Journal
ACTA THERIOLOGICA
Volume 46, Issue 4, Pages 419-428Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/BF03192448
Keywords
Cervus nippon; body condition; kidney fat mass; seasonal changes; sine wave
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We analyzed seasonal and sexual fluctuations in kidney mass (KM) and kidney fat mass (KFM) as indices of condition in Hokkaido sika deer Cervus nippon yesoensis Heude, 1884, For 76 male and 132 female sika deer, seasonal fluctuations in KM and KFM were given by fitted sine wave growth curves. Although the kidney fat index (KFI) is used frequently to evaluate animal condition, we reject it because it is based on the assumption that kidney mass is proportional to body mass in all seasons. Our data did not support this assumption. KFM is a better indicator of Hokkaido sika deer condition than KFI Although sex-based differences in cervid KFM are said to reflect differences in reproductive cycles, the seasonal similarities in sika deer KFM levels may represent adaptations to the long severe Hokkaido winter. Because in our study deer populations were at low densities and had high pregnancy rates, our sine wave growth models can be regarded as reference for fat level fluctuations in Hokkaido sika deer.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available