Abstract
Understanding how spring phenology influences early life can provide important insights into drivers of future development and survival. We combined unique, long-term data from a bighorn sheep population and satellite-derived phenology indices to quantify the relative importance of maternal and environmental influences on milk composition and lamb overwinter survival. Based on 216 milk samples from 34 females monitored over 6 years, we found that longer snow-free and vegetation growing seasons increased milk fatty acid, iron and lactose concentrations. Structural equation modelling revealed no causality between milk energy content, lamb weaning mass and lamb overwinter survival. Our results suggest that spring conditions can affect milk energy content, but we did not detect any effect on lamb overwinter survival either directly or indirectly through lamb weaning mass. The effect of green-up date on milk composition and energy content suggests that herbivores living in seasonal environments, such as the bighorn sheep, might rely on a strategy intermediate between ‘capital’ and ‘income’ breeding when energy demands are high.
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Data accessibility
The datasets analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC Discovery Grants to MFB and FP), the Canada Research Chair program (FP) and the Alberta Conservation Association through research grants to LAR, FP and MFB. We are grateful to all people who helped during fieldwork and laboratory analyses including S. Guillemette, M.A. Poirier, S. Tardif, N. Blais, M.M. Corbeil and A. Brousseau. We thank A. Hubbs, C. Feder and J.T. Jorgenson (Alberta Fish & Wildlife) for logistical help.
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LAR, FGB, AAC and FP conceived the ideas and designed methodology. FP and MFB. run the long-term project. LAR and FR extracted all phenology indices. LAR and FR analysed the data. LAR led the writing of the manuscript. All authors contributed critically to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.
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Animals were captured and handled in compliance with the Canadian Council on Animal Care, under the approval of the Université de Sherbrooke Animal Care Committee (protocol number FP-2016-01 and MFB-2018-01—Université de Sherbrooke).
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Communicated by Jean-Michel Gaillard.
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Renaud, LA., Rousseu, F., Blanchet, F.G. et al. Milk composition in a wild mammal: a physiological signature of phenological changes. Oecologia 193, 349–358 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04684-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04684-y