naa a22 4500 510745067 CHVBK 20180411083043.0 cr unu---uuuuu 180411e20131001xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s13364-012-0106-9 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s13364-012-0106-9 Winter climate, age, and population density affect the timing of conception in female moose ( Alces alces ) [Elektronische Daten] [Rauno Veeroja, Anne Kirk, Vallo Tilgar, Jüri Tõnisson] Phenological events such as conception or parturition dates may have profound impact on several key life-history traits of ungulates at the individual as well as the population level. However, relatively little is known about the causes of variation in the timing of reproduction. Based on a 17-year survey of reproductive tracts, we investigated the effect of climate, population density, and age on the conception date of female moose (Alces alces) harvested in Estonia. Ninety-five percent of studied moose cows were conceived within a period of 9weeks (29 August-30 October), while more than 45% of all moose cows were conceived from 19 September to 2 October. Conception date was negatively related to population density and nonlinearly to the regional measure of winter climate reflecting the maximal extent of ice on the Baltic Sea (MIE) in the previous winter. High air temperatures during rut (in September) delayed the conception date. The timing of conception also depended on female age. Yearlings conceived significantly later as compared to females of all other age groups. Our findings corroborate the importance of density-dependent as well density-independent processes on the timing of conception of this ungulate. We also propose that the effect of population density on conception date may be mediated by increasing ecological carrying capacity concurrent with increasing population abundance. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Białowieża, Poland, 2012 Alces alces nationallicence Rut nationallicence MIE nationallicence Age nationallicence Estonia nationallicence Veeroja Rauno Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014, Tartu, Estonia aut Kirk Anne Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014, Tartu, Estonia aut Tilgar Vallo Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014, Tartu, Estonia aut Tõnisson Jüri Estonian Environment Information Centre, Rõõmu tee 2, 51013, Tartu, Estonia aut Acta Theriologica Springer Berlin Heidelberg 58/4(2013-10-01), 349-357 0001-7051 58:4<349 2013 58 13364 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-012-0106-9 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-012-0106-9 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Veeroja Rauno Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014, Tartu, Estonia aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Kirk Anne Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014, Tartu, Estonia aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Tilgar Vallo Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014, Tartu, Estonia aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Tõnisson Jüri Estonian Environment Information Centre, Rõõmu tee 2, 51013, Tartu, Estonia aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Acta Theriologica Springer Berlin Heidelberg 58/4(2013-10-01), 349-357 0001-7051 58:4<349 2013 58 13364 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer