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The effects of winter severity and population density on body stores in the Iberian wild goat (Capra pyrenaica) in a highly seasonal mountain environment

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Abstract

We studied the factors that determined kidney fat stores (KFs) and kidney stores (Ks)—defined as the residuals from the linear regression of kidney mass and kidney fat, respectively, on body weight—in 463 Iberian wild goats (Capra pyrenaica) from the Sierra Nevada (southern Spain). Despite the fact that body stores in both sexes were highest during the warmest months of the year and lowest during the coldest months when food resources are limited, the observed pattern was sex- and age-dependent. The KFs of male goats fell more than those of females in winter, and the yearlings of both sexes needed one season more than young or adults to restore their KFs. Goats of all age classes showed the same seasonal patterns in their Ks, although Ks were lower in females than in males throughout the yearly cycle. In addition, we found strong delayed effects of both snowfalls and population density on body stores, and in years with a lot of snow, goats' KFs reached their lowest levels in the current winter–spring, but the highest in the following summers and autumns. This pattern was less noticeable in the Ks. Population density negatively affected the body stores of wild goats, especially in winter, and the amount of snow fallen in the year of birth (cohort effect) did not seem to influence the body stores in our data set. In addition, we assessed the accuracy of the residuals from the regression between body size and body mass for monitoring body condition of live wild goats and concluded that, although it poorly indicates fat stores, it could be used as a general proxy of body condition. Finally, we discuss the expected effects of climate warming on body stores in this Mediterranean Caprinae species.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to J. Navarro, M. A. López, A. R. Huete, M. C. Pérez and J. García for their help with the field and laboratory work. We would also like to thank David Forsyth, John P. Ball, A. J. M. Hewison, G. Gonzalez, J. F. Gerard and Sandro Lovari for helpful comments on previous drafts of this manuscript. Marco Festa-Bianchet, G. Hilton and A. Schulte-Hostedde participated in stimulating discussions on the best way of estimating wild goat body stores. Special thanks go to Marcus Clauss and Jean Michel-Gaillard for their constructive criticism on the manuscript. E. Serrano is supported by the Juan de la Cierva Postdoctoral Programme of the MICINN (Spain) and M. Sarasa by a MENRT grant (France). Research activities were also partially supported by the Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Junta de Andalucía (RNM–118). Climatologic data were kindly provided by Cetursa, Sierra Nevada, S.A.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Servei d´Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, E-08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain

    Emmanuel Serrano

  2. Espacio Natural de Sierra Nevada, Carretera Antigua de Sierra Nevada, km 7, E-18071, Pinos Genil, Granada, Spain

    Jose Enrique Granados

  3. Laboratoire Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France

    Mathieu Sarasa

  4. Laboratorio Prolab, C/ Carrera, 62, E-23600, Martos, Jaén, Spain

    Francisco Jose González

  5. EGMASA, Av. Johan G. Gutenberg, s.n, Isla de la Cartuja, E-41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Paulino Fandos

  6. Estación Biológica de Doñana (C.S.I.C), Av. Americo Vespucio, s.n, E-41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Ramon C. Soriguer

  7. Departamento de Biología Animal, Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas, s.n, E-23071, Jaén, Spain

    Mathieu Sarasa & Jesus M. Pérez

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  1. Emmanuel Serrano
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  2. Jose Enrique Granados
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  3. Mathieu Sarasa
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  4. Francisco Jose González
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  6. Ramon C. Soriguer
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Correspondence to Emmanuel Serrano.

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Table S1

Reference values in grammes for kidney fat (KF) and fat-free kidney mass (KM) in female and male Iberian wild goats from the Sierra Nevada mountains. Yearlings (1 ≤ 2 years), prime-age females and growing males (2 ≤ age < 5 years), adults (≥5 years) (DOC 51 kb)

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Serrano, E., Granados, J.E., Sarasa, M. et al. The effects of winter severity and population density on body stores in the Iberian wild goat (Capra pyrenaica) in a highly seasonal mountain environment. Eur J Wildl Res 57, 45–55 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-010-0398-5

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