11th International Deer Biology Congress

This Collection of full papers and short communications records the plenary presentations and oral and poster presentations submitted at the 11th International Deer Biology Congress, held in Dunedin, New Zealand in February, 2026. The Congress was attended by more than 190 scientists from Asia, North and South America, Europe and Oceania and covered a wide range of topics in deer biology. These included deer products and farming systems, deer health and welfare, physiology, nutrition, genetics, ecology, deer conservation, and the management of wild deer populations. Field trips during the Congress demonstrated New Zealand deer farming and the role of science in supporting this industry, and also the significance of native animal and plant conservation in Aotearoa-New Zealand. There were nine plenary papers, presented by Cam Speedy and Kaylyn Pinney (The value and consequence of your deer here – a cultural paradox), Iain Gordon (Forty-five years of studying deer: a personal; reflection of the past, present and future of deer research), Kurt VerCauteren (Managing agricultural damage and disease of deer through applied research: one team’s contribution), Suzanne Rowe (Development of genomic tools for genetic improvement in New Zealand deer), Jim Heffelfinger (Cervid conservation in North America: managing across a mosaic of jurisdictions), David Hazlerigg (What can chronobiology tell us about cervids? What can cervids tell us about chronobiology? And why should we care?), Kevin Monteith (Nutritional legacies across space and time: evidence for a nutritional ecotype), Chunyi Li (Antler stem cells: discovery, attributes and potential clinical applications) and Hayato Iijima (A history of deer management and abundance estimation in Japan: past lessons and future challenges). The tradition of awarding the Tony and George Bubenik Memorial Award was continued at this Congress. This prize is awarded to the early researcher who is judged by a panel to have presented the best oral paper at the Congress. There were nine candidates. The prize was awarded to Amanda Van Buskirk for her oral presentation ‘Estimating deer density with camera and unmarked models to guide population management’. The Collection editors are Assoc. Prof Gordon Dryden (The University of Queensland, Gatton, Australia) and Assoc. Prof Francisco Ceacero (Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia). Dunedin, New Zealand, 2026 Short Communications Editors for the short communications are Assoc. Prof Gordon Dryden (The University of Queensland, Gatton, Australia) Assoc. Prof Francisco Ceacero (Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia) Dr David Stevens (Bioeconomy Science Institute, AgResearch Group, Invermay, New Zealand) International Scientific Steering Committee Local Organising Committee JoAnne Smith-Flueck (chair) (Argentina) David Stevens (chair) Francisco Ceacero (Czechia) Victoria Chapman Ming Chen (China) Pablo Gregorini Pierre Comizzoli (USA) Emil Murphy Gordon Dryden (Australia) Tony Pearse Susana Gonzalez (Uruguay) Kaylyn Pinney Dave Hewitt (USA) Jimmy Suttie Koichi Kaji (Japan) Sze-Wing Yiu Nicholas Tyler (Norway) Bryan Thompson Eva Wiklund (Sweden) Bruce Warburton Jamie Ward Deer health, disease and welfare High diversity of Bluetongue virus serotype within Florida’s farmed White-Tailed Deer Savannah G. Grace, Pacharapong Khrongsee, Zoe S. White, Kristen N. Wilson, Juan M. Campos Krauer, John A. Lednicky, Kuttichantran Subramaniam, Samantha M. Wisely Tropical cyclones increase the risk of hemorrhagic disease for farmed White-Tailed Deer in Florida S. G. Grace, S. M. Wisely, J. M. Campos Krauer, K. Subramaniam, J. Lednicky, K. N. Wilson White-Tailed Deer scavenging community in a Chronic Wasting Disease endemic region and considerations for prion movement L. Jorge, D. Jarosinski, R. Chandler, G. D‘Angelo, M. Ruder, M. Chamberlain, M. Jorge Mule deerpox virus detection and transmission: using passive surveillance to prevent the spread of an emerging disease Lillian Maxwell, Kuttichantran Subramanium, Samantha Wisely, Juan Campos Krauer Chronic Wasting Disease impacts in the Southeastern United States M. H. Jorge, L. A. Jorge, H. E. Gaya, M. G. Ruder, R. B. Chandler, M. J. Chamberlain, G. J. D‘Angelo Rear rub injuries in deer J. Morgan, B. A. Kurian American liver fluke (Fascioloides magna) in Europe L. Sugár Genetics, genomics and breeding of deer The genetic structure and origin of Red Deer populations in the Carpathian Basin L. Sugár Introduction of non-native deer species and impact on genetic diversity of central European red deer (Cervus elaphus hippelaphus) A. Paulauskas, E. Genevičienė, I. Ražanskė, L. Griciuvienė, K. Šimkevičius, A. Kibiša Deer Select – genetic evaluation for venison and velvet production in New Zealand S. McIntyre, J. Ward Summary of Pāmu Red and Wapiti breeding programmes N. Pickering Building Genomic Foundations for Conservation: Draft Genome of the Philippine Endemic Visayan Spotted Deer (Rusa alfredi) Ma. Carmel Javier, Albert Noblezada, Persie Mark Sienes, Robert Guino-o, Nadia Palomar-Abesamis, Maria Celia Malay, Carmelo del Castillo, Victor Marco Emmanuel Ferriols Genetic disturbance of Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) progressing across the Japanese archipelago J. Nagata, T. Takagi, S. Kaneko Deer physiology and nutrition Physiological and seasonal influences on rumen fermentation in Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) hinds E. Parore Te Āwha, D. Scobie, P. Gregorini A seasonal comparison of liveweight, body condition score and rump fat depth in pregnant and non-pregnant Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) hinds B. Taylor, E. Wilson, P. Gregorini The effect of dietary quality on liveweight gain and body condition of Red Deer calves selected for divergent seasonal growth patterns Matthew Vollebregt, Ella Wilson, Anita Flemming, Emilia Lopez Seco, Pablo Gregorini Nutritional status of the Patagonian Huemul corroborates health problems in this refugee species Jo Anne Smith-Flueck, Werner T. Flueck, Natalia Demergassi Patterns of methane production and intensity modelled for growing Red Deer stags G. McL. Dryden Non-invasive assessment of nutritive value and gastrointestinal health in Florida White-Tailed Deer under different feeding systems Miranda Imeri, Marcelo Wallau, Diwakar Vyas, Samantha Wisely, Juan Campos Krauer Seasonal patterns of feed intake and weight in Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) stags Neville Jopson, Peter Fennessy Deer biology and behaviour Sex-traits modulation in Red Deer in response to social environment Juan Carranza Novel AI and unsupervised machine learning clustering of accelerometer data for continuous, autonomous and unbiased mapping of male Red Deer (C. elaphus) behaviour Lindsay Matthews, Bart Geurten, Alexander Matthews Deer ecology, environmental impacts and ecosystems Evaluating adaptive capacity in a climate-vulnerable conservation landscape of Keibul Lamjao National Park, Northeast India Akoijam Santikumar Singh, Mirza Ghazanfarullah Ghazi, Syed Ainul Hussain, Ruchi Badola Conservation genetics of Indian cervids: understanding population structure for science-driven management Mirza Ghazanfarullah Ghazi, Sandeep Kumar Gupta, Syed Ainul Hussain, Ruchi Badola Integrating socio-economic realities into the conservation of the endangered Sangai (Rucervus eldii eldii) in Keibul Lamjao National Park, India Ruchi Badola, Akoijam Santikumar Singh, Mirza Ghazanfarullah Ghazi, Syed Ainul Hussain Effects of surrounding environmental factors on the occurrence of deer–train collisions Hidenori Nozawa, Takafumi Tanaka and Masaki Ando Silver-spoon effects are passed