Patterns of antler consumption reveal osteophagia as a natural mineral resource in key periods for red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Gambin, Pablo; Ceacero, Francisco; García, Andrés J.; Landete‐Castillejos, Tomás; Gallego, Laureano

doi:10.1007/s10344-017-1095-4

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Osteophagia, which is the scientific term for bone and antler consumption, is a well-known phenomenon among ungulates in general 13,14 . However, it typically involves gnawing and the consumption of shed antlers or bone from carcasses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Antler cannibalism in reindeer

Mysterud

Ytrehus

Tranulis

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Prion diseases constitute a class of invariably fatal and degenerative encephalopathies. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a contagious prion disease among cervids, which is spreading and causing marked population declines in USA and Canada. The first outbreak of CWD in Europe was discovered in a reindeer population in Norway in 2016. In the worst-case scenario with continental-wide spreading of CWD in Eurasia, an annual harvest of around 4 million cervids is at stake only in Europe, with huge economic and cultural significance. An in situ origin of CWD was suspected, and it appear urgent to identify the likely cause to prevent future emergences. Here, we document the novel phenomenon of extensive antler cannibalism prior to shedding among reindeer in the CWD-infected population. The extent of antler cannibalism increased over the last decades when CWD emerged, and included ingestion of vascularized antlers. Ingestion of tissues from conspecifics is a risk factor for the emergence of prion diseases, where the presence of extensive antler cannibalism opens the intriguing possibility of a ‘Kuru-analogue’ origin of CWD among the reindeer in Europe. Based on general insight on pathology of prion diseases and strain selection processes, we propose an hypothesis for how contagious CWD may emerge from sporadic CWD under the unique epidemiological conditions we document here. More research is required to document the presence of prions in reindeer antlers, and whether antler cannibalism actually led to a strain selection process and the emergence of a contagious form of CWD from a sporadic form of CWD.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it typically involves gnawing and the consumption of shed antlers or bone from carcasses. Such consumption is commonly attributed to mineral deficiencies 13,14 . Similarly, the act of geophagy 15,16 , ingestion of soil, predation, and carnivory 17 are quite common behaviours among herbivores during periods of mineral deficiency.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antler cannibalism in reindeer

Mysterud

Ytrehus

Tranulis

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…Among males, this habit is observed towards the end of the antler growing period, coinciding with the closing of summer and beginning of fall. Among hinds, it is common to observe this practice after giving birth at the end of spring (Gambín et al, 2017). Accordingly, this object must have been collected from the surroundings landscape before being transformed.…”

Section: Material Contexts and Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

¿Instrumentos o desechos? Objetos en asta procedentes de dos contextos de la Edad del Cobre del Guadalquivir Medio (Sur de Iberia)

Sánchez¹

2019

cpag

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Como en el resto de Europa, el trabajo del asta de ciervo constituye una técnica bien conocida en el sur de la Península Ibérica desde el Paleolítico Superior. Sin embargo, más allá de la observación de un uso frecuente a modo de pico de elementos apenas transformados, dicha tecnología ha sido escasamente tratada en la arqueología del Neolítico y de la Edad del Cobre en esta región. Esta breve aportación pretende presentar tres elementos de asta de la Edad del Cobre de Andalucía. Dos de ellos son fragmentos angulares recuperados en el recinto de fosos de La Minilla (La Rambla, Córdoba), y datadas a mediados del III milenio Cal AC. El último y tercero de ellos es una cuerna de desmogue que conserva roseta y rama principal, asociada a un enterramiento colectivo, datado en el tránsito del IV al III milenio Cal AC en el espaciourbano de la actual ciudad de Córdoba. Estos objetos han sido interpretados como material de desecho resultado de la obtención de preformas longitudinales de asta.

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“…In southern Europe during the summer, when grasses are scarce, deer mostly become browser 9 – 13 . Different seasonal nutritional demands by hinds and stags (driven by different physiological needs) also affect the differential seasonal use of resources between sexes, as well as by young animals 14 , 15 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of factors inducing variability of faecal nutrients in captive red deer under variable demands

Čupić

García

Holá

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Based on the assumption that dietary and faecal nitrogen correlate, the number of studies using faecal samples collected in the wild to understand diet selection by wild herbivores and other ecological patterns has been growing during the last years, especially due to the recent development of cheap tools for analysis of nutrients like Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS). Within the annual reproductive cycle, cervids (members of the family Cervidae) face strong seasonal variations in nutritional demands, different for hinds (gestation and lactation) and stags (antler growth) and reflected in differential patterns of seasonal diet selection. In this study we aimed to quantify how pasture availability, season and individual factors like sex, age, reproductive status, body mass and body condition affect faecal nutrients in captive red deer with the goal of understanding how these factors may influence the interpretation of results from samples obtained in the wild with little or no information about the animals who dropped those faeces. We used NIRS for analysing nitrogen, neutral and acid detergent fibres in faeces. The relative influence of some individual factors like pregnancy was low (around 4%), while age and weight may induce a variability up to 18%. The presence or absence of pasture contributed to a variability around 13%, while the season contributed to an average variability around 17% (and up to 21% in certain situations). This high variability in faecal nutrients was observed in a controlled setting with captive animals and controlled diets. Thus, in natural situations we suspect that there would be even greater variation. According to the results, we recommend that preliminary research with captive animals of the species of interest should be conducted before collecting samples in the wild, which should help in the interpretation of results.

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Patterns of antler consumption reveal osteophagia as a natural mineral resource in key periods for red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Cited by 15 publications

References 42 publications

Antler cannibalism in reindeer

Antler cannibalism in reindeer

¿Instrumentos o desechos? Objetos en asta procedentes de dos contextos de la Edad del Cobre del Guadalquivir Medio (Sur de Iberia)

Evaluation of factors inducing variability of faecal nutrients in captive red deer under variable demands

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