Ontogenetic development of the lower jaw in roe deer Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Lobanje in čeljustnice so najbolj primerni objekti za morfometrične analize, saj se hitro razvijajo in rastejo. Skladno s slovensko zakonodajo morajo lovci za vsako odstreljeno ali najdeno poginulo srnjad (in večina drugih vrst prostoživečih parkljarjev) odvzeti in sledljivo označiti leve spodnje čeljustnice. Srnjad je razširjena po celotni Sloveniji, tako da smo lahko zbrali vzorce čeljustnic za različna geografska območja in smo jih primerjali med seboj. Namen naloge je bil analizirati variabilnost velikosti in oblike spodnje čeljustnice srnjadi med ontogentskim razvojem z morfometričnimi metodami. V analizo smo vključili 903 čeljustnic srnjadi iz petih geografskih območij (Savinjska, Pohorje, Slovenjsko-goriško, Pomurje in Primorska), saj smo želeli preveriti geografski vpliv na razvoj osebka in sinhronost poleganja mladičev. Vse analize smo ločili glede na spol, saj smo ugotovili, da se oblika in velikost čeljustnic odraslih osebkov razlikuje med spoloma. Z raziskavo ontogenetske alometrije smo ugotovili, da sta oblika in velikost čeljustnice tesno povezani. Ugotovili smo, da se oblika in velikost čeljustnice najbolj spreminjata do 16-ega meseca starosti, nato se morfološko spreminjanje čeljustnice skoraj ustavi. Najintenzivnejše spremembe se dogajajo do četrtega meseca starosti, takrat je krivulja rasti najbolj strma. V tem obdobju se najbolj spreminja telo čeljustnice, predvsem njen sprednji in srednji del, torej območje, kjer izraščajo zobje. Z analizo geografske variabilnosti smo ugotovili, da od povprečne oblike in velikosti čeljustnic najbolj izstopajo vzorci iz Primorskega območja, in sicer so manjše od čeljustnic iz ostalih območij. Iz rezultatov smo tudi sklepali, da se v Primorskem območju mladiči polegajo malo prej, kot pa v ostalih območjih. Vzorci iz Savinjskega in Pohorskega območja so si zelo podobni in ne odstopajo od povprečja za celinsko območje. Čeljustnice iz Slovensko goriškega in Pomurskega območja so si po velikosti in rastni krivulji zelo podobne, vendar pri obliki med njimi opazimo statistične razlike.The skull and mandibles are the most suitable tools for morphometric analysis, due to their fast growth and development. Hunters in Slovenia must take and make a traceable mark on the left lower jaw, for each shot and ruined roe deer (and the majority of other species of free-ranging ungulates), in accordance with Slovenian legislation. Roe deer is spread all around Slovenia, so we were able to collect the samples of mandibles for different geographical areas and made the comparison between them. The purpose of this study was to analyse the variability of the size and shape of roe deer lower mandibles during their ontogenetic development by using morphometric methods. In the analysis, we have included 903 roe deer mandibles from five different geographical areas (Savinjska, Pohorje, Slovensko-goriško, Pomurje and Primorska, respectively). We tried to examine the geographical influence on the ontogenetic development and the synchrony of fawns’ calming. All the analyses were separated regarding the sex, due to our finding that the shape and size of the adult mandibles varies between sexes. With the research of ontogenetic allometry, we found out that the mandibles shape and size are closely connected. We found out that the shape and size of the mandibles most varies up to 16 months of age, but afterwards the morphological change almost stops. The most intensive changes happen until the fourth month of age, when the growth curve is the steepest. In that period, the body of the mandible changes the most, especially in its front and middle part, where teeth grow. With the analysis of geographical variability we discovered that from the average shape and size of the mandibles, the most outstanding samples are from the Primorska region, where they are smaller compared to other areas. From the results we also concluded that fawns in Primorska region are in average born a little earlier than in other areas. The jaws’ samples from the Savinjska and Pohorska region are very resembling to each other and do not deviate from the continental zone average. The mandibles from the Slovensko-goriška and Pomurska region are very similar according to their size and growth curve, but we found some statistical differences between them in shape