CorpusUL
CorpusUL, Université Laval's Institutional repository preserves and enables easy and open access to scientific literature.
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Although herbivores are generally known to trade off forage in open habitat patches and cover in forested habitat patches, it remains unclear if high population density and low predation risk can modulate the trade-off between forage and cover. We studied a population of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) that was at high density and on a large island free of predators to assess the influence of forage and cover on habitat selection under harsh environmental conditions. We fitted 19 f...
Variations among individuals in phenotypic quality and fitness often confound analyses of life-history strategies assessed at the population level. We used detailed long-term data from three populations of large herbivores with generation times ranging from four to nine years to quantify heterogeneity in individual quality among females, and to assess its influence on mean annual reproductive success over the lifetime (MRS). We also determined how environmental conditions in early life shaped...
1. Although life-history theory predicts substantial costs of reproduction, individuals often show positive correlations among life-history traits, rather than trade-offs. The apparent absence of reproductive costs may result from heterogeneity in individual quality. 2. Using detailed longitudinal data from three contrasted ungulate populations (mountain goats, Oreamnos americanus; bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis; and roe deer, Capreolus capreolus), we assessed how individual quality affe...
Hormones play a central role in the physiology and behaviour of animals. The recent development of noninvasive techniques has increased information on physical and social states of individuals through hormone measurements. The relationships among hormones, life history traits and behaviours are, however, still poorly known. For the first time, we evaluated natural winter glucocorticoid and testosterone levels in young ungulates in relation to winter progression, diet quality and socia...