Historical data provide valuable information on ecosystem structure, function, and processes. The number of big game killed by the Corps of Discovery in 1805–1806 and recorded by Lewis and Clark suggests that ungulates were abundant in central and eastern Montana and rare in western Montana, central Idaho, and southeastern Washington during the early nineteenth century. Paleoecologists Paul Mar...

In ungulates, males and females have contrasting life histories, as usually only the females raise the young. How reproductive effort in males varies with individual level and population level characteristics has received little attention in the literature. Using published information on direct (weight loss during the rut) and indirect (rutrelated changes in activity budgets, fighting frequency...

............................................................................................19 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 21 I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION: CONTEXT OF THE STUDY .......................................................... 23 II. MATING SYSTEMS AND SEXUAL SELECTION: WHAT THE THEORY TELLS US ............

Plant primary production is a key factor in ecosystem dynamics. In environments with high climatic variability such as the Mediterranean region, plant shows strong seasonal and inter-annual fluctuations, which both drive interplay herbivore grazing. Knowledge on responses of different vegetation types to rainfall grazing pressure by wild domestic ungulates necessary starting point for sustainab...

Although large and small piroplasms have been reported from various wild carnivore and ungulate species, relatively few have been named. In the past, mere presence of a piroplasm in a specific host frequently prompted naming of a new species. Descriptions were often inadequate or lacking altogether. Currently, demarcation of species relies heavily on molecular characterisation. Even serological...

The term “slow infection” was introduced for the first time by the Icelandic researcher B. Sigurdsson in 1954 (Sigurdsson, 1954). With this term, he designated the interaction of the virus with the host, characterized by a prolonged (many months and even years) incubation period, at what time several organs or systems become affected and thereafter, results in slow, but progressive development ...