Opposing offspring sex ratio variations with increasing age and weight in mouflon mothers (Ovis musimon)

There are two main theories explaining offspring sex biases in polygynous mammals. Trivers and Willard (1973) argue that mothers with greater reproductive resources should invest in the sex with the greater variance in reproductive success, usually sons. In contrast, because daughters in many polygynous mammals stay with their mother and compete with her for food, Local Resource Competition theory (e.g. Clark, 1978; Silk, 1983) predicts that the mothers with the greatest reproductive resources should invest in daughters. We investigated the strategy of sex allocation of a captive, outdoor population of 139 mouflon mothers, Ovis musimon, kept in a game state. A complex picture emerged in which, despite weight and body condition being correlated with age in female mouflons, mothers lambed more daughters with increasing age but also, within a given age, gave birth to more sons with increasing weight. Results may be useful in game management aimed at increasing the recruitment or quality o f males in managed populations

What do rates of deposition of dental cementum tell us? Functional and evolutionary hypotheses in red deer.

Cementum is a bone connective tissue that provides a flexible attachment for the tooth to the alveolar bone in many mammalian species. It does not undergo continuous remodelling, unlike non-dental bone, which combined with its growth pattern of seasonal layering makes this tissue uniquely suitable as a proxy for tracking changes in body repair investment throughout an animal´s life. We tested functional and sexual selection hypotheses on the rate of cementum deposition related to the highly polygynous mating strategy of red deer. We used a sample of 156 first lower molars from wild Scottish red deer of known age between 1 and 17 years old, approximately balanced by sex and age class. Cementum deposition on the inter-radicular pad increased with age at a constant average rate of 0.26 mm per year, with no significant differences between sexes. Cementum deposition was independent of (i) tooth wear, other than that associated with age, and (ii) enamel and dentine micro-hardness. The results partially supported the hypothesis that the main function of cementum is the repositioning of the tooth to maintain opposing teeth in occlusion. However, teeth that had more wear or males´ teeth that had faster rates of tooth wear than those of females did not present the expected higher rates of cementum deposition

Seasonal variations of carcass characteristics, meat quality and nutrition value in iberian wild red deer

Aim of study: The effects of hunting season (autumn vs. winter) on carcass characteristics and meat quality of Iberian wild red deer were assessed. Area of study: A total of 100 males of wild red deer of Iberian genetic line (Cervus elaphus) were hunted on Ciudad Real (south central Spain). Material and methods: Yields for shoulder (with bone), neck, backbone, loin, tenderloin, leg (with bone), short plate and flank were determined. In addition, samples of Longissimus thoracis et lumborum and Rectus abdominis muscles were collected. Then, pH48, colour measurements, chemical composition, cooking loss, Warner Bratzler shear blade, fatty acid and amino acid profiles and mineral content were analyzed. Main results: Deer hunted in autumn (n=50) had higher (p<0.01) yields of shoulder, backbone and short plate and higher contents of intramuscular fat (IMF), cholesterol and K, Fe and Mn but lower (p<0.001) pH48 and Na, Mg, Zn and Cu contents than deer hunted in winter (n=50). Shear force tended (p=0.05) to be lower for meat collected in autumn than for meat collected in winter. However, loin yield was 59.2% higher (p<0.001) for winter than for autumn carcasses. Deer hunted in winter had higher α-linoleic acid (p<0.05) and long chain n-3 polyunsaturated (p<0.001) percentages than deer hunted in autumn Research highlights: Autumn hunting is recommended to obtain carcasses with higher yields of shoulder, backbone and short plate and meat with higher IMF. Conversely, winter hunting is advisable for higher loin yield and for a profile richer in polyunsaturated fatty acids

Benefits for Dominant Red Deer Hinds under a Competitive Feeding System: Food Access Behavior, Diet and Nutrient Selection

Social dominance is widely known to facilitate access to food resources in many animal species such as deer. However, research has paid little attention to dominance in ad libitum access to food because it was thought not to result in any benefit for dominant individuals. In this study we assessed if, even under ad libitum conditions, social rank may allow dominant hinds to consume the preferred components of food. Forty-four red deer hinds (Cervus elaphus) were allowed to consume ad libitum meal consisting of pellets of sunflower, lucerne and orange, and seeds of cereals, corn, cotton, and carob tree. The meal was placed only in one feeder, which reduced accessibility to a few individuals simultaneously. During seven days, feeding behavior (order of access, time to first feeding bout, total time spent feeding, and time per feeding bout) were assessed during the first hour. The relative abundance of each meal component was assessed at times 0, 1 and 5 h, as well as its nutritional composition. Social rank was positively related to the amount of time spent feeding during the 1st h (P = 0.048). Selection indices were positively correlated with energy (P = 0.018 during the 1st h and P = 0.047 from 1st to 5th) and fat (only during the 1st h; P = 0.036), but also negatively with certain minerals. Thus, dominant hinds could select high energy meal components for longer time under an ad libitum but restricted food access setting. Selection indices showed a higher selectivity when food availability was higher (1st hour respect to 1st to 5th). Finally, high and low ranking hinds had longer time per feeding bout than mid ones (P = 0.011), suggesting complex behavioral feeding tactics of low ranking social ungulates

Imports and isotopes: a modern baseline study for interpreting Iron Age and Roman trade in fallow deer antlers

The European Fallow deer (Dama dama dama) became extinct in the British Isles and most of continental Europe at the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, with the species becoming restricted to an Anatolian refugium (Masseti et al. 2008). Human-mediated reintroductions resulted in fallow populations in Rhodes, Sicily, Mallorca, Iberia and other parts of western Europe (Sykes et al. 2013). Eventually, the species was brought to Britain by the Romans during the 1st century AD, with a breeding population being established at Fishbourne Roman Palace (Sykes et al. 2011). The human influence on the present-day distribution of the species makes it particularly interesting from a zooarchaeological perspective. This paper describes my MSc research, as part of the AHRC-funded project Dama International: Fallow Deer and European Society 6000 BC–AD 1600, looking at antlers from Iron Age and Roman sites in Britain for evidence of trade in body parts and whether this can be elucidated by a parallel stable isotope study of modern fallow antlers of known provenance

Chemical communication in wild Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout)

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