Balancing Current and Future Reproductive Investment: Variation in Resource Selection During Stages of Reproduction in a Long-Lived Herbivore

Large herbivores exhibit relatively slow-paced life histories, and allocate resources toward maintaining high rates of adult survival, while juvenile survival has greater variability. Maternal females make decisions throughout life stages of reproduction to meet their nutritional demands while simultaneously ensuring survival and recruitment of young to maximize fitness. We investigated tradeoffs associated with resource selection by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) surrounding stages of reproduction in Mojave National Preserve, CA, United States. To understand potential tradeoffs associated with offspring survival and maternal nutritional condition, we measured differences in patterns of resource selection among pre-parturient females, females provisioning young, and females following the loss of young. The third trimester of gestation and lactation are considered the most nutritionally demanding stages of reproduction. We hypothesized that energetic costs would change rapidly throughout those stages of reproduction, especially after the loss of an offspring. Further, we hypothesized that lactating females would balance the acquisition of nutritional sources with safety of young. We used radio-collar and randomly generated locations to model resource selection in a hierarchical approach utilizing machine learning algorithms and traditional resource selection functions (RSFs). We also monitored recruitment of young born to GPS-collared females using VHF radio-collars equipped with mortality indicators. During all three stages of reproduction, adult females selected greater NDVI, less rugged terrain, areas close to water (especially while provisioning offspring), and higher elevations. Selection for greater levels of NDVI was stronger pre-parturition and following the loss of offspring compared to when females were provisioning offspring. We also observed high variation toward the selection of NDVI among individual females while provisioning young, which was less pronounced during the other reproductive stages. Offspring survival during our study was positively associated with females that selected greater levels of NDVI. Further, we were not able to detect a tradeoff between safety of young (ruggedness) and nutrient acquisition (NDVI). Perhaps predation risk and nutritional resources are not mutually exclusive in this ecosystem; and, females may be able to balance reproductive investment with the ability to select for water and nutrition while simultaneously ensuring lower risk of predation for themselves and their offspring.