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Direct versus indirect effects of social rank, maternal weight, body condition and age on milk production in Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2009

Tomás Landete-Castillejos ,
Francisco Ceacero ,
Andrés J García ,
Jose A. Estevez  and
Laureano Gallego
Tomás Landete-Castillejos*
Affiliation:
Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos, IDR, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071Albacete, Spain Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal, ETSIA, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071Albacete, Spain Animal Science Tech. Applied to Wildlife Management Research Group, IREC Sec. Albacete, Campus UCLM, 02071Albacete, Spain
Francisco Ceacero
Affiliation:
Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos, IDR, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071Albacete, Spain Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal, ETSIA, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071Albacete, Spain Animal Science Tech. Applied to Wildlife Management Research Group, IREC Sec. Albacete, Campus UCLM, 02071Albacete, Spain
Andrés J García
Affiliation:
Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos, IDR, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071Albacete, Spain Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal, ETSIA, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071Albacete, Spain Animal Science Tech. Applied to Wildlife Management Research Group, IREC Sec. Albacete, Campus UCLM, 02071Albacete, Spain
Jose A. Estevez
Affiliation:
Sección de Recursos Cinegéticos, IDR, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071Albacete, Spain Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal, ETSIA, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071Albacete, Spain Animal Science Tech. Applied to Wildlife Management Research Group, IREC Sec. Albacete, Campus UCLM, 02071Albacete, Spain
Laureano Gallego
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal, ETSIA, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071Albacete, Spain
*
*For correspondence; e-mail: Tomas.Landete@uclm.es
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Abstract

Social rank in cervids and other mammals is not entirely predicted by body weight, but in most cases influences access to food directly. Milk provisioning depends on maternal weight and on daily food intake. Usually, body weight, body condition, age and social rank are inter-correlated making it very difficult to discern the relative importance of each variable to milk production. This study used path analysis to assess direct versus indirect effects of these variables on milk production of 62 Iberian red deer hinds (Cervus elaphus hispanicus). Once the known direct effects of body weight and body condition were set as fixed, hind age and social rank did not affect milk production directly. In contrast, they exerted an indirect influence through the correlation both with hind body weight and body condition. Body weight exerted an effect on milk production nearly twice as great as that of body condition. This study shows, for the first time in a wild mammal, the relative importance of social rank, body weight, body condition and age in affecting milk production ability.

Keywords

Lactationparental investmentpath analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Dairy Research , Volume 77 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 77 - 84
Copyright
Copyright © Proprietors of Journal of Dairy Research 2009

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