Relationship between Conception Date and Latitude in Muskoxen

Abstract

It has been suggested that muskoxen calve earlier with increasing latitude but the available data do not seem to have been thoroughly analyzed. Therefore, estimated conception dates (K=657) from a wide range of latitudes were compared. The results indicate that conceptions occur about a month earlier in the arctic than at temperate latitudes. This conclusion is consistent with reported observations of mating behaviour and calving season.

Keywords

• Ovibos
• season
• calving
• reproduction
• conception
• latitude