Fighting behaviour in territorial male roe deer Capreolus capreolus: the effects of antler size and residence

Hoem, Stein Arild; Melis, Claudia; Linnell, John D. C.; Andersen, Reidar

doi:10.1007/s10344-006-0053-3

Cited by 54 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…As suggested by Liberg et al . (1998) and Hoem et al . (2007), the adaptive function of male territoriality in roe deer is thus not the monopolization of females present within territories for mating, but rather the delimitation of an area in which a buck is dominant and so can court and mate without interference from other males.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Access to mates in a territorial ungulate is determined by the size of a male's territory, but not by its habitat quality

Vanpé

Morellet

Kjellander

et al. 2008

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Summary 1.Territoriality is commonly associated with resource defence polygyny, where males are expected to gain access to females by anticipating how resources will influence female distribution and competing for resource-rich sites to establish their zone of dominance. 2. We tested this hypothesis in European roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ) by simultaneously assessing the influence of resources on female distribution and the influence of female distribution on male distribution and breeding success using paternity analyses. 3. Females did not fully distribute themselves among male territories in relation to resources. As a result, relative female abundance in a male's territory depended on territory size, but not on its habitat quality. In turn, relative female abundance in a male's territory determined, at least partially, his breeding success. 4. Interestingly, male territory size, and hence access to females, was partly determined by male body mass (all males) and by residual antler size (subadults only). The latter result suggests that large antlers may be important to young males for establishing their first territory, which is then usually retained for all subsequent reproductive seasons. 5. To conclude, although territoriality of male roe deer has certainly evolved as a tactic for ensuring access to mates, our results suggest that it does not really conform to a conventional resource defence polygyny strategy, as males seem to gain no obvious benefit from defending a territory in an area of high habitat quality in terms of enhanced access to mates. 6. This may explain the stability of male territories between years, suggesting that male territoriality conforms to an 'always stay' and 'low risk-low gain' mating strategy in roe deer.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Access to mates in a territorial ungulate is determined by the size of a male's territory, but not by its habitat quality

Vanpé

Morellet

Kjellander

et al. 2008

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…2007). In these systems, males compete for resources, and horns and antlers play a central role in assessment and intrasexual competition (Hoem et al. 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unravelling complex associations between testosterone and parasite infection in the wild

Ezenwa¹,

Ekernas²,

Creel³

2011

Functional Ecology

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Summary1. Testosterone has emerged as an important mechanism linking variation in male reproductive behaviour to parasite infection in vertebrates, and there are numerous pathways by which testosterone can influence infection risk, particularly in free-living animals. 2. The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis posits that the positive effects of testosterone on sexual signalling and behaviour are traded off with negative effects on immune function. While this obligate trade-off may sometimes explain the association between testosterone and parasite infection, testosterone-parasite relationships may also be mediated by correlated changes in stress, condition and exposure to parasites. 3. In this study, we explored associations between testosterone and reproductive behaviour, immune function and parasitism in free-living Grant's gazelle (Nanger granti). In particular, we examined how stress (glucocorticoids), behaviour and condition might mediate associations between testosterone, immunity and parasitism. 4. We found that variation in endogenous testosterone in male gazelle was correlated with mating behaviour in terms of sexual signal intensity (horn size) and resource-holding potential (territoriality). We also showed that these same levels of testosterone were associated with immunity and parasite infection, but associations between testosterone, immunity and parasitism were complex. Testosterone was negatively associated with adaptive immunity, but positively associated with innate immunity. Relationships between testosterone and parasitism varied for different parasites. 5. Our results suggest that the effects of testosterone on male immunity are not universally suppressive and that immunoenhancement may also occur. In addition, testosterone-parasite relationships vary depending on the parasite, most likely due to the opposing effects of testosterone on different aspects of immunity and indirect effects on parasite exposure mediated by changes in behaviour.

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“…Higher levels of free cortisol in reproductively active males compared to reproductively inactive males have been shown in other mammals (e.g., Arctic ground squirrel [ Spermophilus parryii ]; Boonstra ). In roe deer, only males older than 2 years engage in male‐male competition (Hoem et al ). In addition, we found no evidence indicating a lower occurrence of malformed antlers in larger males in better condition, which are expected to cope better with inflammations and infections.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term trends and correlates of antler anomalies in roe deer

Hušek¹,

Panek²,

Tryjanowski

2014

Jour. Wild. Mgmt.

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to test hypotheses explaining probability of occurrence of accessory, broken, and 23 malformed antlers. By employing a multinomial logistic regression, we showed that the 24 probability of occurrence of broken and malformed antlers increased in males older than 25 2 years. Probability of occurrence of accessory and, in young males, broken antlers was 26 higher in individuals with increased body weight. Occurrence of malformed antlers 27 decreased over the study period. Contrary to our prediction, we did not detect an effect of 28 distance to forest on the probability of malformed antlers occurring. We conclude that the 29 main premise of compensatory culling is not supported in roe deer. 30 KEY WORDS: Age, antler, body mass, Capreolus capreolus, habitat gradient, harvest, 31 malformation, trend, trophy. 32Antlers of most Cervidae are believed to have developed primarily as signals for female 33 mate choice (Clutton-Brock 1982, Bubenik 1990a. The signaling function of antlers has 34 been supported by showing positive correlation between conspicuous traits of antlers, 35 such as size (i.e., length and mass) and structural complexity and some fitness surrogates. 36Examples include correlation with lifetime reproductive output, sperm quality, and social 37 status in red deer (Cervus elaphus; Bartoš et al. 1988, Kruuk et al. 2002, Malo et al. 38 2005, body mass and immunological capacity in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus 39 virginianus; Harmel et al. 1989, Ditchkoff et al. 2001a, body mass in moose (Alces 40 alces; Solberg and Saether 1994), and body mass and territorial status in roe deer 41 (Capreolus capreolus; Pélabon and van Breukelen 1998, Hoem et al. 2007, Vanpé et al. 42 2007. 43Signaling function of antlers has also been scrutinized in the case of more subtle 44 structural characteristics, referred to as fluctuating and directional asymmetry. The 45 former and latter have been defined as small random and systematic differences, 46 respectively, in the shape between right and left antler. Fluctuating asymmetry may 47 reflect aspects of individual quality in some populations (e.g., Folstad et al. 1996, 48 Pélabon and van Breukelen 1998, Bowyer et al. 2001, Ditchkoff et al. 2001b, Mateos et 49 al. 2008 but not all (Kruuk et al. 2003, Bartoš et al. 2007 study, we describe occurrence of accessory, broken, and malformed antlers in a 66 population of roe deer males harvested in western Poland. We test the following 3 67 hypotheses on the correlates of occurrence of these antler anomalies: 68 1. Probability of occurrence of accessory antlers is higher in older than younger 69 males. This prediction stems from the fact that the risk of repeated injury 70 increases with time. Roe deer is among the species particularly responsive to 71 develop accessory antlers (Bubenik 1990b). 72 2. Risk of antler breakage, which is primarily caused by severe injury, is random 73 in respect to age. Hence, we test the prediction that probability of occurrence of 74 broken antlers does not differ between young and old males....

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Fighting behaviour in territorial male roe deer Capreolus capreolus: the effects of antler size and residence

Cited by 54 publications

References 33 publications

Access to mates in a territorial ungulate is determined by the size of a male's territory, but not by its habitat quality

Access to mates in a territorial ungulate is determined by the size of a male's territory, but not by its habitat quality

Unravelling complex associations between testosterone and parasite infection in the wild

Long-term trends and correlates of antler anomalies in roe deer

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