Species
Cervidae
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Cervids use three main types of communication: vocal, chemical, and visual. Vocal communication is used primarily during times of fear or excitement. The most common form of vocal communication is barking, which is typically used in response to a disturbance, such as visual contact with a predator or a disturbing noise. Barking is also used as an expression of victory after a competitive interaction between two males. Cervids also communicate through a variety of hormone and pheromone signals. For example, male cervids demarcate territory with glandular secretions rubbing their face, head, neck, and sides against trees, shrubs, or tall grasses. Cervids also use visual communication, known as scraping. Scraping is primarily used during mating season by males to advertise their presence and availability to females. To create a scape, males paw the ground with the forelimbs, producing patches of bare ground about 0.5 m to 1.0 m in width. Typically, scrapes are marked with a secretion from the interdigital glands located between their hooves. In response to a potential threat, some species stand with their body tensed and rigid, while leaning slightly forward, which signals the potential threat to conspecifics.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: pheromones ; scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
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The lifespan of most cervid ranges from 11 to 12 years, however, many are killed before their fifth birthday due to various causes including hunting, predation, or motor vehicle collisions. In most species, males have shorter lifespans than females and this is likely a result of intrasexual competition for mates and the solitary nature of most sexually dimorphic males, resulting in increased risk of predation. However, recent studies show that sex-biased mortality rates are tightly linked to local environmental conditions. Captive deer tend to outlive their wild counterparts as they are subjected to little or no predation and have access to an abundant supply of food. The lifespan of cervids decreases as the number of deer exceeds the local environments carrying capacity. In this case, young and old cervids tend to suffer from starvation, as stronger, middle-aged deer outcompete them for forage.
- Whitehead, G. 1972. Deer of the World. London: Constable.
- Toigo C, C., J. Gaillard. d. 2003. Causes of sex-biased adult survival in ungulates : sexual size dimorphism , mating tactic or environment harshness. Oikos, Oikos: 376-384.
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Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Cervidae/ |
Although most cervids are polygynous, some species are monogamous (e.g., European Roe deer). The breeding season of most cervids is short, with females coming into estrus in synchrony. In some species, males establish territories, which encompass those of one or more females. Males may then mate with those females who have territories within his own. In some cervids, females may form small groups known as harems, which are guarded and maintained by males, and in other species males simply travel between herds looking for estrus females. Sexual segregation is not uncommon in cervids; however, in some species permanent mixed-sex groups result in male-male competition for potential mates. In sexually segregating species, males join females only to copulate, leaving at the end of breeding season. Males establish dominance hierarchies among themselves, with the most dominant males achieving the most copulations. Males may hold dominance over a harem or territory and are often challenged by rival males. Male cervids significantly decrease forage intake during breeding season, which, in conjunction with being continually challenged by rivals males, ensures that dominance by any one individual is short lived. Antler growth is dependent on individual nutrition and evidence suggests that the size and symmetry of male antlers serves as an indicator of mate quality for females.
Mating System: monogamous ; polygynous
Cervids living in temperate zones typically breed during late autumn or early winter. Seasonal breeders at lower latitudes, such as the chital, breed from late spring into early summer (e.g., April or May). Conception usually occurs during the first estrus cycle of the breeding season, and those that do not conceive will re-enter estrus every 18 days until they become pregnant. Species living in tropical climates, such as grey brocket deer, often do not have a fixed breeding season, and females may come in to estrus multiple times throughout the year. Gestation in cervids ranges from 180 days in Chinese water deer to 240 days for elk, with larger species tending to have longer gestational periods. Roe deer are the only cervid known to have delayed implantation. Cervids typically have from 1 to 3 offspring, and often, not all fetuses are carried to term, as the number of offspring born each year is dependent on population density and resource abundance. Age at weaning varies among species, with smaller species nursing for only 2 to 3 months and larger species nursing for much longer. For example Bornean yellow muntjacs are weaned by about 2 months of age and North American moose are weaned by about 5 months, however, erratic nursing may continue for up to 7 months after birth.
Body weight is more importance in determining sexual maturity in cervids than actual age; therefore, an individual's reproductive activity is dependent on environmental conditions and resource quality and abundance. Due to the energetic costs of lactation, this is especially true for females. In males, testes begin producing hormones at the end of the first year, and consequently, antler growth occurs during the end of the first year or the beginning of the second. However, because male-male competition plays a dominant role in cervid mating behavior, most males do not mate until they can outcompete rivals for access to females.
Although some cervids are solitary, most are gregarious and live in herds that vary in size from a few individuals to more than 100,000 (e.g., caribou. Average group size depends on the demographic composition (i.e., sex and age) of the immediate population, the degree of inter- and intraspecific competition, and resource quality and abundance. Habitat segregation in cervids tends to peak during calving and significantly decreases soon afterward. Most species are polygynous, and males use their antlers in combat to obtain and defend females. Sexual-size dimorphism is common in cervids. Males are larger than females in most species, and sexual dimorphism is more pronounced in the most highly polygynous species. Cervids have a number of glands on their feet, legs, and faces that are used during intraspecific communication. Males of many cervid species significantly decrease forage intake during mating season, and evidence suggests that feeding cessation in males is linked to various physiological processes associated with chemical communication during the breeding season.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
As with many artiodactyls, cervids can be classified as either hiders or followers. Altricially born cervids are highly vulnerable to predation for the first few weeks of life. As a result, mothers hide their young in the surrounding vegetation as they forage nearby. Hider mothers periodically return to their young throughout the day to nurse and clean their calves. Females that give birth to multiple offspring hide each individual in separate locations, presumably to decrease the chance of losing multiple young to a predator. Once young become strong enough to escape potential predators they join their mother during foraging bouts. Some species are precocially born and are able to run only a few hours after birth (e.g., Rangifer tarandus). These species are often referred to as followers.
Lactation is one of the most energetically expensive activities possible for female mammals and lactating cervids are often not able to consume enough food to maintain their body weight, especially during the first weeks of lactation. Typically, young are weaned earlier in smaller species; however, sporadic nursing may occur for up to 7 months after birth. Young cervids may stay with their mother until she is about to give birth to the subsequent season’s offspring. In many species, females stay within their mother’s range after maturation, while males are forced to disperse. In most species, males do not provide any parental care to their offspring.
Parental Investment: female parental care ; pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); post-independence association with parents
- Bowyer, R., V. van Ballenberghe, J. Kie, J. Maier. 2010. Birth-Site Selection by Alaskan Moose : Maternal Strategies for Coping with a Risky Environment. Mammalogy, 80: 1070-1083.
- Bubenik, A. 2007. Evolution, Taxonomy and Morphophysiology. Pp. 77-123 in A Franzmann, C Schwartz, eds. Ecology and Management of the North American Moose, Second Edition. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado.
- Feldhamer, G., L. Drickamer, S. Vessey, J. Merritt, C. Krajewski. 2007. Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Miquelle, D. 1990. Why don't bull moose eat during the rut?. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 27/2: 145-151.
- Putnam, R. 1989. The Natural History of Deer. United Kingdom: Cornell University Press.
- Vaughan, T., J. Ryan, N. Czaplewski. 2000. Mammalogy. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole - Thomson Learning.
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Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:673
Specimens with Sequences:741
Specimens with Barcodes:527
Species:59
Species With Barcodes:58
Public Records:487
Public Species:55
Public BINs:40
The IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species lists 55 species of Cervidae, 2 of which are listed as extinct and 1 is considered critically endangered. Of the remaining 52 species, 8 are endangered, 16 are vulnerable, and 17 are listed as "least concern". The remaining 10 species are listed as "data deficient". Many more local deer population are on the cusp of extirpation, which could lead to inbreeding in adjacent populations. According to the IUCN, major threats of extinction for cervids includes over exploitation due to hunting, habitat loss (e.g., logging, conversion to agriculture, and landscape development), and resource competition with domestic and invasive animals. In addition, climate change has begun to contract species ranges and forced some species of cervid to move poleward. For example, moose, which are an important ecological component of the boreal ecosystem, are notoriously heat intolerant and are at the southern edge of their circumpolar distribution in the north central United States. Since the mid to late 1980's, demographic studies of this species have revealed sharp population declines at its southernmost distribution in response to increasing temperatures. In addition, climate change has allowed more southerly species to move poleward, which increases competition and disease transmission at range interfaces of various species (e.g., white-tailed deer and moose). Finally, cervids are an important food source for a number of different carnivores. As cervid populations decline, so too will those animals that depend on them. CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) lists 25 species of cervid under appendix I.
- Lenarz, M., M. Nelson, M. Schrage, A. Edwards. 2009. Temperature mediated moose survival in northeastern Minnesota. Journal of Wildlife Management, 73: 503-510.
- Murray, D., E. Cox, W. Ballard, H. Whitlaw, M. Lenarz, T. Custer, T. Barnett, T. Fuller. 2006. Pathogens, nutritional deficiency, and climate influences on a declining moose population. Wildlife Monographs, 166: 1-30.
- Colby, C. 1966. Wild Deer. New York, NY: Duell, Sloan, and Pearce.
- CITES, 2011. "CITES species database" (On-line). CITES. Accessed April 15, 2011 at http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html.
- IUCN, 2010. "Mammals" (On-line). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed April 15, 2011 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/search.
- McCarthy, A., R. Blouch, D. Moore. 1998. Deer: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. Cambridge, UK: IUCN.
- Ohtaishi, N. 1993. Deer of China: Biology and Management. The Netherlands: Elsevier Science Publishers.
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Many species of cervid are viewed as agricultural pests, especially in areas where they have become overpopulated due to habitat alterations and lack of natural predators. The effects of deer on crops can be devastating. Most cervid species are forest dwellers and as a result, they can cause damage to timber by browsing, bark-stripping, and velvet cleaning. In addition, deer-vehicle collisions result in significant harm to the health and personal property of those involved. Many cervids carry diseases that can be transmitted to domestic livestock and certain species, including white-tailed deer, elk, and Javan rusa, have been introduced outside of their geographic ranges, causing significant harm to native plant and animal communities.
Negative Impacts: crop pest; causes or carries domestic animal disease
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Diversity of Living Deer
The artiodactyl family Cervidae (deer) has a rich fossil record going back to the early Miocene, around 20 million years ago, and includes several species of very large deer that persisted through the Pleistocene. The cervids still with us today include a number of well known and widespread species, as well as some very poorly known and endangered species. Mattioli (2011) recognized 53 cervid living species placed in 18 genera. He noted, however, that cervid taxonomy is still evolving and that a list of living cervid species 30 years earlier would likely have included only around 34 species. This change is due to the availability of new taxonomic data (notably, DNA sequence data) and approaches, as well as the discovery of entirely new forms. Many taxonomic discoveries likely still lie ahead.
There are two distinct subfamilies within the Cervidae:
1) Subfamily Cervinae (8 genera with 30 species). This subfamily includes two tribes, Muntiacini and Cervini.
a) Tribe Muntiacini. This tribe includes two genera, Elaphodus (with just the single species E. cephalophus, the Tufted Deer) and Muntiacus (muntjacs, 11 spp.), both of which are composed of deer that are relatively small and stocky with males whose antlers are fairly short and simple. Muntiacini are well known for having karyotypes with very few chromosomes.
b) Tribe Cervini. This tribe includes six genera: Axis (4 spp.), Dama (2 spp.), Rusa (4 spp.), Cervus (5 spp.), Elaphurus (1 spp.) and Rucervus (2 spp.). Axis and Rusa deer have three-pointed antlers. Dama (fallow deer) have palmate antlers. Cervus have more complex, four-to-six-pointed antlers. Elaphurus has unusual antlers with a foreshaft and hindshaft. Rucervus is composed of graminivorous deer with specialized molars.
2) Subfamily Capreolinae (or Odocoileinae) (10 genera with 23 species). Nearly all deer in the Capreolinae exhibit a precocious development of the first set of antlers and their permanent dentition is in place by 18 months. This subfamily includes three tribes: Capreolini, Alceini, and Odocoileini.
a) Tribe Capreolini. This tribe includes the Chinese Water Deer (1 species, Hydropotes inermis), which are unusual antlerless deer in which males have long upper canines, and roe deer (Capreolus, 2 spp.).
b) Tribe Alceini. This tribe includes only the Moose (Alces alces).
c) Tribe Odocoileini. This tribe includes the Caribou or Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and all the New World deer (known as the neocervines). There are six genera of New World deer: Odocoileus (2 species), Blastocerus (only Marsh Deer, B. dichotomus), Ozotoceros (only Pampas Deer, O. bezoarticus), Hippocamelus (2 species), Pudu (2 species), Mazama (brocket deer, 10 species; some genetic evidence suggests that Mazama should be split into two genera). In many species in this tribe, there is a time lag of a month or two between the shedding of antlers and their regrowth. Some species are multiparous, i.e., females can give birth to more than one offspring per litter. In White-tailed Deer, first-time breeders, as well as does in the tropics, usually produce singletons, whereas adults in temperate regions typically have twins. With the exception of the Caribou, deer fawns are "hiders" rather than "followers", remaining concealed in vegetation for the first few days, or even weeks, of life (in contrast, newborn Caribou can stand an hour after birth and follow their mothers after 5 to 7 hours). Newborn deer of most species have a spotted coat, which may help them remain unnoticed in vegetation.
Some species formerly considered to belong in the Cervidae are now recognized not to fall within this group based on new genetic and other data, e.g., the musk-deer (now placed in their own family, Moschidae). Some deer once thought to have retained various traits from ancient lineages, such as the antlerless Chinese Water Deer, are now recognized as members of recent lineages in which these apparently "retained" traits, such as lack of antlers, were actually secondarily derived.
Ecology and Behavior
The extant cervids vary considerably in body size, ranging from the 5.5 kg Northern Pudu (Pudu mephistophiles) to the 770 kg Moose. In some species, males and females are the same size (e.g., Red Muntjac, Muntiacus muntjac), but most cervids show some degree of sexual size dimorphism. In Chinese Water Deer and Fea's Munjac (Muntiacus feae), females are slightly heavier than males, but in most cases males are larger. In some Caribou populations, the mean body weight of males can be twice that of females. In addition to size dimorphism, other sex-specific characteristics seen in some cervid species include differences in antlers, neck manes, dewlaps, and nuptial coats. Sexual dimorphism tends to be more pronounced in more strongly polygynous species, in which a male tends to monopolize a group of females. In Chital (Axis axis), Western Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), Common Fallow Deer (Dama dama), and Barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii), males are on average 70-90% heavier than females. In Wapiti (Cervus canadensis) of Siberia and North America, males weigh 30-40% more than females. Some cervid species exhibit a high degree of geographic variation in body size. In White-tailed Deer, for example, body size ranges from 100-130 kg in Canada to 30-35 kg on some islands in the Florida Keys (U.S.A.) and in South America. In Western Red Deer, there are ecotypes adapted to different regional habitats with adult stags ranging in size from 110 kg to 300 kg. Other types of geographic variation occur as well. For example, during the last glacial maximum, 18,000 years ago, Mule Deer populations in western North America were separated and diverged, with those now in the Pacific Northwest, known as "Black-tailed Deer", having a tail that is black above, whereas other Mule Deer have a conspicuous white rump patch and a white tail with a black tip. Mule Deer run with a four-footed bounding gait known as "stotting" and can briefly reach a speed of 40km/h. Their large ears are around two thirds the length of the face.
Among the most distinctive characteristics seen in cervids is the presence of antlers. These paired cranial appendages are outgrowths of the frontal bone that grow and are shed each year (these are quite distinct from the horns of Bovidae, which are permanent appendages consisting of a bony core covered by a hollow keratinized sheath). In most deer species, only males grow antlers and the annual antler cycle is closely tied to the testosterone cycle. The only known exception is the Caribou, in which a large fraction of females develop antlers each year (although males shed their antlers from November to January whereas female antlers are retained through the winter and shed from March to May, during the calving period). Chinese Water Deer never grow antlers, although phylogenetic evidence suggests that their ancestors did.
Deer occur in a wide range of habitats, including forests, woodlands, and wood edges. The broad habitat use of some species can result in very large geographic ranges. For example, White-tailed Deer are found from the tropical forests of South America to the boreal forests of Canada. Other deer species showing broad geographic and habitat ranges include Western Red Deer, Hog Deer (Axis porcinus), and Chital. Some species (muntjacs, brockets) spend most of their time in dense vegetation; a few species are found only in open habitats; Barasingha, Brow-antlered Deer (Rucervus eldii), Pere David's Deer (Elaphurus davidianus), and Chinese Water Deer live in the tall grassy vegetation around marshes. Caribou are found in circumpolar barren tundras and high Arctic deserts. Several high-elevation species (White-lipped Deer [Cervus albirostris]; huemuls [Hippocamelus]; Central Asian Red Deer [Cervus wallichii]; pudus [Pudu]; and the three South American dwarf deer, the Little Red Brocket [Mazama rufina], Common Dwarf Brocket [Mazama chuny], and Merida Brocket [Mazama bricenii) spend most of their time above the treeline on summit meadows and scrublands, sometimes up to 5100 m above sea level. Living at high elevations requires special adaptations to cope with limited oxygen availability, intense solar radiation, and low temperatures.
Deer first reached South America via the Panamanian Land Bridge around 2.5 million years ago. Some of the deer that evolved in South America are quite specialized. For example, Marsh Deer (the largest deer in South America) are found in swamps and other wetlands, usually with water around a half meter deep. Their legs are long for wading and, like most deer, they swim well. Pampas Deer are the only deer specialized to live in savannas and prairies. As is the case for most deer species living in open habitats, the size dimorphism between males and females is not very great.
Many cervids, especially medium- and large-sized species, have a well developed vocal repertoire. Olfactory communication is also very important. Every species has at least three different kinds of scent glands. Glands between the pads of Pampas Deer hooves produce a substance with an onion-like smell which can be detected over long distances.
Deer must fill their rumens every few hours, so feeding dominates their time budget. Many deer are browsers and some species (such as many brockets) are largely frugivorous (fruit-eating). Some deer are predominantly grazers (e.g., Pere David's Deer, Barasingha, and Brow-antlered Deer, all characteristic of wet grasslands). Wapiti of Siberia and North America and White-lipped Deer, which have colonized dry grasslands, are mainly grazers but include leaves and twigs in their diet. Common Fallow Deer and Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) have a relatively large rumen and are able to feed on coarse plants, but may switch to a browsing diet when necessary.
In all deer, parental care is provided exclusively by the female.
Deer and Humans
Humans have always hunted deer in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Subsistence hunting of deer is still still significant in Southeast Asia and South America. Deer are hunted for meat as well as for their skins (for clothing ) and antlers (for tools).
Around the globe, deer species have often been translocated by humans. For example, Persian Fallow Deer (Dama mesopotamica) were brought from Lebanon to Cyprus in the 9th millenium BC, the Portugese are believed to have introduced Hog Deer to Sri Lanka in the 16th century, and Dutch sailors and traders likely brought Javan Deer (Rusa timorensis) to Mauritius in the 17th century. In the 1920s and 1930s, Caribou were released on the sub-Antarctic islands of South Georgia and Kerguelen to provide meat for the crews of whaling vessels. Australia now has six established species of non-native deer and New Zealand has nine. The Western Red Deer was transported to Sardinia around 8000 years ago, probably from the Italian Peninsula. Some species, such as Common Fallow Deer and Javan Deer, have been moved around so much by humans that it is now difficult to identify the native range. In addition to being moved to new regions to establish populations for hunting, live deer have been collected as novelties and these deer have sometimes escaped and established populations. Thus, for example, there are now feral populations in Great Britain of Sika Deer, Reeve's Muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi), and Chinese Water Deer. Since the late 1970s, deer farming has become common in China, Korea, Taiwan, Europe (especially Great Britain), Australia, and New Zealand, with the meat going mainly to European markets and velvet to Asia.
The only deer species that has been successfully domesticated is the Reindeer (domesticated Caribou), with Reindeer husbandry dating back several thousand years. Attempts were made to tame Moose in the former Soviet Union during the 20th century.
Although some deer species have been very well studied (e.g., Western Red Deer, Wapiti, Western Roe Deer, Moose, Caribou, White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer), others are very poorly known (e.g., some Southeast Asian muntjacs, South American brockets, pudus, and Philippine Brown Deer [Rusa marianna]).
Conservation Status of Deer
Although populations of several deer species in some western countries are excessive given the available habitat, on a global scale many deer species are threatened by habitat loss and hunting (for food, traditional medicine, and other uses), conflicts with domestic livestock, and other causes. Only one deer species is known to have gone extinct since 1600, Schomburgk's Deer (Rucervus schomburgki), which was known only from seasonally flooded swampy plains in central Thailand. This species went extinct as a result of habitat destruction (following the extensive conversion to rice production in the late 19th century) and persecution in the early 20th century). A number of deer are listed as Endangered or Vulnerable by IUCN. The only species listed as Critically Endangered (as of 2011) is Bawean Deer (Axis kuhlii), found only on Bawean Island between Java and Borneo. However, two other island species are listed as Endangered: Calamian Deer (Axis calamienensis, found on three main islands of the Calamian Islands in the Philippines) and the Philippine Spotted Deer (Rusa alfredi, restricted to two islands of the Western Visayas). Persian Fallow Deer, Giant Muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis), Hog deer, Brow-antlered Deer, and South Andean Huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) are also Endangered. Another 16 species are listed as Vulnerable (many of these are island species or species with very fragmented distributions). Tufted Deer (from China) and Pampas Deer (from South America) are listed as Near Threatened. Even some species listed as Least Concern are rapidly decreasing due to overhunting and deforestation (e.g., Common Brown Brocket [Mazama gouazoubira] and Amazonian Brown Brocket [Mazama nemorivaga] in the tropics and Eastern Roe Deer [Capreolus pygargus] in temperate and boreal regions). Many large populations of Caribou may be exhibiting long-term declines (apparently as a consequence of ecological changes resulting from a warming climate). Recovery efforts for some species, such as Pere David's Deer and Persian Fallow Deer, have achieved significant success through captive breeding, although populations remain vulnerable and Persian Fallow Deer is still listed by IUCN as Endangered. Hybridization with introduced species poses a threat to some species (e.g., introduced Sika breeding with native Western Red Deer in the British Isles).
(Mattioli 2011 and referenes therein)
- Mattioli, S. 2011. Family Cervidae (Deer). Pp. 350-443. in: Wilson, D.E. & Mittermeier, R.A., eds. Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2. Hoofed Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
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Humans have a long history of exploiting both native and exotic deer species, having hunted them in every geographic region in which they occur. They are often hunted for their meat, hides, antlers, velvet, and other products. As humans began to rely more on agriculture, their dependence on deer species as a food source decreased. However, in areas where climate prohibits wide-scale agriculture, such as in the Arctic, deer species such as caribou are still relied upon for food, clothing, and other resources. In the past, caribou have even been domesticated by nomadic peoples in the high Arctic. Today, many cervid species are hunted for sport rather than necessity. Several species have also been domesticated as harness animals, including caribou and elk. Finally, cervids play an important role in the global ecotourism movement as various species of deer are readily observable throughout much of their native habitat.
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material; ecotourism
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The family Cervidae, commonly referred to as "the deer family", consists of 23 genera containing 47 species, and includes three subfamilies: Capriolinae (brocket deer, caribou, deer, moose, and relatives), Cervinae elk, muntjacs, and tufted deer), and Hydropotinae, which contains only one extant species, Chinese water deer. However, classification of cervids has been controversial and a single well-supported phylogenetic and taxonomic history has yet to be established. Cervids range in mass from 20 lbs to 1800 lbs, and all but one species, Chinese water deer, have antlers. With the exception of caribou, only males have antlers and some species with smaller antlers have enlarged upper canines. In addition to sexually dimorphic ornamentation, most deer species are size-dimorphic as well with males commonly being 25% larger than their female counterparts. Cervids have a large number of morphological synapomorphies (e.g., characteristics that are shared within a taxonomic group), and range in color from dark to very light brown; however, young are commonly born with cryptic coloration, such as white spots, that helps camouflage them from potential predators. Cervids can be found in a wide range of habitats, from extremely cold to the tropics. They have been introduced nearly world wide, but are native throughout most of the New World, Europe, Asia and northwestern Africa, with Eurasia exhibiting the greatest species diversity. Although most cervids live in herds, some species, such as South American marsh deer, are solitary. The majority of species have social hierarchies that have a positive correlation with body size (e.g., large males are dominant to small males).
- Feldhamer, G., L. Drickamer, S. Vessey, J. Merritt, C. Krajewski. 2007. Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Fulbright, T., L. Ortega-S.. 2006. White-Tailed Deer Habitat. College Station: Texas A&M Press.
- Herna ́ndez Ferna ́ndez, M., E. Vrba. 2005. A complete estimate of the phylogenetic relationships in Ruminantia: a dated species-level supertree of the extant ruminants. Biological Reviews, 80: 269–302.
- Huffman, B. 2010. "Cervidae" (On-line). Ultimate Ungulate. Accessed April 13, 2011 at http://www.ultimateungulate.com/cetartiodactyla/Cervidae.html.
- Vaughan, T., J. Ryan, N. Czaplewski. 2000. Mammalogy. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole - Thomson Learning.
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