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Spatiotemporal variation in reproductive parameters of yellow-bellied marmots

  • Population Ecology
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Abstract

Spatiotemporal variation in reproductive rates is a common phenomenon in many wildlife populations, but the population dynamic consequences of spatial and temporal variability in different components of reproduction remain poorly understood. We used 43 years (1962–2004) of data from 17 locations and a capture–mark–recapture (CMR) modeling framework to investigate the spatiotemporal variation in reproductive parameters of yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris), and its influence on the realized population growth rate. Specifically, we estimated and modeled breeding probabilities of two-year-old females (earliest age of first reproduction), >2-year-old females that have not reproduced before (subadults), and >2-year-old females that have reproduced before (adults), as well as the litter sizes of two-year old and >2-year-old females. Most reproductive parameters exhibited spatial and/or temporal variation. However, reproductive parameters differed with respect to their relative influence on the realized population growth rate (λ). Litter size had a stronger influence than did breeding probabilities on both spatial and temporal variations in λ. Our analysis indicated that λ was proportionately more sensitive to survival than recruitment. However, the annual fluctuation in litter size, abetted by the breeding probabilities, accounted for most of the temporal variation in λ.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the “marmoteers” who participated in the fieldwork; this work would not have been possible without their dedicated help. This paper has greatly benefited from the insightful comments of F. Stephen Dobson and an anonymous reviewer. We also thank Rocky Mountain Biological Lab for use of its long-term weather data. Our research was partially supported by Lee R.G. Snyder Memorial Fund (AO), Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research (AO), Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, National Science Foundation grants DEB-0224953 (MKO), G16354, GB-1980, GB-6123, GB-32494, BMS74–21193, DEB78-07327, BSR-8121231, BSR8614690, BSR-9006772 (KBA), DBI-0242960 (to RMBL), a UCLA Career Development Award, and Faculty Research Grants (DTB).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Arpat Ozgul & Madan K. Oli

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Lucretia E. Olson & Daniel T. Blumstein

  3. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA

    Kenneth B. Armitage

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  1. Arpat Ozgul
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  2. Madan K. Oli
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  4. Daniel T. Blumstein
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  5. Kenneth B. Armitage
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Correspondence to Arpat Ozgul.

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Communicated by John Reeve.

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Ozgul, A., Oli, M.K., Olson, L.E. et al. Spatiotemporal variation in reproductive parameters of yellow-bellied marmots. Oecologia 154, 95–106 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0817-9

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