Sex-ratio variation and reproductive costs in relation to density in a forest-dwelling population of red deer (Cervus elaphus)

For dimorphic species in which the variance in reproductivesuccess of males is more pronounced than that of females, theoriesof adaptive variation in sex ratio predict that mothers shouldinvest more heavily in sons than in daughters. By using harvestdata from a forest-dwelling red deer population that experienceda marked reduction in population density we tested the hypothesisthat adaptive sex-ratio variation should occur only when populationsare much below carrying capacity. More specifically, we testedwhether at low density, females in better than average conditionwere more likely to produce male offspring and to invest inindividual sons rather than were females in poorer than averagecondition. We also investigated female reproductive costs arisingfrom a decrease either in body mass or in reproduction. We didnot find any support for a biased sex ratio or investment towardmale calves by high-quality mothers at any population density.Costs of reproduction in terms of body mass and pregnancy rateswere only detectable for females that reproduced as yearlingsand not for those that reproduced as adults. Our results thereforedo not support the hypothesis of adaptive sex-ratio variationin a population living below carrying capacity. The four-folddifference in party sizes (defined as the number of deer aggregatein the same party in which no individual was more than 50 mfrom any other) observed in our population living in a closedforest habitat compared with populations living in more openhabitats previously studied might account for such a discrepancy.We suggest that a smaller party size may decrease the intensityof sexual selection and could be the proximal cause for thelack of adaptive sex-ratio variation we report for the populationstudied here.