Early developed section of the jaw as an index of prenatal growth conditions in adult roe deer Capreolus capreolus
Høye, T.T. & Forchhammer, M.C. 2006: Early developed section of the jaw as an index of prenatal growth conditions in adult roe deer Capreolus capreolus. - Wildl. Biol. 12: 71-76.
Increasing evidence suggests that conditions in early life have important consequences for ultimate body size and fitness. Skeletal parts are often used as retrospective indices of body size and growth constraints because of their resistance to seasonal variation in resource availability. Yet, slow-maturing bones are poor predictors of resource limitations during early development, as later benign conditions may lead to compensatory growth. We analysed the temporal growth dynamics of different sections of the lower jaw of roe deer Capreolus capreolus and found that the medioanterior section of the lower jaw reaches 95% of asymptotic size already at 2-4 months post partum, whereas the posterior section reaches 95% of asymptotic size at 14-16 months post partum. Hence, the size of the medioanterior section of the lower jaw is only dependent on resource availability in utero and the first few months post partum and, as such, potentially leaves a fingerprint of prenatal growth conditions that is evident even in adult individuals. This supports earlier findings in ungulates of a shift in skeletal growth spurts after weaning, and suggests that the choice of skeletal index for population and cohort studies is not trivial.
Key words: Capreolus capreolus, cohort effects, development, environmental constraints, growth, jaw
Toke T. Høye*, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Biodiversity, National Environmental Research Institute, Kalø, Grenåvej 14, DK-8410 Rønde, Denmark - e-mail: tthoye@bi.ku.dk Mads C. Forchhammer**, Department of Population Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark - e-mail: mcf@dmu.dk
Present addresses:
*Department of Population Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
**National Environmental Research Institute, Department of Arctic Environment, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Corresponding author: Toke T. Høye
Received 25 June 2003, accepted 7 November 2004
Associate Editor: Jean-Michel Gaillard