The role of weather and density dependence on population dynamics of Alpine-dwelling red deer  

作　　者：Anna BONARDI Luca CORLATTI Natalia BRAGALANTI Luca PEDROTTI 

机构地区：[1]Stelvio National Park,Bormio,Italy [2]Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management,University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna,Vienna,Austria [3]Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies and Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Management,University of Freiburg,Freiburg,Germany

出　　处：《Integrative Zoology》2017年第1期61-76,共16页整合动物学（英文版）

摘　　要：The dynamics of red deer Cervus elaphus populations has been investigated across different environmental conditions,with the notable exception of the European Alps.Although the population dynamics of mountain-dwelling ungulates is typically influenced by the interaction between winter severity and density,the increase of temperatures and the reduction of snowpack occurring on the Alps since the 1980s may be expected to alter this pattern,especially in populations dwelling at medium-low elevations.Taking advantage of a 29-year time series of spring count data,we explored the role of weather stochasticity and density dependence on growth rate and vital rates(mortality and weaning success),and the density-dependent variation in body mass in a red deer population of the Italian Alps.The interaction between increasing values of density and snow depth exerted negative and positive effects on growth and mortality rates,respectively,while weaning success was negatively affected by increasing values of density,female-biased sex ratio and snow depth.Body mass of males and females of different age classes declined as population size increased.Our data support the role of winter severity and density dependence as key components of red deer population dynamics,and provide insight into the species’ecology on the European Alps.Despite the recent decline of snowpack on the Alpine Region,the negative impacts of winter severity and population abundance on growth rrate(possibly mediated by the density-dependent decline in body mass)confirms the importance of overwinter mortality in affecting the population dynamics of Alpine-dwelling red deer.

关 键 词：climate change DEMOGRAPHY environmental stochasticity UNGULATES vital rates 

分 类 号：C92[社会学—人口学]