10.5061/DRYAD.J3TX95XJS
Ortega, Anna
0000-0001-6750-6231
University of Wyoming
LaSharr, Tayler
University of Wyoming
Kauffman, Matthew
University of Wyoming
Monteith, Kevin
University of Wyoming
Nutritional condition and net body weight for adult female mule deer (Nov
2017–Mar 2018), Wyoming, USA
Dryad
dataset
2022
Fat mobilization
mule deer
nutritional condition
Odocoileus hemionus
somatic reserves
state-dependent
Ungulate
Winter
FOS: Biological sciences
United States Department of the Interior
https://ror.org/03v0pmy70
Hunter Legacy 100 Fund*
Knobloch Family Foundation
https://ror.org/052nwcv16
Muley Fanatic Foundation
https://ror.org/037gaxk79
National Science Foundation
https://ror.org/021nxhr62
Pew Charitable Trusts
https://ror.org/02xhk2825
Safari Club International
https://ror.org/0341wf912
Sitka Ecosystem Grant*
Teton Conservation District*
The Nature Conservancy
https://ror.org/0563w1497
Wyoming Game and Fish Department*
Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition*
United States Geological Survey
https://ror.org/035a68863
University of Wyoming
2022-11-15T00:00:00Z
2022-11-15T00:00:00Z
en
1937 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Many temperate and polar animals have developed physiological and
behavioral adaptations to survive the challenging conditions of winter.
Some animals hibernate to reduce energetic expenditure while other
animals, including ungulates, migrate to avoid cold temperatures and deep
snow. Despite moving vast distances between seasonal ranges, many
migratory ungulates are unable to escape the energetic challenges of
winter and often rely on reserves of fat to withstand food scarcity and a
negative energy balance. The mobilization of fat for ungulates often is
dependent on nutritional condition, yet the fine-scale rate at which
ungulates mobilize fat throughout winter remains unclear. We took
advantage of three sampling periods during the winter of 2017–18 on a
population of mule deer that spends the winter in the Red Desert of
south-central Wyoming, USA to investigate the fine-scale expenditure of
fat from mid-autumn through late winter (November–March). Although the
full effects of winter on forage were still minimal in mid-autumn, mule
deer mobilized fat reserves 2.5 times faster in mid-autumn
(November–December) than in late winter (December–March). The mobilization
of fat strongly depended on nutritional condition with mule deer that
entered a season with higher nutritional condition expending more fat than
those of lower nutritional condition (P < 0.001). Adjusting
mobilization of fat based on nutritional condition may allow temperate
ungulates to survive winter without completely exhausting fat reserves and
risking malnutrition.
On 5 November 2017, we captured n = 30 adult female mule deer (>
1-yr-old) in the Red Desert near Rock Springs, WY, USA (41°35’09” N,
109°12’15” W). During 8–10 December 2017, we recaptured n = 20 deer that
were captured in November 2017. Then, during 11–13 March 2018, we
recaptured all deer (n = 17) that survived the winter and that were
captured in November 2017 and December 2017. All mule deer were captured
via helicopter net-gunning (Ortega et al. 2020) and outfitted with
store-on-board GPS collars programmed to collect locations every two hours
(LOTEK Wireless Inc, New Market, Ontario, CAN). During captures, we used
an electronic platform scale (±0.1 kg; WeighSouth, Asheville, NC) to
measure net body mass (kg). We measured depth of rump fat via
ultrasonography (Ibex Pro, E.I. Medical Imaging, Loveland, CO) and
accompanied it with a body-condition score following standardized
protocols to estimate scaled, ingesta-free body fat for mule deer (Cook et
al. 2010). Ingesta-free body fat is a scaled representation of percent
body fat and is a reliable measure of nutritional condition for live
animals (Cook et al. 2010). We calculated ingesta-free body mass following
methods from Cook et al. (2007) to determine a scaled representation of
body mass. All animal capture and handling protocols were approved by the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department (Chapter 33-937) and an Institutional
Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Wyoming (Protocol
#20170215KM00260). References: Cook, R. C., T. R. Stephenson, W. L. Myers,
J. G. Cook, and L. A. Shipley. 2007. Validating predictive models of
nutritional condition for mule deer. Journal of Wildlife Management
71:1934–1943. Cook, R. C., J. G. Cook, T. R. Stephenson, W. L. Myers, S.
M. McCorquodale, D. J. Vales, L. L. Irwin, P. B. Hall, R. D. Spencer, S.
L. Murphie, K. A. Schoenecker, and P. J. Miller. 2010. Revisions of rump
fat and body scoring indices for deer, elk, and moose. Journal of Wildlife
Management 74:880-896. Ortega, A. C., S. P. Dwinnell, T. N. LaSharr, R. P.
Jakopak, K. Denryter, K. S. Huggler, M. M. Hayes, E. O. Aikens, T. L.
Verzuh, A. B. May, M. J. Kauffman, and K. L. Monteith. 2020. Effectiveness
of partial sedation to reduce stress in captured mule deer. Journal of
Wildlife Management 84:1445–1456.