Social behaviour as a predominant driver of sexual, age-dependent and reproductive segregation in Mediterranean mouflon

Abstract

Segregation between the sexes or related to age and/or reproductive status is common in many animal taxa, particularly in dimorphic species. The causes of this segregation remain difficult to disentangle, despite numerous attempts. This is probably due to the difficulty of obtaining sufficient data on animal behaviour (e.g. habitat use, activity budgets) and group composition (age/sex and reproductive status) during the various phases of the species' reproductive cycle. Based on an intensive long-term monitoring of a Mediterranean mouflon, Ovis gmelini musimon x Ovis sp., population, we concurrently assessed five hypotheses for segregation linked to forage selection (FSH), reproductive strategy (RSH), social preference (SPH), activity budget (ABH) and weather sensitivity (WSH). We found marked segregation between most age/sex classes. Age-dependent segregation among males was increasingly marked as their age difference increased and segregation between the sexes also increased as males became older and larger. Over the year, segregation between sex, age and reproductive status classes was lowest during the rut. We also observed the highest synchrony of activity in groups composed of individuals of similar age/sex class or reproductive status. Females occurred closer to both secure and high-quality food habitats,

Different environmental requirements of female and male Siberian ibex, Capra sibirica

“…As expected for any highly dimorphic ungulate, we found that Siberian ibex males and females showed a difference in habitat preference. A similar phenomenon was found also in other ungulates such as the Mediterranean mouflon ( Ovis gmelini musimon ) 7 , red deer 6 , and African buffalo ( Syncerus caffer ) 25 . In general, TRI, DTR, Elevation and Aspect were important habitat resources to female Siberian ibex, while Elevation and Aspect were more important to males.…”

“…It has been reported that not only do different species have various preferences in habitat selection, but the different sexes of conspecifics also demonstrate different preferences 6 , 7 . In sexually dimorphic ungulates, significant differences in body size of two sexes, leading them have distinctions in energy requirements and digestive capabilities 8 , 9 , differences in exposure to predation risk 10 , and different roles in the reproductive process 10 .As a result, adult males and females select different habitats all year round, only joining together during mating season 11 , 12 .…”

Does host socio-spatial behavior lead to a fine-scale spatial genetic structure in its associated parasites?

“…Second, H. contortus is a generalist parasite of small ruminants [75], and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) inhabit our study area. Although roe deer are present at much lower densities than those for Mediterranean mouflon [4], they may contribute to H. contortus gene flow by having different socio-spatial behaviors such as territoriality [43], attraction for forest edges [70], or marked dispersal abilities [21], linked to their parasitic infestation [22]. In addition, while currently only low numbers of domestic ruminants (~300 sheep and 300 cattle, French Ministry of Agriculture and Food 2000) are reared in the massif, mainly in the outlying areas of the mouflon range [5,17,18], domestic sheep and cattle were historically present at high densities in the study area before Mediterranean mouflon introduction (60 years ago).…”

Reproductive females and young mouflon (Ovis gmelini musimon×Ovissp.) in poor body condition are the main spreaders of gastrointestinal parasites

“…Mediterranean mouflon is a gregarious species with a strong segregation between sexes occurring most of the year (Bourgoin et al, 2018). Adult males and females have a body mass dimorphism of 40.1% [mean body mass in spring-summer (2002-2019 period): 24.5 ± 4.1 kg (⩾2 years old; n = 683) and 34.4 ± 5.5 kg (⩾4 years old; n = 222) for females and adult males, respectively].…”