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Cohort antler size signals environmental stress in a moderate climate

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Abstract

Research in northern latitudes confirms that climate teleconnections exert important influences on ungulate fitness, but studies from regions with milder climates are lacking. We explored the influence of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Northern Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on male, 2.5-year-old white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) antler and body mass in Mississippi, USA, a region with mild winters and warm, humid summers. Explanatory variables were seasonal averages of each climate index extending back to 3 years prior to account for possible maternal and lag effects. Seasonal climate indices from the period of gestation and the first year of life were correlated with deer morphometrics. Reduced antler mass was largely correlated (R2 = 0.52) with PDO values indicating dry conditions during parturition and neonatal development and NAO values indicating warmer than normal winters during gestation and the first year of life. Body mass was less correlated (R2 = 0.16) to climate indices, responding negatively to warmer winter weather during the first winter of life. Climate may promote variable fitness among cohorts through long-term effects on male competition for dominance and breeding access. Because broad-scale climate indices simplify complex weather systems, they may benefit management at larger scales. Although this study compared climate with morphological variables, it is likely that demographic characteristics can likewise be modeled using climate indices. As climate change in this region is projected to include greater variability in summer precipitation, we may see concomitantly greater variability in fitness among cohorts of white-tailed deer.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the MDWFP for providing access to Deer Management Assistance Program data upon which our analyses were based. J. Klassen kindly provided the study area figure. This publication is a contribution of the MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center.

Funding

Support for this project was provided by the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service, the MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) using resources from the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Box 9690, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA

    Bronson K. Strickland, Phillip D. Jones & Stephen Demarais

  2. Department of Geosciences, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS, USA

    P. Grady Dixon

  3. Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, Box 5448, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA

    Nathan O. Owen, David A. Cox, Katie Landry-Guyton & W. Mark Baldwin

  4. Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks, Jackson, MS, 39211, USA

    William T. McKinley

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  1. Bronson K. Strickland
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Correspondence to Bronson K. Strickland.

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Strickland, B.K., Dixon, P.G., Jones, P.D. et al. Cohort antler size signals environmental stress in a moderate climate. Int J Biometeorol 64, 611–621 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-019-01850-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-019-01850-7

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