Factors Influencing Survival Rates of Pronghorn Fawns in Idaho
Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) occur throughout western North America. In Idaho, USA, following intensive hunting to reduce crop depredations in the late 1980s, pronghorn populations have not rebounded to desired levels. Because neonatal survival in ungulates is one factor limiting population gro...
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2021
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ftunivnebraskali:oai:digitalcommons.unl.edu:icwdm_usdanwrc-3422 2023-11-12T04:28:12+01:00 Factors Influencing Survival Rates of Pronghorn Fawns in Idaho Panting, Brett R. Gese, Eric M. Conner, Mary M. Bergen, Scott 2021-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/2429 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/3422/viewcontent/Panting_JWM_2021_Factors_Influencing_Survival_Rates.pdf unknown DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/2429 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/3422/viewcontent/Panting_JWM_2021_Factors_Influencing_Survival_Rates.pdf USDA Wildlife Services - Staff Publications Antilocapra americana fawn neonate predation pronghorn survival Animal Sciences Environmental Sciences Life Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Natural Resources Management and Policy Other Environmental Sciences Other Veterinary Medicine Population Biology Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Veterinary Infectious Diseases Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology Veterinary Preventive Medicine Epidemiology and Public Health Zoology text 2021 ftunivnebraskali 2023-10-30T12:00:46Z Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) occur throughout western North America. In Idaho, USA, following intensive hunting to reduce crop depredations in the late 1980s, pronghorn populations have not rebounded to desired levels. Because neonatal survival in ungulates is one factor limiting population growth, we evaluated cause‐specific mortality and the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on survival rates of 217 radio‐collared pronghorn fawns across 3 study areas in Idaho during 2015–2016. For intrinsic variables, we determined the sex and body mass index (BMI) for each fawn. For extrinsic variables, we determined the abundance of predators and alternate prey, estimated the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for 1 month pre‐ and post‐parturition, and measured fecal nitrogen and diaminopimelic acid (DAPA). We considered NDVI as a measure of plant productivity, and fecal nitrogen and DAPA as possible proxies of diet quality. We predicted NDVI, fecal nitrogen, and DAPA would be positively related to the nutritional status of females and positively related to fawn survival. We used Program MARK with known fate models to estimate semi‐monthly survival rates of pronghorn fawns for the first 4 months post‐parturition. During both years, the leading cause of fawn mortality was coyote (Canis latrans) predation (58%), followed by unknown causes of mortality (18%), unknown predation (12%), predation by bobcats (Lynx rufus; 6%), predation by golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos; 3%), and other (3%). Mean fawn survival for the 4 months post‐parturition across years and study sites was 0.42±0.04 (SE; range = 28–62%). The top survival model included BMI, lagomorph abundance, and DAPA and had a model weight of 83.3%. All 3 variables were positively related to pronghorn fawn survival. Because females with increased nutrition generally have heavier fawns, BMI was likely correlated to diet quality, which was supported by the positive relationship between DAPA and fawn survival. We hypothesize that high lagomorph ... Text Aquila chrysaetos Lynx University of Nebraska-Lincoln: DigitalCommons@UNL |
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Open Polar |
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University of Nebraska-Lincoln: DigitalCommons@UNL |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnebraskali |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Antilocapra americana fawn neonate predation pronghorn survival Animal Sciences Environmental Sciences Life Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Natural Resources Management and Policy Other Environmental Sciences Other Veterinary Medicine Population Biology Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Veterinary Infectious Diseases Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology Veterinary Preventive Medicine Epidemiology and Public Health Zoology |
spellingShingle |
Antilocapra americana fawn neonate predation pronghorn survival Animal Sciences Environmental Sciences Life Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Natural Resources Management and Policy Other Environmental Sciences Other Veterinary Medicine Population Biology Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Veterinary Infectious Diseases Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology Veterinary Preventive Medicine Epidemiology and Public Health Zoology Panting, Brett R. Gese, Eric M. Conner, Mary M. Bergen, Scott Factors Influencing Survival Rates of Pronghorn Fawns in Idaho |
topic_facet |
Antilocapra americana fawn neonate predation pronghorn survival Animal Sciences Environmental Sciences Life Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Natural Resources Management and Policy Other Environmental Sciences Other Veterinary Medicine Population Biology Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Veterinary Infectious Diseases Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology Veterinary Preventive Medicine Epidemiology and Public Health Zoology |
description |
Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) occur throughout western North America. In Idaho, USA, following intensive hunting to reduce crop depredations in the late 1980s, pronghorn populations have not rebounded to desired levels. Because neonatal survival in ungulates is one factor limiting population growth, we evaluated cause‐specific mortality and the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on survival rates of 217 radio‐collared pronghorn fawns across 3 study areas in Idaho during 2015–2016. For intrinsic variables, we determined the sex and body mass index (BMI) for each fawn. For extrinsic variables, we determined the abundance of predators and alternate prey, estimated the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for 1 month pre‐ and post‐parturition, and measured fecal nitrogen and diaminopimelic acid (DAPA). We considered NDVI as a measure of plant productivity, and fecal nitrogen and DAPA as possible proxies of diet quality. We predicted NDVI, fecal nitrogen, and DAPA would be positively related to the nutritional status of females and positively related to fawn survival. We used Program MARK with known fate models to estimate semi‐monthly survival rates of pronghorn fawns for the first 4 months post‐parturition. During both years, the leading cause of fawn mortality was coyote (Canis latrans) predation (58%), followed by unknown causes of mortality (18%), unknown predation (12%), predation by bobcats (Lynx rufus; 6%), predation by golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos; 3%), and other (3%). Mean fawn survival for the 4 months post‐parturition across years and study sites was 0.42±0.04 (SE; range = 28–62%). The top survival model included BMI, lagomorph abundance, and DAPA and had a model weight of 83.3%. All 3 variables were positively related to pronghorn fawn survival. Because females with increased nutrition generally have heavier fawns, BMI was likely correlated to diet quality, which was supported by the positive relationship between DAPA and fawn survival. We hypothesize that high lagomorph ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Panting, Brett R. Gese, Eric M. Conner, Mary M. Bergen, Scott |
author_facet |
Panting, Brett R. Gese, Eric M. Conner, Mary M. Bergen, Scott |
author_sort |
Panting, Brett R. |
title |
Factors Influencing Survival Rates of Pronghorn Fawns in Idaho |
title_short |
Factors Influencing Survival Rates of Pronghorn Fawns in Idaho |
title_full |
Factors Influencing Survival Rates of Pronghorn Fawns in Idaho |
title_fullStr |
Factors Influencing Survival Rates of Pronghorn Fawns in Idaho |
title_full_unstemmed |
Factors Influencing Survival Rates of Pronghorn Fawns in Idaho |
title_sort |
factors influencing survival rates of pronghorn fawns in idaho |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/2429 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/3422/viewcontent/Panting_JWM_2021_Factors_Influencing_Survival_Rates.pdf |
genre |
Aquila chrysaetos Lynx |
genre_facet |
Aquila chrysaetos Lynx |
op_source |
USDA Wildlife Services - Staff Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/2429 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/3422/viewcontent/Panting_JWM_2021_Factors_Influencing_Survival_Rates.pdf |
_version_ |
1782341484669829120 |