U.S. Department of Agriculture: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

 

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

ORCID IDs

Gese https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8910-7397

Terletzky https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2445-7115

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2024

Citation

Canadian Journal of Zoology (2024) 102: 337–349

doi: 10.1139/cjz-2023-0113

Comments

United States government work

Abstract

Density-independent and density-dependent population regulation has long been a subject of investigation. We examined density-dependent and density-independent factors on growth rates of pronghorn (Antilocapra americana (Ord, 1815)) using a retrospective analysis of population survey data. Across Idaho, we found that as the proportion of the subpopulation harvested the previous year increased, growth rates increased. Similarly, as fawn recruitment increased, growth rates increased. We also found when the growth rate in the previous year increased, the growth rate the subsequent year decreased. When subpopulations were examined independently, we found that in a low-elevation desert subpopulation, growth rates were influenced by growth the previous year. In an agricultural-dominated site, growth rates were influenced by fawn recruitment in the current year and maximum temperature the previous fall. Growth rates in a mid-elevation shrub–steppe site were influenced by drought severity prior to parturition and the growth rates from the previous year. Growth rates in two mountain valley subpopulations were influenced by measures of vegetative greenness. At the statewide scale, while managers may strive for increased numbers of pronghorn, density dependence will limit the ability for a region-wide numerical response. On the localized scale, drivers of growth were temporally and spatially explicit, and biologists must consider site-specific actions.

Download

Share

COinS