The numbers of visitors to greenspaces in the United Kingdom has increased over the last few years as the health benefits of spending time in greenspaces have become better known. This has led to problems for conservation ecologists due to increased numbers of reported human-wildlife encounters. Deer are often found in public spaces and are of particular concern. Previous research suggests elevated levels of stress hormones (e.g., cortisol) in deer is a result of increased human activity. This has been linked to several negative effects on the deer’s health. From a practitioner’s point of view, it is therefore important to implement effective management strategies that are based on scientific evidence to help ensure the welfare of managed deer populations. In an effort to identify the impact of visitor numbers on faecal cortisol concentrations, samples from 2 red deer (Cervus elaphus) herds in Lyme Park (Cheshire), United Kingdom, were collected and analysed. A predictive spatial model was developed based on logistic regression to identify areas within the park of low and high human-deer encounter probability. The faecal cortisol levels were found to be significantly higher on days with a high number of visitors. In addition, landscape features such as buildings and roads increased the probability of human-deer encounters, whereas woodland and scrub decreased the probability. However, human-deer encounter probability changed with distance to the features. By providing local park managers with this scientific data, these findings can directly inform current management efforts to reduce deer stress levels in Lyme Park. In addition, the spatial modelling method has the capacity to be implemented in other parks across the country with minimal cost and effort.

中文翻译：

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马鹿对增加的访客人数有何反应？人与鹿相遇概率及其对皮质醇应激反应影响的案例研究

过去几年来，随着人们越来越了解在绿色空间中度过的健康所带来的好处，英国绿色空间的游客数量有所增加。由于报告的人类与野生动物的接触数量增加，这给保护生态学家带来了麻烦。鹿经常在公共场所发现，因此特别令人关注。先前的研究表明，鹿体内压力激素（例如皮质醇）水平升高是人类活动增加的结果。这与对鹿健康的若干负面影响有关。从从业者的角度来看，因此重要的是实施基于科学证据的有效管理策略，以帮助确保被管理的鹿群的福利。为了确定访客人数对粪便皮质醇浓度的影响，收集并分析了来自英国莱姆公园（柴郡）的两个马鹿（鹿）的样本。在逻辑回归的基础上开发了预测性空间模型，以识别公园内人与鹿相遇的可能性较低和较高的区域。发现在有大量游客的日子里，粪便中的皮质醇水平明显更高。此外，诸如建筑物和道路之类的景观特征增加了人与鹿相遇的可能性，而林地和灌木丛则降低了人与鹿相遇的可能性。但是，人与鹿的相遇概率随距特征的距离而变化。通过为当地公园管理者提供这些科学数据，这些发现可以直接为当前的管理工作提供信息，以减少莱姆公园的鹿压力水平。此外，