Mass- and Density-Dependent Reproductive Success and Reproductive Costs in a Capital Breeder

Festa-Bianchet,; Gaillard,; Jorgenson,

doi:10.2307/2463469

Cited by 83 publications

(120 citation statements)

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“…Capital breeders are expected to invest in reproduction only after enough body reserves (the capital) have been accumulated to reach a "body-condition threshold" (sensus Stearns, 1992). Although the influence of body condition on reproduction has been demonstrated in many species (Albon, Mitchell, Huby, and Brown, 1986;Reznick and Braun, 1987;DeRouen, Franke, Morisson, et al, 1994;Festa-Bianchet, Gaillard, and Jorgenson, 1998), the no-tion of a condition threshold stricto sensu is far less clear (review in Naulleau and Bonnet, 1996;Bonnet et al, 1998b). Our experimental data demonstrate the coexistence of two contrasting reproductive systems within a single capital-breeding snake species: a clearcut condition threshold in females versus a flexible system in males.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…For example, several mammals are classified as typical capital breeders (Festa-Bianchet et al, 1998) but recent reviews on captive and natural populations of mammals found no support for the widely accepted "adaptationist argument that females should delay ovulation until they have sufficient energy reserves to support pregnancy and lactation" (Bronson, 1998;Schneider, Zhou, and Blum, 2000). These animals also display ability to cancel, increase, or decrease reproductive effort at a later stage long after the initiation of reproduction per se.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fat Is Sexy for Females but Not Males: The Influence of Body Reserves on Reproduction in Snakes (Vipera aspis)

Aubret

Bonnet

Shine

et al. 2002

Hormones and Behavior

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Reproduction is energetically expensive for both sexes, but the magnitude of expenditure and its relationship to reproductive success differ fundamentally between males and females. Males allocate relatively little to gamete production and, thus, can reproduce successfully with only minor energy investment. In contrast, females of many species experience high fecundity-independent costs of reproduction (such as migration to nesting sites), so they need to amass substantial energy reserves before initiating reproductive activity. Thus, we expect that the relationship between energy reserves and the intensity of reproductive behavior involves a threshold effect in females, but a gradual (or no) effect in males. We tested this prediction using captive vipers (Vipera aspis), dividing both males and females into groups of high versus low body condition. Snakes from each group were placed together and observed for reproductive behavior; sex-steroid levels were also measured. As predicted, females in below-average body condition had very low estradiol levels and did not show sexual receptivity, whereas males of all body condition indices had significant testosterone levels and displayed active courtship. Testosterone levels and courtship intensity increased gradually (i.e., no step function) with body condition in males, but high estradiol levels and sexual receptivity were seen only in females with body reserves above a critical threshold. The energetics of reproduction has been a central theme in the ecological study of life history variation (Hirshfield and Tinkle, 1975;Morris, 1987Morris, , 1992Winkler and Wallin, 1987;Stearns, 1992; Monaghan and Nager, 1997), and more recently this topic has become an important focus in behavioral endocrinology (Cherel, Mauget, Lacroix, and Gilles, 1994;Bronson, 1998). It is obvious that organisms cannot reproduce in the total absence of energy reserves (Frish, 1978;Frish and McArthur, 1974), but the relationship between the amount of energy reserves and reproductive output (or effort) is complex and varies among species. In some species there is a linear relationship between energy reserves and reproductive output. In others there appears to be no discernible relationship (e.g., if clutch and offspring sizes are fixed) or a complex nonlinear relationship between the two variables. For example, many organisms are "capital breeders" that rely on previously gathered energy stored in the form of body reserves (i.e., fat bodies, proteins) rather than on current energy intake to fuel the energetically costly process of reproduction (Drent and Daan, 1980;Jö nsson, 1997; Bonnet, Bradshaw, and Shine, 1998). In such species, life history theory predicts that a threshold level of energy reserves is necessary for a reproductive cycle to begin, rather than a linear relationship in which an increment in energy availability adds an increment in reproductive output (Schaffer, 1974;Bull and Shine, 1979;Stearns, 1992). Several empirical studies provide evidence for nonlinear relationships between...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fat Is Sexy for Females but Not Males: The Influence of Body Reserves on Reproduction in Snakes (Vipera aspis)

Aubret

Bonnet

Shine

et al. 2002

Hormones and Behavior

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“…They are extreme capital breeders; females rely completely on their stored energy reserves for maintenance and lactation throughout the terrestrial breeding phase (Arnbom et al 1997). In capital breeders, mass has a fundamental influence on reproductive potential (Boyd et al 1995;Festa-Bianchet et al 1998), reserves (mass) or the lack thereof appears to be the most important variable influencing reproduction in southern elephant seals (Laws 1956a, b). Consequently there is a large variation in female body size with the largest being three times heavier than the smallest females at parturition (Fedak et al 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-related reproductive variation in a wild marine mammal population

2013

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Life history theory predicts a change in reproduction success with age as energy resources are limited and must be allocated effectively to maximise reproduction and survival. In this study we use three reproductive performance measures; maternal expenditure, offspring weaning mass and first year survival to investigate the role maternal age plays in successful reproduction. Long-term uninterrupted life history data available for Marion Island's southern elephant seals and mass change estimates from photogrammetry data allow for assessment of age related reproduction performance and trade-offs. Known-aged adult females were photographed for photogrammetric mass estimation (n=29) and their pups weighed at weaning during the 2009 breeding season. Maternal age and proportional mass loss positively influenced pup weaning mass. In turn first year pup return rates (as a proxy for survival) were assessed through the intensive mark-recapture program.Pup survival increased with female age and weaning mass. Pups of young females aged 3 to 6 years have a lower 1 st year survival probability compared to pups of older and larger females.

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“…In capital breeders, size and condition are strongly correlated to reproductive effort and success (Festa-Bianchet et al 1998;Côte and Festa-Bianchet 2001;Crocker et al 2001); however, most mammals are income breeders, animals that provision offspring from current food intake. Although size and condition have been shown to be weakly correlated with reproductive effort in income breeders (Andersen et al 2000;Boyd 2000), maternal traits, provisioning strategy, and offspring traits may have a different influence on energy allocation to offspring in income breeders (Costa 1993).…”

Section: Dynamic Influence Of Maternal and Pup Traits On Maternal Carmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Influence of Maternal and Pup Traits on Maternal Care during Lactation in an Income Breeder, the Antarctic Fur Seal

McDonald¹,

Goebel²,

Crocker³

et al. 2012

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

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Life-history theory predicts that selection will favor optimal levels of parental effort that balance benefits of current reproduction with costs to survival and future reproduction. The optimal level of effort depends on parental traits, offspring traits, and provisioning strategy. Additionally, how these factors influence effort may differ depending on the stage of reproduction. The relative importance of maternal and offspring traits on energy allocation to offspring was investigated in known-age Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella across four stages of reproduction, using birth mass and milk-consumption measurements. Maternal traits were important during three of the four stages investigated, with larger females giving birth to larger pups and investing more in pups during perinatal and molt stages. Pup mass influenced maternal effort during the premolt stage, and provisioning strategy influenced postnatal maternal effort at all stages. Energy provided to the offspring during an attendance visit was positively related to the duration of the foraging-trip/visit cycle; however, when investment was controlled for trip/visit cycle duration, the overall rate of energy transfer was similar across trip durations. In addition to strong effects of maternal mass, pup traits affected energy allocation, suggesting that pup demand is important in determining maternal care. These findings emphasize the importance of considering state variables in life-history studies and suggest that timing of measurements of effort in species with long provisioning periods may influence conclusions and our ability to make comparisons of reproductive effort among species.

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Mass- and Density-Dependent Reproductive Success and Reproductive Costs in a Capital Breeder

Cited by 83 publications

References 0 publications

Fat Is Sexy for Females but Not Males: The Influence of Body Reserves on Reproduction in Snakes (Vipera aspis)

Fat Is Sexy for Females but Not Males: The Influence of Body Reserves on Reproduction in Snakes (Vipera aspis)

Age-related reproductive variation in a wild marine mammal population

Dynamic Influence of Maternal and Pup Traits on Maternal Care during Lactation in an Income Breeder, the Antarctic Fur Seal

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