Neonatal antipredator tactics shape female movement patterns in large herbivores
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 large herbivores have evolved a continuum of neonatal anti-predator tactics, ranging from immobile hider to highly mobile follower offspring. 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. Using a analysis across 54 populations of 23 species of large herbivores, 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 to 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.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 2024 |
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Title | Neonatal antipredator tactics shape female movement patterns in large herbivores |
DOI | 10.1038/s41559-024-02565-8 |
Authors | Kamal Atmeh, Christophe Bonenfant, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Mathieu Garel, A.J. Mark Hewison, Pascal Marchand, Nicolas Morellet, Pia Anderwald, Bayarbaatar Buuveibaatar, Jeffrey L. Beck, Matthew S. Becker, Floris M. van Beest, Jodi Berg, Ulrika A. Bergvall, Randall B. Boone, Mark S. Boyce, Simon Chamaill'e-Jammes, Yannick Chaval, Chimeddorj Buyanaa, David A Christianson, Simone Ciuti, Steeve D. Côté, Duane R. Diefenbach, Egil Droge, Johan T. Du Toit, Samantha P. Dwinnell, Julian Fennessy, Flurin Filli, Daniel Fortin, Emma E. Hart, Matthew Hayes, Mark Hebblewhite, Morten Heim, Ivar Herfindal, Marco Heurich, Christian von Hoermann, Katey Huggler, Craig Jackson, Andrew F. Jakes, Paul F. Jones, Petra Kaczensky, Matthew Kauffman, Petter Kjellander, Tayler LaSharr, Leif Egil Loe, Roel May, Philip McLoughlin, Erling L. Meisingset, Evelyn Merrill, Kevin L. Monteith, Thomas Mueller, Atle Mysterud, Dejid Nandintsetseg, Kirk A. Olson, John Payne, Scott Pearson, Ashild Ønvik Pedersen, Dustin H. Ranglack, Adele K. Reinking, Thomas Rempfler, Clifford G Rice, Eivin Røskaft, Bernt-Erik Sæther, Sonia Saïd, Hugo Santacreu, Niels Martin Schmidt, Daan Smit, Jared A. Stabach, Martin-Hugues St-Laurent, Joëlle Taillon, W. David Walter, Kevin White, Guillaume Péron, Anne Loison |
Publication Type | Article |
Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Series Title | Nature Ecology & Evolution |
Index ID | 70262053 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
USGS Organization | Coop Res Unit Leetown |