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Territory acquisition mediates the influence of predators and climate on juvenile red squirrel survival

Jack G. Hendrix, View ORCID ProfileDavid N. Fisher, View ORCID ProfileApril R. Martinig, View ORCID ProfileStan Boutin, View ORCID ProfileBen Dantzer, View ORCID ProfileJeffrey E. Lane, View ORCID ProfileAndrew G. McAdam
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/594036
Jack G. Hendrix
aDepartment of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
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  • For correspondence: jackhendrixeco@gmail.com
David N. Fisher
aDepartment of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
bDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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April R. Martinig
cDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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Stan Boutin
cDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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Ben Dantzer
dDepartment of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
eDepartment of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Jeffrey E. Lane
fDepartment of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Andrew G. McAdam
aDepartment of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
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  • ORCID record for Andrew G. McAdam
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Abstract

  • 1) Juvenile survival to first breeding is a key life history stage. Survival through this period can be particularly challenging when it coincides with harsh environmental conditions like winter climate or food scarcity, and so cohort survival can be highly variable. However, the small size and dispersive nature of juveniles makes studying their survival difficult.

  • 2) In territorial species, a key life history event is the acquisition of a territory. A territory is expected to enhance survival, but how it does so, possibly through mediating mortality, is not often identified. We tested how the timing of territory acquisition influenced the survival of juvenile North American red squirrels Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, hereafter red squirrels, and how the timing of this event mediated sources of mortality. We hypothesized that securing a territory prior to the caching season would reduce juvenile susceptibility to predation or climatic factors over winter.

  • 3) Using 27 years of data on the survival of individually-marked juvenile red squirrels, we tested how the timing of territory acquisition influenced survival, whether the population density of red squirrel predators and mean temperature over winter were related to individual survival probability, and if territory ownership mediated these effects.

  • 4) Juvenile survival was lower in years of high predator abundance and in colder winters. Autumn territory owners were less susceptible to lynx Lynx canadensis, and possibly mustelid Mustela and Martes spp., predation. Autumn territory owners had lower survival in colder winters, while non-owners had higher survival in cold winters.

  • 5) Our results show how the timing of a life history event like territory acquisition can directly affect survival and also mediate the effects of biotic and abiotic factors later in life. This engenders a better understanding of the fitness consequences of the timing of key life history events.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.
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Posted April 02, 2019.
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Territory acquisition mediates the influence of predators and climate on juvenile red squirrel survival
Jack G. Hendrix, David N. Fisher, April R. Martinig, Stan Boutin, Ben Dantzer, Jeffrey E. Lane, Andrew G. McAdam
bioRxiv 594036; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/594036
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Territory acquisition mediates the influence of predators and climate on juvenile red squirrel survival
Jack G. Hendrix, David N. Fisher, April R. Martinig, Stan Boutin, Ben Dantzer, Jeffrey E. Lane, Andrew G. McAdam
bioRxiv 594036; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/594036

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