Influence of level of nutrition during late pregnancy on reproductive productivity of red deer

Asher, G. W.; Mulley, R. C.; O'Neill, K.T.; Scott, Ian; Jopson, N. B.; Littlejohn, R. P.

doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2004.07.012

Cited by 40 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The patterns shown here are not unique to great tits. Variation in timing after reproduction has been initiated has been shown in blue tits (García‐Navas & Sanz, ; Matthysen et al., ; Stenning, ), tree swallows (Ardia et al., ), ducks (Hepp et al., ), cervids (Asher, ; Asher et al., ; Moyes et al., ), and bats (Racey & Swift, ). In order to predict how populations of temperate species will be impacted by further climate changes, it is essential to consider the mechanisms behind phenological synchrony, the responsiveness to temperature, and their constraints.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most commonly studied aspects of reproductive phenology have been those which are easily observable: clutch initiation date (Charmantier et al., ; Lack, ; Nussey et al., ; Schaper et al., ; Visser et al., ), clutch size (Balen, ; Haartman, ; Haftorn, ; Kluiver, ; Lack, , ; Perrins, , ), birth date (Plard et al., ), flowering date (Menzel et al., ), and hatch date (Cresswell & McCleery, ; Tomas, ). However, it is well established that there is also considerable variation in other aspects of the reproductive cycle, such as incubation behavior (Álvarez & Barba, ; Ardia, Pérez, & Clotfelter, ; Cresswell & McCleery, ; García‐Navas & Sanz, ; Hepp, Kennamer, & Johnson, ; Lord, McCleery, & Cresswell, ; Matthysen, Adriaensen, & Dhont, ; Stenning, ), conception date (Scott, Asher, Archer, & Littlejohn, ), and gestation length (Asher et al., ; Moyes et al., ; Racey & Swift, ; Scott et al., ). The phenology of many of these reproductive behaviors cannot be observed directly; nonetheless, they could have a significant role in determining the timing of the peak energetic demands of reproduction, usually during offspring rearing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mammals primarily have one method of flexibility after a reproductive event has been initiated, gestation period. This has been shown to vary in response to food availability and temperature in several species (Asher et al., ; Moyes et al., ; Racey & Swift, ; Scott et al., ). In contrast, for bird species, there are several different mechanisms which can alter phenology (hatch date and consequently timing of peak food demand), after a reproductive event has begun and right up until hatching.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Incubation behavior adjustments, driven by ambient temperature variation, improve synchrony between hatch dates and caterpillar peak in a wild bird population

Simmonds

Sheldon

Coulson

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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For organisms living in seasonal environments, synchronizing the peak energetic demands of reproduction with peak food availability is a key challenge. Understanding the extent to which animals can adjust behavior to optimize reproductive timing, and the cues they use to do this, is essential for predicting how they will respond to future climate change. In birds, the timing of peak energetic demand is largely determined by the timing of clutch initiation; however, considerable alterations can still occur once egg laying has begun. Here, we use a wild population of great tits (Parus major) to quantify individual variation in different aspects of incubation behavior (onset, duration, and daily intensity) and conduct a comprehensive assessment of the causes and consequences of this variation. Using a 54‐year dataset, we demonstrate that timing of hatching relative to peak prey abundance (synchrony) is a better predictor of reproductive success than clutch initiation or clutch completion timing, suggesting adjustments to reproductive timing via incubation are adaptive in this species. Using detailed in‐nest temperature recordings, we found that postlaying, birds improved their synchrony with the food peak primarily by varying the onset of incubation, with duration changes playing a lesser role. We then used a sliding time window approach to explore which spring temperature cues best predict variance in each aspect of incubation behavior. Variation in the onset of incubation correlated with mean temperatures just prior to laying; however, incubation duration could not be explained by any of our temperature variables. Daily incubation intensity varied in response to daily maximum temperatures throughout incubation, suggesting female great tits respond to temperature cues even in late stages of incubation. Our results suggest that multiple aspects of the breeding cycle influence the final timing of peak energetic demand. Such adjustments could compensate, in part, for poor initial timing, which has significant fitness impacts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Incubation behavior adjustments, driven by ambient temperature variation, improve synchrony between hatch dates and caterpillar peak in a wild bird population

Simmonds

Sheldon

Coulson

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Essentially, nonviable fawns born at the right time of the year appear to be due to underweight or yearling mothers [31–33]. Furthermore, a low birth weight has been identified as a major cause of loss in newborn fallow and red deer [20, 29, 30, 32]. English and Mulley [20] propose a minimal birth weight of 3.4 kg as the minimum for a fallow deer fawn to be able to stand and suckle and therefore to survive the first few days.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes of Mortality and Diseases in Farmed Deer in Switzerland

Sieber

Robert

Schybli

et al. 2010

Veterinary Medicine International

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To investigate diseases and causes of mortality in Swiss farmed deer, deer found dead or shot due to diseased condition between March 2003 and December 2004 were requested for a complete postmortem examination. One hundred and sixty-two animals were submitted. Perinatal mortality, necrobacillosis in 3 week to 6 month old deer, and endoparasitosis in 6 month to 2 year old deer were identified as the most important causes of loss, followed by ruminal acidosis, which was diagnosed in 22% of deer older than 1 year. Congenital malformations were observed in 15% of deer less than 6 months old. Reportable infectious diseases known as major problems in deer farming in other countries were rare (yersiniosis, malignant catarrhal fever) or not observed (tuberculosis, chronic wasting disease). Overall, the results indicate that the Swiss deer population does not present major health problems of concern for domestic animals.

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“…Unfortunately, these conclusions are sometimes interpreted as an assertion that gestation length is constant within species (e.g. citations in Asher et al. 2005b; Garcia et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gestation length variation in a wild ungulate

Clements

Clutton‐Brock

Albon³

et al. 2010

Functional Ecology

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Summary1. In species inhabiting a seasonal environment, timing of birth may be highly correlated with fitness. However, we know little about the relative effects of conception date and gestation length in determining birth date in wild mammalian populations.2. Here, we tested for variation in gestation length using long-term data from a wild ungulate population (red deer, with observations running from 1971 to 2007). High March temperatures during gestation were associated with shorter average gestation length (a decrease of 0AE77 days for every degree warmer), but we found no significant correlations with female age, recent reproductive history or offspring sex. 3. We also tested whether early or late conceiving females adjusted gestation length to give birth closer to an optimum time. Simply fitting conception date as a fixed effect in a model of gestation length is not statistically sound as errors in determining conception date could drive an observed negative covariance; consequently we also approached this problem using a novel technique of bivariate models. We found that late conception was indeed correlated with shorter gestation length, but this was not repeatable within females, suggesting either that the observed association may have been a statistical artefact or that gestation length adjustment may only be apparent on the rare occasions that females conceive outside an optimum time window. 4. Although there were no consistent differences between females in gestation length, there were differences between males in the gestation lengths of females with whom they mated. This possibly reflects a local environment effect, grouping females who were primarily in the same area during conception and gestation. 5. We conclude that observed variation in birth date is predominantly due to systematic variation in conception date as opposed to gestation length. Additionally, we highlight the broad range of reproductive tactics utilized by a number of closely related species, and consequently the difficulties inherent in cross-species comparisons of gestation length.

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Influence of level of nutrition during late pregnancy on reproductive productivity of red deer

Cited by 40 publications

References 21 publications

Incubation behavior adjustments, driven by ambient temperature variation, improve synchrony between hatch dates and caterpillar peak in a wild bird population

Incubation behavior adjustments, driven by ambient temperature variation, improve synchrony between hatch dates and caterpillar peak in a wild bird population

Causes of Mortality and Diseases in Farmed Deer in Switzerland

Gestation length variation in a wild ungulate

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