| Autor: |
Michael S. Muthersbaugh, Wesley W. Boone, Elizabeth A. Saldo, Alex J. Jensen, Jay Cantrell, Charles Ruth, John C. Kilgo, David S. Jachowski |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Rok vydání: |
2024 |
| Předmět: |
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| Zdroj: |
Ecology and Evolution, Vol 14, Iss 8, Pp n/a-n/a (2024) |
| Druh dokumentu: |
article |
| ISSN: |
2045-7758 |
| DOI: |
10.1002/ece3.70151 |
| Popis: |
Abstract Predators impose top‐down forces on prey populations, with the strength of those effects often varying over space and time and among demographic groups. In ungulates, predation risk is typically greatest for neonatal offspring, with some suggesting that predators can key in on adult activity to locate hidden neonates. However, few field studies to date have been able to directly assess the influence of maternal care on ungulate neonate survival. Using a population of white‐tailed deer under heavy coyote predation pressure, we tested the maternal dispersion hypothesis, which suggests the dispersion of maternal activity temporally and spatially attenuates risk of predation for ungulate neonates during this vulnerable altricial phase. We compared support for this hypothesis with more commonly tested hypotheses regarding the influence of habitat conditions and intrinsic factors on neonatal survival. Fawn survival to 16 weeks was 27.7%, with coyotes accounting for 59% of fawn mortalities. In support of our maternal temporal diffusion hypothesis, we found that neonatal survival decreased as more maternal visits (proportionally) occurred at night. The only other significant (p |
| Databáze: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
| Externí odkaz: |
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