Abstract
A method for forecasting the dates of calving in the saiga population on the basis of average fetal body weight is proposed. The method is based on the relationship between the number of days before calving and the average weight of fetuses, which obviates the necessity of determining fetal age and exact gestation period in this species. The average length of gestation, the dates of the rut in the years studied, and the age of females that have mated immediately upon the onset of the rut and before its cessation have been determined. It is shown that the duration of mass calving depends on the proportion of mature males in the population.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Adol'f, T.A., Some Data on the Biology of Saiga in the Astrakhan Steppe, Uch. Zap. Mosk. Gos. Ped. Inst., 1954, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 247-256.
Bannikov, A.G., The Saiga, in Mlekopitayushchie Sovetskogo Soyuza (Mammals of the Soviet Union), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1961, vol. 1, pp. 459-485.
Bannikov, A.G. and Fandeev, A.A., Age Variations of the Skull and Dental System, Horn Growth, and Age Determination, in Biologiya saigaka (The Biology of Saiga), Moscow: Sel'khozgiz, 1961, pp. 228-276.
Bliznyuk, A.I., Census Methods and Saiga Population Size in the Kalmyk Republic, in Kopytnye fauny SSSR (Ungulates in the Fauna of the Soviet Union), Moscow: Nauka, 1975, pp. 39-41.
Bliznyuk, A.I., Forecasting Saiga Population Dynamics in the Northwestern Caspian Region, in Chislennost' zhivotnykh i ee prognozirovanie (Animal Population Size and Its Forecasting), Kirov, 1976, pp. 47-50.
Bliznyuk, A.I., Saiga in the Northwestern Caspian Region: Prospects for Commercial Hunting, in Okhotnich'e khozyaistvo i zapovednoe delo (Game Husbandry and Reserve Management), Moscow: Rossel'khozizdat, 1977, pp. 60-68.
Bliznyuk, A.I., Ecology and Rational Exploitation of Saiga Population in the Northwestern Caspian Region, Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Moscow, 1982.
Bliznyuk, A.I., Influence of Age on the Fecundity of Females and the Sex of Young Saigas (Saiga tatarica L.), Ekologiya, 1999, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 385-387.
Bliznyuk, A.I. and Bukreeva, O.M., Some Parameters of Saiga Populations in the Kalmyk Republic, in Fauna i ekologiya zhivotnykh Chernykh zemel' (The Fauna and Ecology of Animals in the Chernye Zemli Region), Elista, 1993, pp. 104-110.
Bliznyuk, A.I. and Bukreeva, O.M., Fecundity and Calving in Saiga, Saiga tatarica, of the Recent Kalmyk Population, Zool. Zh., 2000, vol. 79, no. 9, pp. 1124-1132.
Dal', S.K., Gusev, V.M., and Bednyi, S.N., The Ecology and Reproduction of Saiga, Zool. Zh., 1958, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 447-456.
Fadeev, V.A., Saiga in the Ustyurt Plateau, in Kopytnye fauny SSSR (Ungulates in the Fauna of the Soviet Union), Moscow: Nauka, 1975, pp. 138-139.
Fandeev, A.A., The Calving of Saiga on the Right Bank of the Volga River, Zool. Zh., 1960, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 906-911.
Fandeev, A.A., Reproduction. Growth and Development, in Biologiya saigaka (The Biology of Saiga), Moscow: Izd. S–kh. Lit., 1961, pp. 194-227.
Lakin, G.F., Biometriya: Uchebnoe posobie dlya biologicheskikh spetsial'nostei vuzov (Biometrics: A Manual for Biological Courses in Colleges), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1980.
Lavrovskii, A.A., Influence of the Summer Drought and Severe Winter of 1949/1950 on Saiga Population Size and Distribution, Okhr. Prir., 1950, no. 10, pp. 83-87.
Perovskii, M.D., Saiga Census, in Okhotovedenie (Game Management), Moscow: Lesnaya Promyshlennost', 1974, pp. 186-201.
Petrishchev, B.I., Relationship between the Course of Prenatal Development and Newborn Mortality in Saiga tatarica, in Sostoyanie teriofauny v Rossii i blizhnem zarubezh'e (The State of Theriofauna in Russia and Neighboring Countries), Moscow, 1996, pp. 264-271.
Petrishchev, B.I., Characteristics of Embryogenesis in Saiga (Saiga tatarica) and Evaluation of Offspring Health, Zool. Zh., 1997, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 234-242.
Rakov, N.V., The Saiga in Western Kazakhstan, Tr. Inst. Zool. Akad. Nauk Kaz. SSR, 1956, vol. 6, pp. 28-60.
Rashek, V.L., The Biology of Saiga on Barsa-Kelmes Island, Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Moscow, 1974.
Sludskii, A.A., The Saiga in Kazakhstan, Tr. Inst. Zool. Akad. Nauk Kaz. SSR, 1955, vol. 4, pp. 18-55.
Sludskii, A.A. and Fadeev, V.A., Reproduction of Saiga tatarica L. in Kazakhstan, Pervyi mezhdunarodnyi kongress po mlekopitayushchim (First International Congress on Mammals), Moscow: VINITI, 1974, vol. 2, p. 205.
Sokolov, V.E., Pronyaev, A.V., and Zhirnov, L.V., Taxonomy and Variability, in Saigak (The Saiga), Moscow, 1998, pp. 25-53.
Tsaplyuk, O.E., Sexual Cycle in Saiga, Tr. Inst. Zool. Akad. Nauk Kaz. SSR, 1966, vol. 26, pp. 193-211.
Vasenko, E.P., The Ecology and Distribution of Saiga, Tr. Zap. Barsa-Kel'mes, 1950, no. 1, pp. 37-115.
Zhirnov, L.V., Vozvrashchennye k zhizni (The Resurrected), Moscow: Lesnaya promyshlennost', 1982.
Zhirnov, L.V., Bekenov, A.B., Grachev, Yu.A., and Pronyaev, A.V., Reproduction, in Saigak (The Saiga), Moscow, 1998, pp. 156-179.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bliznyuk, A.I. A Method for Forecasting the Dates of Mass Calving and Some Characteristics of the Rut and Calving in the Kalmyk Population of Saiga (Saiga tatarica L.). Russian Journal of Ecology 33, 253–259 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016216320446
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016216320446