ANTLERS ON FEMALE CARIBOU: BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE BONES OF CONTENTION
ANTLERS ON FEMALE CARIBOU: BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE BONES OF CONTENTION
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雌性驯鹿的鹿角：争论的本质的生物地理学
DOI：
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发表时间：
2001
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
S. Mahoney
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
J. Schaefer;S. Mahoney
对雌性有蹄类动物的角和鹿角的功能解释是相互矛盾的。我们测试的假设，这种附属物服务于种内竞争的资源，通过分析女性驯鹿进行鹿角跨越1000公里宽的梯度的趋势。我们预测，女性的人口经历更激烈或更持久的干扰竞争，反映为更大的深度和持续时间的积雪，将表现出更大的倾向，承担鹿角。在加拿大纽芬兰和拉布拉多的15个鹿群中，有角雌鹿的比例与年平均降雪量和3月底的平均积雪深度呈正相关，与种群密度呈负相关。我们的研究结果支持这一假设，鹿角的女性提供功能优势，在干扰竞争冬季食物，但鹿角占有可能会下降的情况下，较高的动物密度和营养状态下降。
Functional explanations for horns and antlers on female ungulates are conflicting. We tested the hypothesis that such appendages serve in intraspecific competition for resources by analyzing the tendency for female caribou to carry antlers across a 1000 km wide gradient. We predicted that females in populations experiencing more intense or more protracted interference competition, reflected as greater depth and duration of snow cover, would exhibit greater propensity to bear antlers. Among 15 herds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, the percentage of antlered females was correlated positively with average annual snowfall and mean snow depth at the end of March, and negatively with population density. Our results support the hypothesis that antlers on females provide functional advantages in interference competition for winter food, but that antler possession may decline in instances of higher animal densities and diminished nutritional state.