Hunting regulation favors slow life histories in a large carnivore

Abstract

As an important extrinsic source of mortality, harvest should select for fast reproduction and accelerated life histories. However, if vulnerability to harvest depends upon female reproductive status, patterns of selectivity could diverge and favor alternative reproductive behaviors. Here, using more than 20 years of detailed data on survival and reproduction in a hunted large carnivore population, we show that protecting females with dependent young, a widespread hunting regulation, provides a survival benefit to females providing longer maternal care. This survival gain compensates for the females’ reduced reproductive output, especially at high hunting pressure, where the fitness benefit of prolonged periods of maternal care outweighs that of shorter maternal care. Our study shows that hunting regulation can indirectly promote slower life histories by modulating the fitness benefit of maternal care tactics. We provide empirical evidence that harvest regulation can induce artificial selection on female life history traits and affect demographic processes.

Mortality of a large wide-ranging mammal largely caused by anthropogenic activities

“…We demonstrated that black bears are exposed to high levels of anthropogenic mortality in large portions of their range, and how harvest can influence other types of anthropogenic mortality. Even in partially recovered and sustainably managed carnivore populations, regulated hunting can still influence their ecology 61,91 . On the other hand, poaching is often lower within protected areas (e.g.…”

“…In many areas, the killing of females with dependent offspring is prohibited or discouraged (e.g. 56,59,60 which can cause life history alterations 61 . Many wildlife species are managed expecting hunting mortality to trigger density-dependent responses in reproduction, survival, and population growth (compensatory mortality hypothesis 51 ).…”

Disentangling direct and indirect determinants of the duration of maternal care in brown bears: Environmental context matters

“…By prolonging the period of maternal care, females can provide protection to yearlings from both conspecifics and hunters (Van de Walle et al, 2018). Furthermore, legal hunting pressure is high in the South, which, combined with the legal protection of family groups, provides a survival advantage to females and their cubs when maternal care is extended (Van de Walle et al, 2018).…”

“…African elephant; Lee & Moss, 1986). Despite having the potential to affect long-term reproductive success and fitness of individual females (Balme et al, 2017;Van de Walle et al, 2018), our knowledge of the causal mechanisms leading to variation in the duration of maternal care is surprisingly limited. Lee et al (1991) showed in a comparative analysis that offspring age and mass at weaning are correlated across species, with offspring being weaned at the threshold mass of about four times their neonatal mass.…”

Animal Welfare in Predator Control: Lessons from Land and Sea. How the Management of Terrestrial and Marine Mammals Impacts Wild Animal Welfare in Human–Wildlife Conflict Scenarios in Europe

“…Close seasons can help protect dependent young. In Finland and Sweden female bears with cubs and cubs younger than one year are protected [59,60].…”