Survival and Cause‐Specific Mortality of Neonatal Mule Deer Fawns, North‐Central New Mexico

Lomas, Laurie A.; Bender, Louis C.

doi:10.2193/2006-203

Cited by 71 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The deer fawns we observed were 2-3 mo old, and thus it would have been highly unlikely for prion infection to directly affect their survival. In contrast, if prion infection in mule deer dams affects lactation, then the health of their nursing fawns could be negatively affected (Lomas and Bender, 2007;Therrien et al, 2008). Moreover, because infected animals also are less aware and tend to be more solitary (Williams and Young, 1980;Williams, 2005), it is plausible that these or other subtle changes in behaviors also could FIGURE 3.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating Chronic Wasting Disease Effects on Mule Deer Recruitment and Population Growth

Dulberger

Hobbs

Swanson³

et al. 2010

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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ABSTRACT:Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disease of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), accelerates mortality and in so doing has the potential to influence population dynamics. Although effects on mule deer survival are clear, how CWD affects recruitment is less certain. We studied how prion infection influenced the number of offspring raised to weaning per adult ($2 yr old) female mule deer and subsequently the estimated growth rate (l) of an infected deer herd. Infected and presumably uninfected radio-collared female deer were observed with their fawns in late summer (August-September) during three consecutive years (2006)(2007)(2008) in the Table Mesa area of Boulder, Colorado, USA. We counted the number of fawns accompanying each female, then used a fully Bayesian model to estimate recruitment by infected and uninfected females and the effect of the disease on l. On average, infected females weaned 0.95 fawns (95% credible interval50.56-1.43) whereas uninfected females weaned 1.34 fawns (95% credible interval51.09-1.61); the probability that uninfected females weaned more fawns than infected females was 0.93). We used estimates of prevalence to weight recruitment and survival parameters in the transition matrix of a three-age, single-sex matrix model and then used the matrix to calculate effects of CWD on l. When effects of CWD on both survival and recruitment were included, the modeled l was 0.97 (95% credible interval 5 0.82-1.09). Effects of disease on l were mediated almost entirely by elevated mortality of infected animals. We conclude that although CWD may affect mule deer recruitment, these effects seem to be sufficiently small that they can be omitted in estimating the influences of CWD on population growth rate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating Chronic Wasting Disease Effects on Mule Deer Recruitment and Population Growth

Dulberger

Hobbs

Swanson³

et al. 2010

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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“…Summer nutrition first affects adult female body condition [54], which predicts pregnancy rates [53–55], overwinter adult survival rates [54,56], litter size [57] as well as birth mass and early juvenile survival [57–59]. The addition of lactation during summer increases nutritional demand and thus is an important component of the annual nutritional cycle [47,60].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional analysis of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index curves reveals overwinter mule deer survival is driven by both spring and autumn phenology

Hurley

Hebblewhite

Gaillard

et al. 2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

102

136

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Large herbivore populations respond strongly to remotely sensed measures of primary productivity. Whereas most studies in seasonal environments have focused on the effects of spring plant phenology on juvenile survival, recent studies demonstrated that autumn nutrition also plays a crucial role. We tested for both direct and indirect (through body mass) effects of spring and autumn phenology on winter survival of 2315 mule deer fawns across a wide range of environmental conditions in Idaho, USA. We first performed a functional analysis that identified spring and autumn as the key periods for structuring the among-population and among-year variation of primary production (approximated from 1 km Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)) along the growing season. A path analysis showed that early winter precipitation and direct and indirect effects of spring and autumn NDVI functional components accounted for 45% of observed variation in overwinter survival. The effect size of autumn phenology on body mass was about twice that of spring phenology, while direct effects of phenology on survival were similar between spring and autumn. We demonstrate that the effects of plant phenology vary across ecosystems, and that in semi-arid systems, autumn may be more important than spring for overwinter survival.

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“…Conception is the first step in population productivity, and many studies have demonstrated a link between age and condition and productivity in Elk (CluttonBrock et al 1982;Cook et al 2004) and other ungulates (Verme 1969;Albon et al 1983;Saether and Haagenrud 1983;Anderson and Linnell 2000;Lomas and Bender 2007;Hamel et al 2009). Juveniles, older females, and females in poor condition produce fewer young because of delayed sexual maturity, failure to ovulate or conceive, and/or the bearing of weaker neonates that do not survive to reproductive age (Verme 1969;Gaillard et al 2000;Cook et al 2004;Lomas and Bender 2007).…”

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confidence: 99%

Factors Affecting Pregnancy in Free-ranging Elk, <em>Cervus elaphus nelsoni</em>, in Michigan

2009

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Uncertainty exists as to which factors are most closely related to probability of pregnancy in Elk (Cervus elaphus), which thresholds are key for managers who want to assess the potential productivity of free-ranging Elk herds, and whether these thresholds vary among populations. We examined relationships among pregnancy, age, and mass for 513 harvested freeranging Elk in Michigan, and compared relationships with other published models and with thresholds derived from other free-ranging and penned populations to see if relationships were consistent among populations. Pregnancy rates varied (χ 2 2 = 136.3; P < 0.0001) among yearling (0.30), prime-aged (2.5-11.5-year-olds; 0.88), and old (> 12.5-year-olds; 0.60) cows. Probability of pregnancy in adult cows was related to mass (χ 2 = 7.4; P = 0.006), age (χ 2 = 12.6; P = 0.0004) and age class (χ 2 = 16.4; P < 0.0001), but not to lactation status (χ 2 = 0.4; P = 0.515); pregnancy was also positively related (χ 2 = 15.8; P < 0.0001) to mass in yearlings. Probability of pregnancy increased 1.02× and 1.04× for each 1 kg increase in body mass of adult and yearling cows, respectively, and prime-aged cows were 4.9× more likely to conceive than old cows. Compared to thresholds derived primarily from penned or farmed Elk, both adult and yearling free-ranging Elk in Michigan and elsewhere were able to achieve higher levels of pregnancy at lower body mass. Thresholds also varied among free-ranging Elk populations. Given variation among populations, managers should calibrate mass-pregnancy relationships for their respective populations to determine whether condition is potentially limiting pregnancy in their populations.

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Survival and Cause‐Specific Mortality of Neonatal Mule Deer Fawns, North‐Central New Mexico

Cited by 71 publications

References 32 publications

Estimating Chronic Wasting Disease Effects on Mule Deer Recruitment and Population Growth

Estimating Chronic Wasting Disease Effects on Mule Deer Recruitment and Population Growth

Functional analysis of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index curves reveals overwinter mule deer survival is driven by both spring and autumn phenology

Factors Affecting Pregnancy in Free-ranging Elk, <em>Cervus elaphus nelsoni</em>, in Michigan

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