Variation in adult body mass of roe deer: early environmental conditions influence early and late body growth of females

Douhard, Mathieu; Gaillard, Jean‐Michel; Delorme, Daniel; Capron, Gilles; Duncan, Patrick; Klein, François; Bonenfant, Christophe

doi:10.1890/13-0034.1

Cited by 55 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 63 publications

(111 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This probably resulted from long-term positive consequences of early environmental conditions on body mass [54], which in turn influenced reproductive performance of females [41,55].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fitness consequences of environmental conditions at different life stages in a long-lived vertebrate

et al. 2014

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The predictive adaptive response (PAR) hypothesis proposes that animals adjust their physiology and developmental trajectory during early life in anticipation of their future environments. Accordingly, when environmental conditions in early life match environmental conditions during adulthood, individual fitness should be greater. Here, we test this hypothesis in a longlived mammal, the roe deer, using data from two contrasting populations, intensively monitored for more than 35 years. In the highly productive site, the fitness of female roe deer increased with the quality of environment during adulthood and, contrary to predictions of PAR, individuals born in good conditions always outperformed those born under poor conditions. In the resource-limited site, the fitness of female roe deer born in poor years was better than those born in good conditions in poor years when the animals were adult, but not in good years. Although consistent with predictions of PAR, we showed that this pattern is likely to be a consequence of increased viability selection during the juvenile stage for animals born in poor years. While PARs are often advanced in evolutionary medicine, our findings suggest that detailed biological processes should be investigated before drawing conclusions about the existence of this phenomenon.

show abstract

“…This probably resulted from long-term positive consequences of early environmental conditions on body mass [54], which in turn influenced reproductive performance of females [41,55].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fitness consequences of environmental conditions at different life stages in a long-lived vertebrate

et al. 2014

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The condition and sex ratio of offspring were also associated with the quality of a female’s current breeding territory. Territory quality and resource abundance during development can affect life-history trajectories in a variety of taxa (Haywood and Perrins 1992; Lindström 1999; Millon et al 2011; Douhard et al 2013; Zedrosser et al 2013; but see also Drummond and Ancona 2015). For example, in great tits ( Parus major ), the long-term survival and reproductive success of neonates are negatively correlated with the altitude and positively correlated with the size of the territories on which they are reared, and to a greater extent for male than for female offspring (Wilkin and Sheldon 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Natal Environment and Breeding Territory Predict the Condition and Sex Ratio of Offspring

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Females in a variety of taxa adjust offspring sex ratios to prevailing ecological conditions. However, little is known about whether conditions experienced during a female’s early ontogeny influence the sex ratio of her offspring. We tested for past and present ecological predictors of offspring sex ratios among known-age females that were produced as offspring and bred as adults in a population of house wrens. The body condition of offspring that a female produced and the proportion of her offspring that were male were negatively correlated with the size of the brood in which she herself was reared. The proportion of sons within broods was negatively correlated with maternal hatching date, and varied positively with the quality of a female’s current breeding territory as predicted. However, females producing relatively more sons than daughters were less likely to return to breed in the population the following year. Although correlative, our results suggest that the rearing environment can have enduring effects on later maternal investment and sex allocation. Moreover, the overproduction of sons relative to daughters may increase costs to a female’s residual reproductive value, constraining the extent to which sons might be produced in high-quality breeding conditions. Sex allocation in birds remains a contentious subject, largely because effects on offspring sex ratios are small. Our results suggest that offspring sex ratios are shaped by various processes and trade-offs that act throughout the female life history and ultimately reduce the extent of sex-ratio adjustment relative to classic theoretical predictions.

show abstract

“…Most have investigated the effect of early conditions on other traits later in life (e.g. growth, survival, habitat selection, sexual attractiveness; reviewed in Lindström 1999), and focus has been mainly on early environmental conditions (Cam et al 2003;Douhard et al 2013;Lee et al 2013), whereas social factors have been largely overlooked.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Litter sex composition influences dominance status of Alpine marmots (Marmota marmota)

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In social species, the hierarchical status of an individual has important consequences for its fitness. While many studies have focused on individual condition to explain access to dominance, very few have investigated the influence of the social environment, especially during early life. Yet it is known that environmental conditions early in life may influence several traits at adulthood. Here, we examine the influence of early social environment on accession to dominance by investigating the influence of litter size and sex composition on survival and the probability of ascending to dominance later in life using a 20-year dataset from a wild population of Alpine marmots (Marmota marmota). Although litter size had no effect on the fate of individuals, litter sex composition affected male juvenile survival and both male and female probabilities of reaching dominant status when adult. Male juveniles incur lower survival when the number of male juveniles in the litter increases, and individuals of both sexes from male-biased litters are more likely to become dominant than individuals from female-biased litters. However, the absolute number of sisters in the litter, rather than the sex ratio, seems to be an important predictor of the probability of acquiring dominant status: pups having more sisters are less likely to become dominant. Several potential mechanisms to explain these results are discussed.

show abstract

Variation in adult body mass of roe deer: early environmental conditions influence early and late body growth of females

Cited by 55 publications

References 63 publications

Fitness consequences of environmental conditions at different life stages in a long-lived vertebrate

Fitness consequences of environmental conditions at different life stages in a long-lived vertebrate

Maternal Natal Environment and Breeding Territory Predict the Condition and Sex Ratio of Offspring

Litter sex composition influences dominance status of Alpine marmots (Marmota marmota)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About