Prenatal Reproductive Losses in White-Tailed Deer

Abstract

For 1326 white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) [female][female] on the Savannah River Site aged 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 or >3.5 yr at slaughter, the percentage of ovulated ova failing to develop into an embryo was 0, 15, 8 and 11 resp. For the total population, the production of foetuses and corpora lutea per 100 [female][female] was 138.8. Loss of ova was not significantly correlated with genetic heterozygosity (7 loci) or the amount of kidney fat. Analysis of data on 23 herds of white-tailed deer in other parts of the USA revealed that 13.8% of ova were lost. It is suggested that loss of ova in white-tailed deer may be the result of physiological or genetic factors operating at a relatively constant level in many different environments rather than to environmental conditions.