Ecological cues, gestation length, and birth timing in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer)
Ecological cues, gestation length, and birth timing in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer)
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非洲水牛 (Syncerus caffer) 的生态线索、妊娠长度和出生时间
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发表时间：
2007
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通讯作者：
Wayne M. Getz
中科院分区：
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作者：
S. J. Ryan;C. Knechtel;Wayne M. Getz
我们研究了非洲布法罗（Syncerus caffer）的受孕和分娩时间的年度变化，以及出生时间与资源线索的同步性，使用8年的每月出生，降雨量和植被数据，测量归一化差异植被指数（NDVI）。月出生人数与过去12个月和13个月的NDVI和降雨量水平的相关性最强。此外，当年出生的同步性对应最强的同步性，前一年的NDVI分布。由于布法罗的妊娠期估计为11个月左右，这些研究结果表明，在雨季第一次绿色潮红后约一个月，蛋白质水平的提高要么是受孕的触发因素，要么是受孕已进化为与相关环境线索同步，确保女性在受孕和/或分娩时进入身体状况的高峰期。妊娠期约为340天，分娩是为了利用饲料蛋白质含量最高的时期。通过对牛亚科内妊娠期的比较分析表明，非洲布法罗的妊娠期较长，这与其体型大小有关，我们认为这是对季节性环境的一种适应。我们还发现，出生分布的年际变化表明受孕日期具有一定程度的可塑性，每年出生的小牛数量的变化表明在比一年更长的时间尺度上进一步同步。版权所有2007年，牛津大学出版社。
We examined annual variation in the timing of conception and parturition in the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and the synchrony of birth timing with resource cues, using 8 years of monthly birth, rainfall, and vegetation data, measured as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Monthly births had the strongest significant correlations with NDVI and rainfall levels 12 and 13 months in the past, respectively. In addition, the synchrony of current year births corresponds most strongly to the synchrony of the previous year's NDVI distribution. Because the gestation period of buffalo has been estimated to be around 11 months, these findings suggest that improved protein levels, occurring approximately a month after the first green flush of the wet season, are either a trigger for conception or conception has evolved to be synchronous with correlated environmental cues that ensure females enter a period of peak body condition around the time of conception and/or parturition. With a gestation period of approximately 340 days, parturition occurs to take advantage of the period when forage has its highest protein content. A comparative analysis of gestation periods within the subfamily Bovinae indicates that African buffalo have a protracted gestation for their body size, which we suggest is an adaptation to their seasonal environment. We also found that interannual variation in the birth distribution suggests a degree of plasticity in the date of conception, and variation in the number of calves born each year suggest further synchrony at a timescale longer than a single year. Copyright 2007, Oxford University Press.