Kamal Atmeh, Bonenfant, C., Gaillard, J.-M., Garel, M., Hewison, M., Marchand, P., Morellet, N., Anderwald, P., Bayarbaatar Buuveibaatar, Beck, J.L., Becker, M.S., Beest, van, Berg, J., Bergvall, U.A., Boone, R.B., Boyce, M.S., Chamaillé-Jammes, S., Yannick Chaval, Chimeddorj Buyanaa and Christianson, D. (2024). Neonatal antipredator tactics shape female movement patterns in large herbivores. Nature Ecology & Evolution. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02565-8.
Abstract
Caring for newborn offspring hampers resource acquisition of mammalian
females, curbing their ability to meet the high energy expenditure of early
lactation. Newborns are particularly vulnerable, and, among the large
herbivores, ungulates have evolved a continuum of neonatal antipredator
tactics, ranging from immobile hider (such as roe deer fawns or impala
calves) to highly mobile follower offspring (such as reindeer calves or
chamois kids). How these tactics constrain female movements around
parturition is unknown, particularly within the current context of increasing
habitat fragmentation and earlier plant phenology caused by global
warming. Here, using a comparative analysis across 54 populations of
23 species of large herbivores from 5 ungulate families (Bovidae, Cervidae,
Equidae, Antilocapridae and Giraffidae), we show that mothers adjust
their movements to variation in resource productivity and heterogeneity
according to their offspring’s neonatal tactic. Mothers with hider offspring
are unable to exploit environments where the variability of resources occurs
at a broad scale, which might alter resource allocation compared with
mothers with follower offspring. Our findings reveal that the overlooked
neonatal tactic plays a key role for predicting how species are coping with
environmental variation.
females, curbing their ability to meet the high energy expenditure of early
lactation. Newborns are particularly vulnerable, and, among the large
herbivores, ungulates have evolved a continuum of neonatal antipredator
tactics, ranging from immobile hider (such as roe deer fawns or impala
calves) to highly mobile follower offspring (such as reindeer calves or
chamois kids). How these tactics constrain female movements around
parturition is unknown, particularly within the current context of increasing
habitat fragmentation and earlier plant phenology caused by global
warming. Here, using a comparative analysis across 54 populations of
23 species of large herbivores from 5 ungulate families (Bovidae, Cervidae,
Equidae, Antilocapridae and Giraffidae), we show that mothers adjust
their movements to variation in resource productivity and heterogeneity
according to their offspring’s neonatal tactic. Mothers with hider offspring
are unable to exploit environments where the variability of resources occurs
at a broad scale, which might alter resource allocation compared with
mothers with follower offspring. Our findings reveal that the overlooked
neonatal tactic plays a key role for predicting how species are coping with
environmental variation.