Title
Mortality in a predator-free insular environment : the dwarf deer of Crete
Title Variants
Alternative:
Dwarf deer of Crete
Alternative:
Mortality patterns in Cretan deer
Related Titles
Series:
American Museum novitates, no. 3807
By
Geer, Alexandra van der, 1963-
Lyras, G. A. (George A.)
MacPhee, R. D. E.
Lomolino, Mark V., 1953-
Drinia, Hara.
Type
Book
Material
Published material
Publication info
New York, NY, American Museum of Natural History, [2014]
Notes
Caption title.
"June 30, 2014."
Local PDF available in high- and low-resolution versions.
Age-graded fossils of Pleistocene endemic Cretan deer (Candiacervus spp.) reveal unexpectedly high juvenile mortality similar to that reported for extant mainland ruminants, despite the fact that these deer lived in a predator-free environment and became extinct before any plausible date for human arrival. Age profiles show that deer surviving past the fawn stage were relatively long-lived for ruminants, indicating that high juvenile mortality was not an expression of their living a "fast" life. Although the effects on survivorship of such variables as fatal accidents, starvation, and disease are difficult to gauge in extinct taxa, the presence of extreme morphological variability within nominal species/ecomorphs of Candiacervus is consistent with the view that high juvenile mortality can function as a key innovation permitting rapid adaptation in insular contexts.
Subjects
Age determination
,
Candiacervus
,
Cervidae, Fossil
,
Crete
,
Deer, Fossil
,
Greece
,
Island animals
,
Island ecology
,
Life cycles
,
Mammals, Fossil
,
Mortality
,
Paleontology
,
Pleistocene
Call Number
QL1 .A436 no.3807 2014
Language
English
Identifiers
OCLC:
882096589
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