Season of birth affects juvenile survival of giraffe

Variation in timing of reproduction and subsequent juvenile survival often plays an important role in population dynamics of temperate and boreal ungulates. Tropical ungulates often give birth year round, but survival effects of birth season for tropical ungulate species are unknown. We used a population of giraffe in the Tarangire Ecosystem of northern Tanzania, East Africa to determine whether calf survival varied by season of birth. Variation in juvenile survival according to season of birth was significant, with calves born during the dry season experiencing the highest survival probability. Phenological match may confer a juvenile survival advantage to offspring born during the dry season from greater accumulated maternal energy reserves in mothers who conceive in the long rainy season, high-protein browse in the late dry-early short rainy seasons supplementing maternal and calf resources, reduced predation due to decreased stalking cover, or some combination of these. Asynchrony is believed to be the ancestral state of all ungulates, and this investigation has illustrated how seasonal variation in vegetation can affect juvenile survival and may play a role in the evolution of synchronous births.

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Work Title Season of birth affects juvenile survival of giraffe
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Derek Edward Lee
  2. Monica Louise Bond
  3. Douglas Thomas Bolger
Keyword
  1. Giraffe
  2. Juvenile survival
  3. Match-mismatch
  4. Population dynamics
  5. Reproduction
  6. Reproductive timing
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Population Ecology
Publication Date February 27, 2017
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10144-017-0571-8
Deposited July 12, 2023

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Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Added Lee_et_al_2017_seasonal_giraffe_calf_survival.pdf
  • Added Creator Derek Edward Lee
  • Added Creator Monica Louise Bond
  • Added Creator Douglas Thomas Bolger
  • Published
  • Updated Keyword, Publication Date Show Changes
    Keyword
    • Giraffe, Juvenile survival, Match-mismatch, Population dynamics, Reproduction, Reproductive timing
    Publication Date
    • 2017-04-01
    • 2017-02-27
  • Updated