Early developed section of the jaw as an index of prenatal growth conditions in adult roe deer Capreolus capreolus
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Standard
Early developed section of the jaw as an index of prenatal growth conditions in adult roe deer Capreolus capreolus. / Høye, Toke Thomas; Forchhammer, Mads Cedergreen.
In: Wildlife Biology, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2006, p. 71-76.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Author
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
T1 - Early developed section of the jaw as an index of prenatal growth conditions in adult roe deer Capreolus capreolus
AU - Høye, Toke Thomas
AU - Forchhammer, Mads Cedergreen
N1 - Keywords: Capreolus capreolus, cohort effects, development, environmental constraints, growth, jaw
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - Increasing evidence suggests that conditions in early life have important consequences for ultimate body size and fitness. Skeletal parts are often used as retrospective indices of body size and growth constraints because of their resistance to seasonal variation in resource availability. Yet, slow-maturing bones are poor predictors of resource limitations during early development, as later benign conditions may lead to compensatory growth. We analysed the temporal growth dynamics of different sections of the lower jaw of roe deer Capreolus capreolus and found that the medioanterior section of the lower jaw reaches 95% of asymptotic size already at 2-4 months post partum, whereas the posterior section reaches 95% of asymptotic size at 14-16 months post partum. Hence, the size of the medioanterior section of the lower jaw is only dependent on resource availability in utero and the first few months post partum and, as such, potentially leaves a fingerprint of prenatal growth conditions that is evident even in adult individuals. This supports earlier findings in ungulates of a shift in skeletal growth spurts after weaning, and suggests that the choice of skeletal index for population and cohort studies is not trivial.
AB - Increasing evidence suggests that conditions in early life have important consequences for ultimate body size and fitness. Skeletal parts are often used as retrospective indices of body size and growth constraints because of their resistance to seasonal variation in resource availability. Yet, slow-maturing bones are poor predictors of resource limitations during early development, as later benign conditions may lead to compensatory growth. We analysed the temporal growth dynamics of different sections of the lower jaw of roe deer Capreolus capreolus and found that the medioanterior section of the lower jaw reaches 95% of asymptotic size already at 2-4 months post partum, whereas the posterior section reaches 95% of asymptotic size at 14-16 months post partum. Hence, the size of the medioanterior section of the lower jaw is only dependent on resource availability in utero and the first few months post partum and, as such, potentially leaves a fingerprint of prenatal growth conditions that is evident even in adult individuals. This supports earlier findings in ungulates of a shift in skeletal growth spurts after weaning, and suggests that the choice of skeletal index for population and cohort studies is not trivial.
U2 - 10.2981/0909-6396(2006)12[71:EDSOTJ]2.0.CO;2
DO - 10.2981/0909-6396(2006)12[71:EDSOTJ]2.0.CO;2
M3 - Journal article
VL - 12
SP - 71
EP - 76
JO - Wildlife Biology
JF - Wildlife Biology
SN - 0909-6396
IS - 1
ER -
ID: 81186