ACA Grants Program

Is there an association between male Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) horn morphology and their reproductive success?

Type: Grants in Biodiversity
Year Awarded: 2022
Grant: $13,670
Institution: University of Calgary
Student: Tanisha Henry
Supervisor: Kathreen Ruckstuhl
Program: MSc
Project Status: Closed

I am interested in whether bighorn ram horn morphology influences his dominance and attractiveness to females thus influencing his reproductive success (on two levels). Understanding this relationship is necessary in determining how/if “large horns” will persist in populations despite external pressures (i.e., climate, resource availability, disease and parasites).

<p>Is there an association between male Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (<em>Ovis canadensis</em>) horn morphology and their reproductive success?</p>
Photo: Tanisha Henry

Mating pair of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep.

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