Fertility and Body Weight in Female Red Deer: A Density-Dependent Relationship

Albon, S. D.; Mitchell, B. R.; Staines, B. W.

doi:10.2307/4467

Cited by 223 publications

(131 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…It was possible that these operated through an influence on body condition or weight gain, for differences in survival and breeding success between SC and NSC phenotypes were partly, or totally, a consequence of differences in body weight and offspring weight between horn categories. As in other ungulates (Albon et al 1983), the probability that Soay sheep would conceive was closely related to their weight (CluttonBrock et al 1996). Scurred ewes tended to be heavier than non-scurred ones and differences in weight may have been responsible for the higher conception rates of scurred females.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Density–dependent selection on horn phenotype in Soay sheep

Clutton‐Brock

Wilson

Stevenson

1997

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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In the naturally regulated population of Soay sheep Ovis aries L.) on Hirta (St Kilda), 12 % of males and 24% of females have scurred horns. This trait reduces the competitive ability of males in the mating season but is associated with higher overwinter survival rates in both sexes (Moorcroft et al . 1996). In this paper, we show that scurred females also show higher conception rates and weaning rates than non–scurred ones, and that these differences are associated with heavier maternal body weight as well as higher birth weights of offspring. Selection pressures favouring scurredness in females vary with population density and are generally more pronounced among younger animals than adults. We discuss these results with reference to recent suggestions that temporal fluctuation in selection pressures may help to maintain genetic diversity within populations. We suggest that selection against scurredness operating through male mating success is opposed by selection favouring this trait, operating through the breeding success of females and the survival of both sexes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Density–dependent selection on horn phenotype in Soay sheep

Clutton‐Brock

Wilson

Stevenson

1997

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…However, body growth may also exert an important influence on fitness via its effects on adult reproductive opportunities. Female body size is related to fertility in many species (97)(98)(99)(100)(101). Male body size, and muscle mass in particular, is expected to affect competitive ability, an important determinant of reproductive access (102)(103)(104)(105)(106).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faster reproductive rates trade off against offspring growth in wild chimpanzees

Thompson

Muller

Sabbi

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Life history theory predicts a trade-off between offspring quality and quantity. Among large-bodied mammals, prolonged lactation and infant dependence suggest particularly strong potential for a qualityquantity trade-off to exist. Humans are one of the only such species to have been examined, providing mixed evidence under a peculiar set of circumstances, including extensive nutritional provisioning by nonmothers and extrasomatic wealth transmission. Here, we examine trade-offs between reproductive rate and one aspect of offspring quality (body size) in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), a species with long periods of infant dependence and little direct provisioning. Juvenile lean body mass, estimated using urinary creatinine excretion, was positively associated with the interval to the next sibling's birth. These effects persisted into adolescence and were not moderated by maternal identity. Maternal depletion could not explain poor offspring growth, as older mothers had larger offspring, and low maternal energy balance during lactation predicted larger, not smaller, juvenile size. Instead, our data suggest that offspring growth suffers when mothers wean early to invest in new reproductive efforts. These findings indicate that chimpanzee mothers with the resources to do so prioritize production of new offspring over prolonged investment in current offspring.life history | growth | reproduction | primates | weaning P arents face a fundamental life-history trade-off between producing more offspring and investing in the quality of each progeny (1-4). This offspring quality-quantity trade-off, along with a trade-off between reproductive investment and parental survival, means that maximizing reproductive rates is often not the strategy that maximizes fitness (5-7). The quality-quantity trade-off has been empirically demonstrated in species that produce litters or clutches, where large litter size often leads to small offspring size, slow growth rates, and reduced survival, particularly under conditions of ecological stress (8-11). Comparative analyses also support a negative interspecific relationship between reproductive rate and offspring size (12, 13). The quality-quantity trade-off has rarely been examined in species for which single births are the norm, and for which reproductive rate is determined by the interval between successive births. Such species are important tests of the model, as a slow breeding strategy suggests a particularly potent trade-off between offspring investment and reproductive rate. Understanding how individuals negotiate this trade-off can provide important insights into the evolution of reproductive biology and behavior.Data on humans are valuable because humans invest intensively in offspring, yet have highly variable reproductive rates. Many studies find the predicted negative relationship between reproductive rates and offspring growth or health (14-18) or demonstrate fitness maximization at intermediate levels of fertility (19-21). For example, when a water tap was ...

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“…In both periods, female deer that had successfully reared calves (milk hinds) showed reduced fecundity when numbers were high, while the fecundity of those that had failed to do so was unaffected by density ( figure 9c,d ). This contrast between milk and yeld hinds is caused by differences in body mass that are known to affect fertility (Mitchell & Brown 1974;Albon et al 1983bAlbon et al , 1986 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 proportion of animals (%)…”

Section: Comparative Effects Of Density and Climate On Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative ungulate dynamics: the devil is in the detail

Clutton‐Brock

Coulson

2002

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

171

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Attempts to relate species differences in population dynamics to variation in life histories rely on the assumption that the causes of contrasts in demography are sufficiently simple to be derived from first principles. Here, we investigate the causes of contrasts in dynamics between two ungulate populations on Hebridean islands (red deer and Soay sheep) and show that differences in stability, as well as in the effects of variation in density and climate, are related to differences in timing of reproduction relative to seasonal variation in resource abundance. In both populations, attempts to predict changes in population size sufficiently accurately for the results to be useful for management purposes require a knowledge of the responses of different age and sex categories to changes in density and climate, as well as of population structure.

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Fertility and Body Weight in Female Red Deer: A Density-Dependent Relationship

Cited by 223 publications

References 22 publications

Density–dependent selection on horn phenotype in Soay sheep

Density–dependent selection on horn phenotype in Soay sheep

Faster reproductive rates trade off against offspring growth in wild chimpanzees

Comparative ungulate dynamics: the devil is in the detail

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