Senescent birds redouble reproductive effort when ill: confirmation of the terminal investment hypothesis

Velando, Alberto; Drummond, Hugh; Torres, Roxana

doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3480

Cited by 238 publications

(263 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(85 reference statements)

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“…These two colonies are in separate oceanographic habitat regions of the archipelago, but exhibit similar breeding histories, suggesting the possibility that breeding has been poor across the archipelago since 1997 and depends little on spatial habitat variation. If so, then the age structure of the current population must be strongly biased toward elderly individuals; if Blue-footed Boobies show actuarial senescence, as Nazca Boobies do (Anderson and Apanius 2003) in addition to reproductive senescence (Velando et al 2006), then the birth and death processes leading to smaller population size can be expected to accelerate in the future.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic lack of breeding by Galápagos Blue-footed Boobies and associated population decline

Anchundia¹,

Huyvaert²,

Anderson³

2014

ACE

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ABSTRACT. A survey of Blue-footed Boobies (Sula nebouxii excisa) throughout the taxon's range in Galápagos, Ecuador found ~6400 adults, compared to a rough estimate of 20,000 in the 1960s. Few pairs bred in 2011-2013 and almost no birds in juvenile plumage were seen. Long-term data suggest that poor breeding began in 1998. Lack of recruitment over this period would mean that the current population is mostly elderly and experiencing senescent decline in performance. Anthropogenic effects such as introduced predators are unlikely to explain this decline because islands with and without such factors exhibited the same low breeding. The poor reproduction seems to be linked to diet. Previous work indicated that sardine and herring (Clupeidae) supported successful breeding, but these fish were mostly absent from the diet during this study, except in the central part of Galápagos, where most breeding attempts during this study occurred. Elsewhere in the eastern Pacific sardine abundance has decreased dramatically by natural processes in the last 15 years, as part of a well-documented and apparently natural cycle. This cyclic change in abundance provides a possible explanation for the recent demographic changes in Blue-footed Boobies in Galápagos. Whether natural or anthropogenic in origin, the implications of senescent decline in breeding ability and survival are dramatic for this genetically distinct icon of biodiversity and ecotourism. Absence chronique de reproduction chez le Fou à pieds bleus des Galápagos et déclin inhérent de la populationRÉSUMÉ. Un inventaire du Fou à pieds bleus (Sula nebouxii excisa) dans l'ensemble de l'aire occupée aux Galápagos, en Équateur, fait état d'~6 400 adultes, comparativement aux ~20 000 estimés grossièrement dans les années 1960. Seulement quelques couples se sont reproduits en 2011-2013 et presque aucun oiseau en plumage juvénile n'a été observé. Les données à long terme indiquent que la reproduction est mauvaise depuis 1998. Le manque de recrutement durant la période 1998-2013 laisse supposer que la population actuelle serait surtout constituée de vieux individus aux performances reproductrices déclinantes en raison du phénomène de sénescence. Les causes de source anthropique, comme les prédateurs introduits, n'expliquent vraisemblablement pas ce déclin, car toutes les îles, avec ou sans prédateurs, présentent le même faible taux de reproduction. Ce faible taux semble plutôt lié à l'alimentation. Ainsi, des études antérieures ont révélé que les sardines et les harengs (Clupeidae) constituaient la base de l'alimentation d'individus s'étant reproduits avec succès dans le passé; or, ces poissons étaient pratiquement absents de l'alimentation des fous lors de notre étude, hormis dans le centre des Galápagos où la plupart des tentatives de reproduction se sont produites. Ailleurs dans l'est du Pacifique, le nombre de sardines a diminué dramatiquement durant les quinze dernières années, selon un cycle bien documenté et apparemment naturel. Il est donc possible que ce changement cycliq...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic lack of breeding by Galápagos Blue-footed Boobies and associated population decline

Anchundia¹,

Huyvaert²,

Anderson³

2014

ACE

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“…Terminal investment has been empirically documented in other systems. For example, house sparrows injected with Paramyxo virus vaccine were more likely to lay a second clutch in a single season (Bonneaud et al 2004), male blue-footed boobies treated with liposaccharides to elicit an immune response had increased reproductive success (Velando et al 2006), and Tasmanian devil populations afflicted with devil facial tumor disease showed precocial reproduction (Jones et al 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fitness Consequences of Infection by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Northern Leopard Frogs (Lithobates pipiens)

et al. 2013

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The amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has been linked to amphibian declines and extinctions worldwide. The pathogen has been found on amphibians throughout eastern North America, but has not been associated with mass die-offs in this region. In this study, we conducted laboratory experiments on the effects of Bd infection in a putative carrier species, Lithobates pipiens, using two estimators of fitness: jumping performance and testes morphology. Over the 8-week study period, peak acceleration during jumping was not significantly different between infected and uninfected animals. Peak velocity, however, was significantly lower for infected animals after 8 weeks. Two measures of sperm production, germinal epithelium depth, and maximum spermatic cyst diameter, showed no difference between infected and uninfected animals. The width, but not length, of testes of infected animals was significantly greater than in uninfected animals. This study is the first to show effects on whole-organism performance of Bd infection in post-metamorphic amphibians, and may have important long-term, evolutionary implications for amphibian populations co-existing with Bd infection.

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“…Extrapair sires are predominantly older males (Wetton et al 1991;Cleasby and Nakagawa 2012;Hsu et al 2015), which could mean that correlated differences in parental investment between males with and without EPP could indirectly be driven by male age. Several studies have shown that older males are better at obtaining EPPs and also invest more into paternal care than younger males (Kempenaers and Sheldon 1997;Houston and McNamara 2002;Velando et al 2006;Hammers et al 2012). Thus, age alone as a flexible male state might potentially drive any association between paternal care and paternity.…”

Section: The Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictably Philandering Females Prompt Poor Paternal Provisioning

Schroeder

Hsu

Winney

et al. 2016

The American Naturalist

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Dryad data: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0t313.abstract: One predicted cost of female infidelity in socially monogamous species is that cuckolded males should provide less parental care. This relationship is robust across species, but evidence is ambiguous within species. We do not know whether individual males reduce their care when paired with cheating females compared with when paired with faithful females (within-male adjustment) or, alternatively, if the males that pair with cheating females are the same males that provide less parental care in general (between-male effect). Our exceptionally extensive long-term data set of repeated observations of a wild passerine allows us to disentangle paternal care adjustment within males-within pairs and between males-while accounting for environmental variables. We found a within-male adjustment of paternal provisioning, but not incubation effort, relative to the cuckoldry in their nest. This effect was mainly driven by females differing consistently in their fidelity. There was no evidence that this within-male adjustment also took place across broods with the same female, and we found no between-male effect. Interestingly, males that gained more extrapair paternity provided less care. Data from a cross-foster experiment suggested that males did not use kin recognition to assess paternity. Our results provide insight into the role of individual variation in parental care and mating systems.

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Senescent birds redouble reproductive effort when ill: confirmation of the terminal investment hypothesis

Cited by 238 publications

References 46 publications

Chronic lack of breeding by Galápagos Blue-footed Boobies and associated population decline

Chronic lack of breeding by Galápagos Blue-footed Boobies and associated population decline

Fitness Consequences of Infection by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Northern Leopard Frogs (Lithobates pipiens)

Predictably Philandering Females Prompt Poor Paternal Provisioning

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