Temporal patterns of reproduction in ungulates of Tsavo East National Park, Kenya
作者:
WALTER LEUTHOLD,
BARBARA M. LEUTHOLD,
期刊:
African Journal of Ecology
(WILEY Available online 1975)
卷期:
Volume 13,
issue 3‐4
页码: 159-169
ISSN:0141-6707
年代: 1975
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2028.1975.tb00133.x
出版商: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
数据来源: WILEY
摘要:
SummaryTemporal patterns of reproduction in nine species of ungulates were studied by means of repeated road strip counts and through observation of individually known females. Zebra and oryx show one distinct peak of births annually, Coke's hartebeest two peaks per year, but all these species may give birth throughout the year. In waterbuck, impala, Grant's gazelle, gerenuk, lesser kudu and giraffe no marked peaks were evident, i.e. reproduction is largely non‐seasonal. Only the warthog (though not studied in detail) has a short, distinct reproductive season. While mean rainfall and temperatures follow a well‐defined seasonal pattern, rainfall is often irregularly distributed, both in time and in space, and varies considerably from year to year. For most species, more or less continuous reproduction may therefore be more advantageous than a seasonal pattern related to average climatic conditions. Other factors influencing the temporal pattern of reproduction include phylogenetic relationships and food habits. Seasonal reproduction is more marked in grazers than in browsers, and this difference is probably related to seasonal changes in food qual
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