My research interest lies in the nexus of ecology, evolution, behavior and nutrition of large northern ungulates, especially semi-domestic reindeer. In sterk beheerde grote herbivoorbevolkingen, evolutionaire en ecologische beperkingen verschillen van natuurlijke populaties als de seksverhouding en leeftijdstructuur is normaal gesproken, en kunstmatige selectie is op het werk. Dette har implikationer for deres livhistoriske strategier, som vist for semi-domestic reindeer hos vores gruppe. I særdeleshet, relaterede reproduktionsegenskaber, såsom konceptionsdato og -rate, og rutsynkronisering, seksforhold og gestationslængde, faktorer som påvirker timing og synkronisering af fødsel så vel som fødselsfrekvens og fødselsvægt.
We have studied reproductive ecology of reindeer since 1996 at Kutuharju Reindeer Research Station (Finland), and found that (i) male reproductive success increase with dominance status; and (ii) there was no evidence of inbreeding avoidance. By manipulating the male composition during the rout, we showed that (iii) females avoid mating with young males, and (iv) the presence of younger males increases body mass loss for both female and male reindeer. Using gps collars with activity sensors we have demonstrated (i) fission-fusion group dynamics in reindeer, (ii) harassment avoidance increasing group cohesiveness, (iii) that it is costly to form larger groups, and trade-offs between foraging competition and harassment avoidance. We zijn nu aan het ontwikkelen van dit project in experimentele testen of mating system theory predictions; Specifically: how does intensity of intra-sexual aggression in both sexes change with operational sex ratio (OSR), and how will this relate to sperm viability and competition.
