The reproductive season of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has been hypothesized to be aseasonal south of about 14°–18°N latitude, where annual variation in day length is low. We tested this idea by using camera-trap data (1,336 photographed individuals identified by age and sex) collected during 2011–2017 in the dry tropical forest of Santa Rosa National Park, northwest Costa Rica, where wet and dry seasons are well-defined. We identified variation in monthly occurrence of spotted deer fawns, as well as the status of antler growth of male deer, specifically related to the very seasonal environment of the region. Year-round reproduction likely occurs, but the rainfall pattern in the area greatly influences the relative frequency of reproductive indicators, with most births occurring during the dry season, and a second peak occurring toward the latter part of the wet season. We speculate that food resources are the major influence on reproductive patterns, and that variation in types and timing of food resource availability likely account for the variation in reproductive patterns.

中文翻译：

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在哥斯达黎加季节性干燥的热带森林中繁殖白尾鹿：季节性测试

白尾鹿 (Odocoileus virginianus) 的繁殖季节被假设为在北纬 14°–18°以南的非季节性季节，那里昼长的年度变化很小。我们通过使用 2011 年至 2017 年在哥斯达黎加西北部圣罗莎国家公园的干燥热带森林中收集的相机陷阱数据（1,336 位按年龄和性别确定的照片个体）测试了这一想法，那里的雨季和旱季是明确定义的。我们确定了斑点鹿小鹿每月发生的变化，以及雄鹿鹿角的生长状况，特别是与该地区的季节性环境有关。全年繁殖可能发生，但该地区的降雨模式极大地影响了繁殖指标的相对频率，大多数分娩发生在旱季，第二个高峰出现在雨季后期。我们推测食物资源是生殖模式的主要影响因素，食物资源可用的类型和时间的变化可能是生殖模式变化的原因。