Reproductive costs in terrestrial male vertebrates: insights from bird studies

Bleu, Josefa; Gamelon, Marlène; Sæther, Bernt‐Erik

doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.2600

Cited by 42 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(72 reference statements)

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“…It is however, consistent with the findings of many studies on male birds and mammals (Bleu et al. ) and with most experimental bird studies (Santos and Nakagawa ). As touched upon in our introduction, a potential general explanation for the difference between our study population and many studies of other wild populations could be that the expression of these trade‐offs is related to the iteroparous life histories of the long‐lived vertebrates that have been studied previously.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

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Testing the effect of early‐life reproductive effort on age‐related decline in a wild insect

et al. 2019

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The disposable soma theory of ageing predicts that when organisms invest in reproduction they do so by reducing their investment in body maintenance, inducing a trade‐off between reproduction and survival. Experiments on invertebrates in the lab provide support for the theory by demonstrating the predicted responses to manipulation of reproductive effort or lifespan. However, experimental studies in birds and evidence from observational (nonmanipulative) studies in nature do not consistently reveal trade‐offs. Most species studied previously in the wild are mammals and birds that reproduce over multiple discrete seasons. This contrasts with temperate invertebrates, which typically have annual generations and reproduce over a single season. We expand the taxonomic range of senescence study systems to include life histories typical of most temperate invertebrates. We monitored reproductive effort, ageing, and survival in a natural field cricket population over ten years to test the prediction that individuals investing more in early‐reproduction senesce faster and die younger. We found no evidence of a trade‐off between early‐life reproductive effort and survival, and only weak evidence for a trade‐off with phenotypic senescence. We discuss the possibility that organisms with multiple discrete breeding seasons may have greater opportunities to express trade‐offs between reproduction and senescence.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…; Bleu et al. ), with research on invertebrates being virtually absent. Nearly all vertebrates included in ageing studies have multiple breeding seasons (with rare exceptions; (Tozzini et al.…”

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confidence: 99%

Testing the effect of early‐life reproductive effort on age‐related decline in a wild insect

et al. 2019

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“…Likewise, competition among males to secure mating opportunities and defend territories might drive faster senescence in males than females of some species. This is thought to be especially true for polygamous species, which incur these costs more frequently in comparison with monogamous species (Clutton‐Brock & Isvaran, ; Tidiere et al., ; but see Bleu et al., ; Sparkman et al., ). Sex‐specific differences have been measured in multiple polygamous vertebrate species in terms of a lower annual survival and faster decline of breeding performance in males than females, which is often not evident in monogamous species (Clutton‐Brock & Isvaran, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex‐specific patterns of reproductive senescence in a long‐lived reintroduced raptor

Murgatroyd

Roos

Evans

et al. 2018

Journal of Animal Ecology

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For many species, there is evidence that breeding performance changes as an individual ages. In iteroparous species, breeding performance often increases through early life and is expected to level out or even decline (senesce) later in life. An individual's sex and conditions experienced in early life may also affect breeding performance and how this changes with age. Long-term monitoring of individuals from reintroduced populations can provide unique opportunities to explore age-related trends in breeding performance that might otherwise be logistically challenging. We used a unique dataset from a reintroduced population of white-tailed eagles Haliaeetus albicilla in Scotland, which has been intensively monitored since their initial reintroduction in 1975, to study age- and sex-specific trends in two measures of breeding performance. This monitoring provided data on the breeding performance of known individuals ranging in age from 3 to 26 years. We also explored changes in breeding performance in relation to early life experience (i.e., whether they were released or fledged in the wild). Breeding performance increased with age in early life in a similar manner for both sexes. We found stronger evidence for senescence in breeding performance in males than females. However, late-life female breeding success was associated with early life experience, while male senescent trends were not apparently impacted by conditions experienced during early life. Sexual differences in senescence mean that older males are less likely to breed successfully compared to older females, and this may influence females' mate changes later in life. This difference may suggest a linked sexual difference in survival rates or the possibility of proactive partner change by females in later life in this typically monogamous biparental species.

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“…As the amount of energy allocated to one of these functions reduces allocation to others, trade‐offs should occur (Roff & Fairbairn, ; Stearns, ). Trade‐offs may manifest themselves in the short‐term between time t and t + 1 (Bleu, Gamelon, & Sæther, ; Hamel et al, ), or in the long‐term after a certain amount of physiological damage has accumulated (Kroeger, Blumstein, Armitage, Reid, & Martin, ; Moyes et al, ). In particular, high allocation to reproduction or growth early in life should reduce the energy available for somatic maintenance, causing a reduction in later‐life survival (Kirkwood & Rose, ; Lemaître et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A negative association between horn length and survival in a weakly dimorphic ungulate

Douhard

Crampe

Loison

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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While all models of sexual selection assume that the development and expression of enlarged secondary sexual traits are costly, males with larger ornaments or weapons generally show greater survival or longevity. These studies have mostly been performed in species with high sexual size dimorphism, subject to intense sexual selection. Here, we examined the relationships between horn growth and several survival metrics in the weakly dimorphic Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica). In this unhunted population living at high density, males and females were able to grow long horns without any apparent costs in terms of longevity. However, we found a negative relationship between horn growth and survival during prime age in males. This association reduces the potential evolutionary consequences of trophy hunting in male chamois. We also found that females with long horns tended to have lower survival at old ages. Our results illustrate the contrasting conclusions that may be drawn when different survival metrics are used in analyses. The ability to detect trade‐off between the expression of male secondary sexual traits and survival may depend more on environmental conditions experienced by the population than on the strength of sexual selection.

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Reproductive costs in terrestrial male vertebrates: insights from bird studies

Cited by 42 publications

References 83 publications

Testing the effect of early‐life reproductive effort on age‐related decline in a wild insect

Testing the effect of early‐life reproductive effort on age‐related decline in a wild insect

Sex‐specific patterns of reproductive senescence in a long‐lived reintroduced raptor

A negative association between horn length and survival in a weakly dimorphic ungulate

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