Testing Reliability of Body Size Measurements Using Hind Foot Length in Roe Deer

Mathieu Garel (1) , Jean-Michel Gaillard (2) , Thierry Chevrier (3) , Jacques Michallet , Daniel Delorme (4) , Guy Van Laere

1 LBBE - Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558
2 Biodémographie évolutive
3 ONCFS - Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage
4 ONCFS - Centre National d'Etudes et de Recherches Appliquées sur les Cervidés-Sangliers

We quantified the repeatability of >900 individual measures of hind foot length from 2 French populations of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) monitored by capture–recapture. We found a high repeatability (i.e., high intra-class correlation, 0.76, 95% CI  =  0.72–0.83 and 0.92, 95% CI  =  0.91–0.95) in both populations. We also found that inexperienced observers reached a high level of intra- (1.00, 95% CI  =  0.96–1.00) and inter-observer repeatability (0.99, 95% CI  =  0.98–1.00) when measuring hind foot length of harvested animals with a tool specifically designed for this task. Managers should pay particular attention to limit measurement errors because unreliable measurements require an increased sample size to assess individual variation and can mask biological patterns.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Mathieu Garel, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Thierry Chevrier, Jacques Michallet, Daniel Delorme, et al.. Testing Reliability of Body Size Measurements Using Hind Foot Length in Roe Deer. Journal of Wildlife Management, 2010, 74 (6), pp.1382-1386. ⟨10.2193/2009-264⟩. ⟨hal-02303682⟩