Migrating mule deer compensate en route for phenological mismatches
Links
- More information: Publisher Index Page (via DOI)
- Open Access Version: Publisher Index Page
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
Billions of animals migrate to track seasonal pulses in resources. Optimally timing migration is a key strategy, yet the ability of animals to compensate for phenological mismatches en route is largely unknown. Using GPS movement data collected from 72 adult female deer over a 10-year duration, we study a population of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in Wyoming that lack reliable cues on their desert winter range, causing them to start migration 70 days ahead to 52 days behind the wave of spring green-up. We show that individual deer arrive at their summer range within an average 6-day window by adjusting movement speed and stopover use. Late migrants move 2.5 times faster and spend 72% less time on stopovers than early migrants, which allows them to catch the green wave. Our findings suggest that ungulates, and potentially other migratory species, possess cognitive abilities to recognize where they are in space and time relative to key resources. Such behavioral capacity may allow migratory taxa to maintain foraging benefits amid rapidly changing phenology.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Migrating mule deer compensate en route for phenological mismatches |
| Series title | Nature Communications |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41467-023-37750-z |
| Volume | 14 |
| Publication Date | April 10, 2023 |
| Year Published | 2023 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Springer Nature |
| Contributing office(s) | Coop Res Unit Seattle |
| Description | 2008, 10 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | Wyoming |