Factors affecting antler investment in Iberian red deer

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (9) ◽  
pp. 867 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Gómez ◽  
F. Ceacero ◽  
T. Landete-Castillejos ◽  
E. Gaspar-López ◽  
A. J. García ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Good Method ◽  
The Body ◽  
Allometric Relationship ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Iberian Red Deer ◽  
Mineral Deposition ◽  
Antler Growth

Antler constitutes such a costly trait that the skeleton of the deer undergoes a process similar to osteoporosis to meet the high demands of mineral deposition in the antler. The allometric relationship between antler and body size is one of the oldest known. However, no study has assessed the proportion that antlers constitute with regard to the skeleton (from which most of the material is drawn), nor which factors influence this investment. To assess this, we studied 171 males (aged 1–5 years), determined their antler and bodyweights and scored their body condition. Then we calculated antler investment as antler weight relative to estimated skeletal weight. Results showed that antler investment in males ≥2 years old (i.e. excluding yearlings) depended on age rather than the whole bodyweight or body condition. Antler investment increased from 6% in yearlings to 35% in 5-year-old males, with a mean of 19%. A GLMM showed that in males ≥2 years old, within age, the heavier the male and the better the body condition at the start of antler growth, the greater the investment in antlers. In yearlings, antler investment did not depend on bodyweight or body condition. In conclusion, antler weight relative to skeleton weight is a good method to assess antler investment. This investment is influenced by age and, in males ≥2 years old, also by bodyweight or condition at the start of antler growth.

scholarly journals Ecological and Physiological Factors Affecting Brood Patch Area and Prolactin Levels in Arctic-Nesting Geese

The Auk ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jón Einar Jónsson ◽  
Alan D. Afton ◽  
Ray T. Alisauskas ◽  
Cynthia K. Bluhm ◽  
Mohamed E. El Halawani
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
The Body ◽  
Nest Size ◽  
Patch Area ◽  
Physiological Factors ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Chen Caerulescens ◽  
Brood Patch ◽  
Snow Geese ◽  
Ross's Geese

AbstractWe investigated effects of ecological and physiological factors on brood patch area and prolactin levels in free-ranging Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens; hereafter “Snow Geese”) and Ross's Geese (C. rossii). On the basis of the body-size hypothesis, we predicted that the relationships between prolactin levels, brood patch area, and body condition would be stronger in Ross's Geese than in the larger Snow Geese. We found that brood patch area was positively related to clutch volume and inversely related to prolactin levels in Ross's Geese, but not in Snow Geese. Nest size, nest habitat, and first egg date did not affect brood patch area in either species. Prolactin levels increased as incubation progressed in female Snow Geese, but this relationship was not significant in Ross's Geese. Prolactin levels and body condition (as indexed by size-adjusted body mass) were inversely related in Ross's Geese, but not in Snow Geese. Our findings are consistent with the prediction that relationships between prolactin levels, brood patch area, and body condition are relatively stronger in Ross's Geese, because they mobilize endogenous reserves at faster rates than Snow Geese.Factores Ecológicos y Fisiológicos que Afectan el Área del Parche de Incubación y los Niveles de Prolactina en Gansos Nidificantes del Ártico

scholarly journals Seasonal changes in mineral intake and first antler growth in Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus)

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (sup1) ◽  
pp. 851-851
Author(s):  
L. Estévez ◽  
F. Ceacero ◽  
Landete Castillejos ◽  
A. J. García ◽  
D. Carrión ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Hispanicus ◽  
Iberian Red Deer ◽  
Antler Growth

Antler growth rate in yearling Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus)

2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 753-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Gaspar-López ◽  
T. Landete-Castillejos ◽  
L. Gallego ◽  
A. J. García
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Hispanicus ◽  
Iberian Red Deer ◽  
Antler Growth

scholarly journals Intensive vehicle traffic impacts morphology and endocrine stress response in a threatened amphibian

Oryx ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Cayuela ◽  
Ludivine Quay ◽  
Adeline Dumet ◽  
Jean-Paul Léna ◽  
Claude Miaud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
The Body ◽  
Amphibian Conservation ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Vehicle Traffic ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Bombina Variegata ◽  
The Individual

AbstractAmphibians are considered to be the most threatened group of vertebrates. Among the multiple factors involved in their decline, habitat loss and alteration as a result of human activities is a major threat. At the individual level the effects of habitat alteration are potentially multiple, including a range of morphological and physiological responses. Analysing and understanding these responses is therefore a critical challenge for amphibian conservation. We examined the influence of intensive vehicle traffic (motorbikes and trucks on unpaved pathways) on the body size and condition and on the production of glucocorticoids (i.e. corticosterone) in the yellow-bellied toad Bombina variegata. In particular, we tested the hypothesis that intensive vehicle traffic has a negative influence on body size and body condition, and postulated that it also increases corticosterone production. Using morphometric data and saliva samples collected from four populations in France, we found that intensive vehicle traffic is associated with a decrease in body size and body condition in both males and females. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that corticosterone production was lower in both sexes in populations experiencing intensive vehicle traffic. We suggest that measures should be applied to reduce vehicle traffic intensity on unpaved pathways during toad breeding activity. This is critical for B. variegata, for which man-made ruts and residual puddles could mitigate the loss of natural habitats.

Old and young female voices: effects of body weight, condition and social discomfort on the vocal aging in red deer hinds (Cervus elaphus)

Behaviour ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 155 (10-12) ◽  
pp. 915-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya A. Volodin ◽  
Olga V. Sibiryakova ◽  
Nina A. Vasilieva ◽  
Elena V. Volodina ◽  
Vera A. Matrosova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Body Condition Score ◽  
Peak Frequency ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Iberian Red Deer ◽  
Social Discomfort ◽  
Vocal Aging

Abstract In female terrestrial mammals, vocal aging has only been studied in humans and pandas. In cervids displaying convergent sex dimorphism of vocal apparatus with humans, vocal aging is only investigated in males. This cross-sectional study examined acoustic variables of nasal (closed-mouth) and oral (open-mouth) contact calls of 32 farmed Iberian red deer hinds (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) aged of 4-18 years and their relationships with caller´s age, weight, social discomfort score (bites of other hinds on hind pelt) and body condition score (fat reserves). Decrease of fundamental frequency was associated with age in both oral and nasal calls, but more prominently in the nasal calls. An increase in call duration, peak frequency and power quartiles was associated with a higher degree of bites due to social aggression. Weight and body condition weakly influenced acoustic traits. We discuss that vocal aging of hinds parallels that of vocal aging in human females.

Do body size, diet type or residence time explain habitat use in a vertebrate herbivore community?

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Garnick ◽  
J. Di Stefano ◽  
M. A. Elgar ◽  
G. Coulson
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Residence Time ◽  
Relative Entropy ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
The Body ◽  
Community Organisation ◽  
Grey Kangaroo ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Diet Type

Many theories attempt to explain patterns of community organisation among large herbivores. We explored the role of body size, diet type and residence time on habitat use in a community comprising four metatherians (western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus; eastern grey kangaroo, M. giganteus; red-necked wallaby, Notamacropus rufogriseus; swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor) and two eutherians (red deer, Cervus elaphus; European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus) in south-eastern Australia. We used camera traps to estimate habitat occupancy, quantified habitat specialisation using relative entropy, and ran regressions using percentage grass consumed, log(mass) and log(time at site) as predictor variables and relative entropy as the response. If body size influenced habitat use, we predicted smaller species would occupy fewer habitats. If diet type influenced habitat use, we predicted intermediate feeders would use more habitats. If the time that a species had been present at a site predicted community organisation, newer species would use more habitats. None of these theories explained habitat use in our community. Red deer used a narrower range of habitats than expected, perhaps due to the poor suitability of habitats available in the Grampians. While interactions between our hypotheses are likely to be important, the body size model deserves further attention in this community.

scholarly journals Determining the factors affecting the gestational length in sheep

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-89
Author(s):  
Hilal Tozlu Celik ◽  
Fatih Ahmet Aslan ◽  
Yeliz Kasko Arıcı ◽  
Metehan Eser Kahveci ◽  
İbrahim Kiper
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Body Condition Score ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Measurements ◽  
Gestational Length ◽  
Mating Period ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Birth Type

Abstract. This research aimed to determine the effects of body weight, the body condition score (BCS), body measurements, birth type (single offspring or twin birth), birth weight and sex on the gestational length in sheep (n=111). Karayaka sheep raised on a private farm were used in the study. Progeny yield characteristics in sheep were also determined (n=139). Estrus was monitored daily using teaser rams from August to September 2016. According to our findings, the pregnancy rate, infertility rate, fecundity, and twin and single birth rates were 93.52 %, 6.48 %, 93.52 %, 14.62 % and 85.38 % respectively. The effect of age on the BCS in sheep at mating was found to be significant (P<0.05): BCS decreased as age increased. It was determined that there was a positive association between the BCS and live weight during the mating period (P<0.001). The chest circumference, front shin circumference and body length were found to be higher in sheep with a BCS ≥ 4.5 at mating time (P<0.01). The middle rump width was significantly affected by the BCS (P<0.001). In this study, the lowest and highest gestational lengths were found to be 148.90 and 151.41 d respectively. The gestational length in sheep was not found to be affected by age, the BCS, body measurements, sex or birth type (P>0.05); however, it was observed that the gestational lengths for male offspring and single offspring (non-multiple births) were longer. In addition, it was detected that the gestational length was different in sheep with a BCS ≥ 4.5. The time spent in the womb is important with respect to obtaining a healthy lamb. For profitable production, a BCS of between 2.5 and 4 is recommended in sheep. It is thought that the use of body condition scoring, which is easy information for the breeder to utilize, will have a positive effect on determining the bodily reserves of sheep and the reproductive efficiency as well as on obtaining a healthy lamb. More studies on the gestational length in sheep are required.

Biometrics, Testosterone, Cortisol and Antler Growth Cycle in Iberian Red Deer Stags (Cervus elaphus hispanicus)

2010 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Gaspar-López ◽  
T Landete-Castillejos ◽  
JA Estevez ◽  
F Ceacero ◽  
L Gallego ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Growth Cycle ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Hispanicus ◽  
Iberian Red Deer ◽  
Antler Growth
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