Roe Deer Reproduction in Western Poland: The Late Autumn Rut Phenomenon
Roe deer (<i>Capreolus capreolus</i> L.) populations in Poland are characterized by low productivity, which is why their reproductive potential was investigated. The presence of corpora lutea (CL) on the ovaries of females hunted in autumn and winter in the years 2015 and 2016 was assess...
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2024-10-01
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| author | Robert Kamieniarz Michał Szymański Magdalena Woźna-Wysocka Bartłomiej M. Jaśkowski Marcin K. Dyderski Emilia Pers-Kamczyc Maciej Skorupski |
| author_facet | Robert Kamieniarz Michał Szymański Magdalena Woźna-Wysocka Bartłomiej M. Jaśkowski Marcin K. Dyderski Emilia Pers-Kamczyc Maciej Skorupski |
| author_sort | Robert Kamieniarz |
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| description | Roe deer (<i>Capreolus capreolus</i> L.) populations in Poland are characterized by low productivity, which is why their reproductive potential was investigated. The presence of corpora lutea (CL) on the ovaries of females hunted in autumn and winter in the years 2015 and 2016 was assessed. Most animals were post-rut and most often had multiple ovulations. However, in early autumn 2015, 60% of the females had no CL. Therefore, they did not participate in mating at the turn of July/August. Those that did ovulate were found to have one CL. In late autumn, 97% of the females were post-rut, mostly with twin ovulations. This confirmed the occurrence of a late autumn rut. This phenomenon had been suggested in studies but not confirmed. In contrast, almost 100% of roe deer ovulated in summer in 2016. It was hypothesized that the reason for the low mating activity of roe deer in the summer of 2015 was heat stress and limited food resources. The summer was exceptionally hot, with many days in July and August when temperatures exceeded 30 °C. The heat combined with low rainfall led to extreme drought. Meanwhile, July and August are the months of mating activity for roe deer. The late autumn rut allowed the roe deer—a monoestrous species—to limit the consequences of a decrease in mating activity or fertility during the hot summer. Global warming may affect roe deer reproduction, so climatic conditions should be considered in population studies, not only in terms of food availability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-07bac360160841c7ba12d7c6c869e71e |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-07bac360160841c7ba12d7c6c869e71e2024-11-08T14:32:27ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152024-10-011421307810.3390/ani14213078Roe Deer Reproduction in Western Poland: The Late Autumn Rut PhenomenonRobert Kamieniarz0Michał Szymański1Magdalena Woźna-Wysocka2Bartłomiej M. Jaśkowski3Marcin K. Dyderski4Emilia Pers-Kamczyc5Maciej Skorupski6Department of Game Management and Forest Protection, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznan, PolandForest District Łopuchówko, Łopuchowko 1, 62-095 Murowana Goslina, PolandDepartment of Medical Biotechnology, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences, Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704 Poznan, PolandDepartment of Reproduction and Clinic of Farm Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Plac Grunwaldzki 49, 50-366 Wroclaw, PolandInstitute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Parkowa 5, 62-035 Kornik, PolandInstitute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Parkowa 5, 62-035 Kornik, PolandDepartment of Game Management and Forest Protection, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznan, PolandRoe deer (<i>Capreolus capreolus</i> L.) populations in Poland are characterized by low productivity, which is why their reproductive potential was investigated. The presence of corpora lutea (CL) on the ovaries of females hunted in autumn and winter in the years 2015 and 2016 was assessed. Most animals were post-rut and most often had multiple ovulations. However, in early autumn 2015, 60% of the females had no CL. Therefore, they did not participate in mating at the turn of July/August. Those that did ovulate were found to have one CL. In late autumn, 97% of the females were post-rut, mostly with twin ovulations. This confirmed the occurrence of a late autumn rut. This phenomenon had been suggested in studies but not confirmed. In contrast, almost 100% of roe deer ovulated in summer in 2016. It was hypothesized that the reason for the low mating activity of roe deer in the summer of 2015 was heat stress and limited food resources. The summer was exceptionally hot, with many days in July and August when temperatures exceeded 30 °C. The heat combined with low rainfall led to extreme drought. Meanwhile, July and August are the months of mating activity for roe deer. The late autumn rut allowed the roe deer—a monoestrous species—to limit the consequences of a decrease in mating activity or fertility during the hot summer. Global warming may affect roe deer reproduction, so climatic conditions should be considered in population studies, not only in terms of food availability.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/21/3078roe deerlate rutreproductive potentialovarycorpus luteumfertility decline |
| spellingShingle | Robert Kamieniarz Michał Szymański Magdalena Woźna-Wysocka Bartłomiej M. Jaśkowski Marcin K. Dyderski Emilia Pers-Kamczyc Maciej Skorupski Roe Deer Reproduction in Western Poland: The Late Autumn Rut Phenomenon Animals roe deer late rut reproductive potential ovary corpus luteum fertility decline |
| title | Roe Deer Reproduction in Western Poland: The Late Autumn Rut Phenomenon |
| title_full | Roe Deer Reproduction in Western Poland: The Late Autumn Rut Phenomenon |
| title_fullStr | Roe Deer Reproduction in Western Poland: The Late Autumn Rut Phenomenon |
| title_full_unstemmed | Roe Deer Reproduction in Western Poland: The Late Autumn Rut Phenomenon |
| title_short | Roe Deer Reproduction in Western Poland: The Late Autumn Rut Phenomenon |
| title_sort | roe deer reproduction in western poland the late autumn rut phenomenon |
| topic | roe deer late rut reproductive potential ovary corpus luteum fertility decline |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/21/3078 |
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