PHYSIOLOGICAL-RESPONSES OF NEONATAL WHITE-TAILED DEER REFLECTIVE OF MATERNAL DIETARY-PROTEIN INTAKE

Previously, we observed a strong correlation between immunity paramete rs of neonatal white-tailed deer (Odocaileus virginianus) fawns and pr obability of survival in an overpopulated herd. As a result, we monito red age-related changes in neonatal fawn physiology. with an emphasis on measures of passive immune transfer, to test the hypothesis that ma ternal protein malnutrition adversely influences the vigor and immunoc ompetence of newborn fawns. Body mass and physiological data were coll ected from 55 neonatal fawns (1-28 days old) born to captive does on e ither a high-protein (16%) or low-protein (6.5%) diet during the latte r half of gestation through lactation (15 March - I September). The st udy was conducted over two breeding seasons (1992 and 1993), with does receiving the same diet the second year to assess diet x year interac tions. We found little evidence of compromised immunocompetence of neo natal fawns born to protein-malnourished does in either year. The abse nce of any sign of suppressed in utero development suggested that the nutritional deficiencies of the diet regime we used may not have been chronic enough to mirror conditions that exist in the wild, Birth mass , hematology, and serum chemistries of fawns suggested that low-protei n diets caused reductions in maternal nutritional status by the second year. The results of this study and those of preliminary field observ ations suggested that compromised immunocompetence of neonatal fawns m ay be manifested only during chronic malnutrition, when the protein re serves of does become depleted or insufficient.