Neonatal antipredator tactics shape female movement patterns in large herbivores

• Main Authors: Atmeh, Kamal, Bonenfant, Christophe, Gaillard, Jean-Michel, Garel, Mathieu, Hewison, A. J. Mark, Marchand, Pascal, Morellet, Nicolas, Anderwald, Pia, Buuveibaatar, Bayarbaatar, Beck, Jeffrey L, Becker, Matthew S, van Beest, Floris M, Berg, Jodi, Bergvall, Ulrika A, Boone, Randall B, Boyce, Mark S, Chamaillé-Jammes, Simon, Chaval, Yannick, Buyanaa, Chimeddorj, Christianson, David, Ciuti, Simone, Côté, Steeve D, Diefenbach , Duane R, Droge, Egil, du Toit, Johan T, Dwinnell, Samantha, Fennessy, Julian, Filli, Flurin, Fortin, Daniel, Hart, Emma E, Hayes, Matthew, Hebblewhite, Mark, Heim, Morten, Herfindal, Ivar, Heurich, Marco Dietmar, von Hoermann, Christian, Huggler, Katey, Jackson, Craig Ryan, Jakes, Andrew F, Jones, Paul F, Kaczensky, Petra, Kauffman, Matthew, Kjellander, Petter, LeSharr, Tayler, Loe, Leif Egil, May, Roelof Frans, McLoughlin, Philip, Meisingset, Erling L, Merrill, Evelyn, Monteith, Kevin L, Mysterud, Atle, Pedersen, Åshild Ønvik, Røskaft, Eivin, Sæther, Bernt-Erik
• Format: Article
• Language: English

Caring for newborn ofspring hampers resource acquisition of mammalian females, curbing their ability to meet the high energy expenditure of early lactation. Newborns are particularly vulnerable, and, among the large herbivores, ungulates have evolved a continuum of neonatal antipredator tactics, ranging from immobile hider (such as roe deer fawns or impala calves) to highly mobile follower ofspring (such as reindeer calves or chamois kids). How these tactics constrain female movements around parturition is unknown, particularly within the current context of increasing habitat fragmentation and earlier plant phenology caused by global warming. Here, using a comparative analysis across 54 populations of 23 species of large herbivores from 5 ungulate families (Bovidae, Cervidae, Equidae, Antilocapridae and Girafdae), we show that mothers adjust their movements to variation in resource productivity and heterogeneity according to their ofspring’s neonatal tactic. Mothers with hider ofspring are unable to exploit environments where the variability of resources occurs at a broad scale, which might alter resource allocation compared with mothers with follower ofspring. Our fndings reveal that the overlooked neonatal tactic plays a key role for predicting how species are coping with environmental variation.