Graduation Year

2025

Graduation Month

May

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

School or Department

Wildlife Biology

Major

Wildlife Biology – Terrestrial

Faculty Mentor Department

Wildlife Biology

Faculty Mentor

Mark Hebblewhite

Keywords

horse, parturition, wild horses, feral horses, reproductive phenology

Subject Categories

Life Sciences | Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Population Biology

Abstract

Feral horses (Equus ferus caballus) are a prolific species in western North America. Due to their life history traits and history of domestication, they have a longer foaling period compared to native ungulates, such as elk (Cervus canadensis) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). I examined the observed foaling seasons of different regional herds throughout North America to identify if foaling seasons are uniform across latitudes or if they present a latitudinal shift similar to ungulates. My dataset (n=523 foals) consisted of various research studies and unpublished observations of different feral horse herds throughout North America. The results are graphs comparing the foaling seasons of the different horse herds. An extension of the foaling season due to contraceptive management was observed, but no clear relation between foaling season and latitude was observed. These findings suggest that management practices may play a more significant role in shaping reproductive phenology than geographic factors alone.

Honors College Research Project

1

GLI Capstone Project

no

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