Effect of archer density on elk pregnancy rates and conception dates

Archery hunting in Oregon has increased dramatically over the past 2 decades. At the same time, spring juvenile to adult female ratios of Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) have been declining. This has raised concern that archery seasons may be disrupting elk breeding and contributing to the decline in recruitment. Two mechanisms could contribute to reduced juvenile:female ratios: 1) reduced pregnancy rates, and 2) delayed conception dates because of human disturbance during the rut. We varied the number of archery hunters at the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range over 13 years to evaluate effects of archer density on reproduction of elk. Archer densities were maintained at high densities during 4 years , low densities during 3 years , and no archers during 6 years. We determined pregnancy status, age, kidney fat index (KFI), lactation status, and fetus conception dates for 622 female elk harvested in December. We found pregnancy rate differences of 0.105, 0.080, and 0.021 between high and no archer density years (P = 0.004), high and low archer density years (P = 0.054), and low and no archer density years (P = 0.616), respectively. Conception dates were 4 days later for high archer density compared to low archer density (P = 0.006), but did not differ between high and no archer years (2 days; P = 0.136) or between low and no archer years (2 days; P = 0.108). We compared generalized linear model estimates of pregnancy rates and determined pregnancy rates for 28% of the lactating female elk to be affected by high archer density, whereas archer densities had no significant affect on pregnancy rate estimates for non-lactating females. We found no difference in conception dates among archer densities when comparing model estimates. Our results suggest that archer density and its interaction with nutritional condition of elk influence pregnancy rates of lactating females with low KFI levels; however, the effect of archer density alone does not explain the magnitude of decline in juvenile to female ratios observed in Oregon. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.     

Environmental heterogeneity influences the reliability of secondary sexual traits as condition indicators

Numerous studies have shown positive associations between ornaments and condition, as predicted by indicator models of sexual selection. However, this idea is continuously challenged by opposite results, which reveal our lack of full understanding of how sexual selection works. Environmental heterogeneity may explain such inconsistencies, but valid field tests of this idea are currently lacking. We first analysed the relationship between condition and ornament expression from nine populations over 7 years in a wild bird, the red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus. We then manipulated male aggressiveness at the population level by means of testosterone implants in a replicated field experiment. We found that the relationship between condition and ornamentation varied greatly between environments and became stronger when environmental conditions (ECs) were worse or when aggressiveness in the population was experimentally increased. Some ornaments may therefore reliably advertise a better condition only in adverse ECs. Considering environmental heterogeneity can help reconcile conflicting findings regarding the reliability of ornaments as indicators of condition and will help our understanding of sexual selection processes.     

Re‐mating across years and intralineage polygyny are associated with greater than expected levels of inbreeding in wild red deer

The interaction between philopatry and nonrandom mating has important consequences for the genetic structure of populations, influencing co‐ancestry within social groups but also inbreeding. Here, using genetic paternity data, we describe mating patterns in a wild population of red deer (Cervus elaphus) which are associated with marked consequences for co‐ancestry and inbreeding in the population. Around a fifth of females mate with a male with whom they have mated previously, and further, females frequently mate with a male with whom a female relative has also mated (intralineage polygyny). Both of these phenomena occur more than expected under random mating. Using simulations, we demonstrate that temporal and spatial factors, as well as skew in male breeding success, are important in promoting both re‐mating behaviours and intralineage polygyny. However, the information modelled was not sufficient to explain the extent to which these behaviours occurred. We show that re‐mating and intralineage polygyny are associated with increased pairwise relatedness in the population and a rise in average inbreeding coefficients. In particular, the latter resulted from a correlation between male relatedness and rutting location, with related males being more likely to rut in proximity to one another. These patterns, alongside their consequences for the genetic structure of the population, have rarely been documented in wild polygynous mammals, yet they have important implications for our understanding of genetic structure, inbreeding avoidance and dispersal in such systems.     

A COMPUTER-BASED TECHNIQUE FOR THE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF ANIMAL SOUNDS

ABSTRACT

The method usually used to identify different sounds or divisions of sounds is to compare sonagrams visually. There have been some attempts to reduce the subjectivity and increase the repeatability of this approach, for example by tracing the sonagrams onto paper and examining the areas of overlap and mismatch, the use of multi-variate statistics and digitising tablets. Digital recording of sounds has allowed sounds to be input directly into computers which can be used to display sounds and facilitate measurement. To date there has been little attempt at their use for analysis. We outline a series of programs which have been developed to compare statistically any unit of a sound with a pre-recorded library of similar units. The creation of such a library allows the rapid and objective categorisation of large numbers of sounds. These programs have been used to analyse songs recorded from wrens Troglodytes troglodytes and house crickets Acheta domesticus. Potential applications of this software to the field of bioacoustic investigation are discussed.     

通过粪球形态快速鉴定马鹿性别的方法与分子鉴定

通过SRY 基因扩增,对76 份野生东北马鹿粪便DNA 进行了性别鉴定,其中雄性49 份,雌性27 份。观察发现粪球形态可分两类:子弹状、枣核状。子弹状呈短粗型,长宽比较小;枣核状呈细长型,长宽比较大。对76 份样品进行分类:子弹状51 份、枣核状25 份。并以样品长、宽平均值的比值(R)为指标快速聚类,并建立了判别方程。统计指出判别结果与实际性别吻合率79.71% ;形态分类与实际性别吻合率90.56% ,即子弹状为雄性,枣核状为雌性。结果提示今后的野外研究可直接利用粪球形态判定粪样性别,长宽比判别方程可作为辅助。     

宁夏贺兰山国家级自然保护区马鹿分布及集群特征的初步研究

2009 年1 ～12 月,我们对宁夏贺兰山国家级自然保护区内的马鹿分布情况进行了调查。根据107 个马鹿活动位点和572 个马鹿痕迹位点,分别用95% 的固定核空间法(Fixed kernel estimation,FKE)和100% 的最小凸多边形法(Minimum convex polygon,MCP)进行计算,结果显示保护区内的马鹿分布面积约为642.33 km2 ,占保护区总面积的33 19% ,分布范围介于小水沟和榆树沟之间,插旗口和大水沟是马鹿分布密度最大的两个区域,而人为干扰较严重的黄旗口和小口子在调查过程中没有发现马鹿实体。我们对马鹿在冬季的种群数量进行了调查,利用模型均匀分布和简易多项式级数展开(Uniform + Simple polynomial),Distance 6. 0 的结果显示宁夏贺兰山马鹿的种群数量约为1 420 头(880 ～ 2 300)。保护区内的马鹿在不同的季节有垂直迁移现象,冬季活动在低海拔地区。保护区内的马鹿集群较小(3.50 ± 2.76,1 ～ 13 头,n = 107),且集群大小有季节性差异,冬季(4. 26 ± 3.09)明显大于其它季节。     

利用全基因组重测序分析鹿茸重量相关基因

茸角是鹿科动物特有的器官,具有重要的生物学意义。鹿茸生长是一个复杂的生物代谢过程,其重量与遗传因素有一定关联。本研究对饲养条件基本一致的5个梅花鹿(Cervus nippon)群体进行调查,获得高产和低产梅花鹿个体共100只,利用全基因组重测序分析这些个体与鹿茸重量相关的遗传变异。结果表明,共得到94个与鹿茸重量可能相关的遗传变异,其中有2个变异位点分别定位于OAS2和ALYREF/THOC4基因的外显子区,且ALYREF/THOC4基因在鹿茸中表达量很高。功能富集分析发现,这些遗传变异与鹿茸生长发育密切相关,可作为潜在的鹿茸重量相关遗传变异。本研究首次通过全基因组重测序直接筛选与鹿茸重量相关的遗传变异,并分析关联基因的生物学功能,对揭示鹿茸生长发育和鹿茸重量差异形成的遗传机制具有重要意义。