effective habitat restoration. Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii), an endemic ungulate restricted to the Qinghai Lake Basin on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, persists in fragmented subpopulations facing pronounced seasonal bottlenecks in forage availability. Here, we investigated seasonal dietary strategies and forage selectivity across nine geographically isolated subpopulations by integrating fecal microhistological diet analysis with vegetation surveys and availability-corrected Jacobs’ electivity indices. Gazelle diets were compressed in early spring, dominated by graminoids (Poaceae and Cyperaceae), but expanded substantially during summer, with increased contributions from Fabaceae and Rosaceae and significantly higher richness and niche breadth. Electivity analyses revealed a hierarchical spectrum of preferences structured around core foundation taxa consistently selected across seasons, complemented by season-specific priority resources during spring bottlenecks and summer abundance. Basin-wide pairwise ranking further identified seasonal priority forage taxa with varying spatial consistency across subpopulations. These findings provide a seasonally explicit framework for identifying key forage targets and guiding evidence-based restoration and zoned management within Qinghai Lake National Park, offering transferable insights for conserving endangered plateau herbivores under fragmentation and strong seasonal resource limitation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies for Monitoring and Managing Wild Ungulate Populations)
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10 pages, 8965 KB  
Article
Status of the Mule Deer Population in Western Sonora, Mexico
by Juan Manuel Segundo-Galán, Enrique de Jesús Ruiz-Mondragón, Raul Valdez and Israel Guerrero-Cárdenas
Animals 2026, 16(5), 725; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16050725 - 26 Feb 2026
Viewed by 617
Abstract
The mule deer population in Mexico declined severely during the early 20th century but recovered due to public policies centered on sport hunting. Sonora is considered the main reference for mule deer management in Mexico; however, the conservation status of the species in [...] Read more.
The mule deer population in Mexico declined severely during the early 20th century but recovered due to public policies centered on sport hunting. Sonora is considered the main reference for mule deer management in Mexico; however, the conservation status of the species in the state remains unclear. This study aimed to estimate the relative abundance and population structure of mule deer in Sonora. An aerial survey was conducted from 4 to 24 November 2019 using linear transects distributed across 62 sampling quadrants (30 × 30 km each). Over 82 flight hours, a total of 1376 deer were observed, with a male:female:fawn ratio of 24:100:12. The number of sightings and deer observed per quadrant followed a normal distribution, with averages of five sightings and twenty-two deer per sampling unit. The quadrants with the lowest abundance corresponded to areas containing towns and agricultural fields, whereas the areas with the highest deer numbers coincided with those containing a high concentration of Wildlife Conservation Management Units, where habitat improvement actions were implemented. The results falls within the limits of a stable population of desert mule deer; however, the low proportion of fawns suggests that limiting factors may be exerting pressure on the population. These findings highlight the importance of continued habitat management and monitoring to promote population stability and support recruitment in Sonoran mule deer populations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies for Monitoring and Managing Wild Ungulate Populations)
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