Mortality in a predator-free insular environment : the dwarf deer of Crete. (American Museum novitates, no. 3807)

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.

Description

26 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 26 cm.

Keywords

Candiacervus., Mortality., Age determination., Animal life cycles., Cervidae, Fossil., Deer, Fossil., Island animals., Island ecology., Crete (Greece), Greece.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/2246/6540

Collections

American Museum Novitates

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