Deer reproduction is fairer than we thought

August

Turns out, it’s not just the dominant, mature bucks that are getting the does, according to a study published this month in the Journal of Mammalogy. (I never know what’s going to show up in my in-box . . .) Every buck apparently has its chance to contribute to the next generation of deer, not just the bigger, better bucks.

The study “bucks long-standing assumptions about white-tailed deer mating patterns. Studies characterizing male reproductive success as highly skewed with a small number of mature dominant males monopolizing breeding are criticized for depending too heavily on behavioral observations and circumstantial evidence. In the current study, physically immature males, 1.5 to 2.5 years of age, were found to have fathered 30 to 33 percent of offspring in the populations examined, even where larger, mature males were present.

Social dominance alone may not guarantee reproductive success, the study finds. Ecological and behavioral variables also may be at work, limiting the ability of individual males to control access to females. Young or subdominant males may be successful in fertilization by using alternative strategies that do not rely on dominance.

Male mating tactics include roaming widely in search of females in heat. Paying proper attention to a doe is another method—males may spend up to 24 hours “tending” to a receptive female. The study also cites evidence of female promiscuity among white-tailed deer that could make finding a mate easier for male deer of any age.”

You can find the scientific article explaining everything here.

The photo by TJN photographer Angela Gaul shows two bucks in Upper Nyack in 2008.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 2:03 pm by Mike Risinit.
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