Reproductive collapse in saiga antelope harems
Article Abstract:
A drastic decline in the population of the saiga antelope is likely due to poaching of the males for their meat and horns, according to researchers in Russia, Kazakhstan and the UK. Common wisdom would say that a drop in the male population should not be critical for a polygynous ungulate, but the fecundity did in fact drop precipitously in 2001, and the drop was not related to overall population density or climate. Normally, a single male would defend a harem of 12-30 females, but now males are seen to be surrounded by females, and dominant females chase away other females from the males.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2003
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The real threat to saiga antelopes
Article Abstract:
Observation of saiga antelopes, during 1970-94, shows that despite the apparent stability in antelope population, the overall percentage of males decreased considerably in Kazakhstan and Kalmykia. The non-linear effect of a decline in the number of adult males on the total population may be sudden. The main reason for the declining saiga population is the increase in horn poaching after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. A chronological account of the variations in siaga population between 1920 and 1994 is given.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1995
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Endangered plants persist under phosphorous limitation
Article Abstract:
Species richness in herbaceous terrestrial ecosystems, sampled along transect through temperate Eurasia that represented a gradient of declining levels of atmospheric nitrogen deposition is investigated. It is shown that many more endangered plant species persist under phosphorus-limited than under nitrogen-limited conditions and hence, enhanced phosphorus is more likely to be the cause of species loss than nitrogen enrichment.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2005
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