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Cosecha sexualmente sesgada y dinámica poblacional en ungulados: Implicaciones para la conservación y el uso sostenido
Author(s) -
Ginsberg J.R.,
MilnerGulland E.J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1046/j.1523-1739.1994.08010157.x
Subject(s) - trophy , ungulate , fecundity , wildlife , population , geography , wildlife conservation , ecology , predation , biology , habitat , demography , archaeology , sociology
The consumptive use of wildlife, in particular trophy hunting and game ranching of ungulates, has been advocated as a tool for conservation in Africa. We show that these methods of harvesting differ significantly from natural predation, with trophy hunting showing extreme selection for adult males and game ranching leading to disproportionate harvests of young males. Little information, either theoretical or empirical, exists concerning the effect of these harvesting regimes on the long‐term population dynamics of ungulate populations. Despite that, the potential effects of sex‐skewed harvests are numerous. In this paper, we investigate one potentially deleterious effect of sex‐skewed harvests. Both theory and experimental data suggest that male ungulates are limited in their absolute ability to inseminate females. Using a Leslie‐Matrix model and published data on impala, we show that the interaction between sperm limitation and harvests with highly male‐biased sex ratios can lead to greatly reduced female fecundity (defined as the number of young born) and population collapse. These results are robust and suggest that present methods of harvesting may not be optimal, or viable, in the long term.