Trade-off between migration and reproduction: does a high workload affect body condition and reproductive state?

Schmidt-Wellenburg, Carola A.; Visser, G. Henk; Biebach, Brigitte; Delhey, Kaspar; Oltrogge, Martina; Wittenzellner, Andrea; Biebach, Herbert; Kempenaers, Bart

doi:10.1093/beheco/arn066

Cited by 20 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Some characters, however, are not subject to trade-offs (Schmidt-Wellenburg et al 2008). For example, we observed that neither clutch size nor its relationship with SVL varied between populations.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 54%

“…The close connection between reproductive ecology and life history leads to trade-offs between reproductive and other life-history traits (Zug et al 2001;Schmidt-Wellenburg et al 2008). Comparative analyses among populations are important because they link microevolutionary processes within populations to patterns of macroevolutionary divergence (Shine 2003;Corl et al 2009).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Phenotypic plasticity of life history traits in relation to reproductive strategies in Boa constrictor occidentalis

Cardozo

Chiaraviglio

2011

Evol Ecol

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The close connection between reproductive ecology and life history in snakes leads to trade-offs between reproductive and other life-history traits. Optimal energy allocation to growth and reproduction is a key factor to determine life history structure. Therefore, elucidating the relationship between body size variations and reproductive characters is essential for a better understanding of life-history plasticity. The aim of this work was to determine to what extent life-history differs among populations of Boa constrictor occidentalis and to identify possible life-history trade-offs between morphological and reproductive traits. We compared two populations from areas that are separated latitudinally, with different climatic conditions and vegetation landscape structure. Reproductive and morphological data of specimens were recorded. Although populations had a similar mean length of mature snakes, the frequency of some size classes tended to be different. Size at sexual maturity differed between populations for females, generating variations in the proportion of mature individuals. Reproductive threshold and follicular size also varied, but female reproductive frequency was similar between populations. Reproductive frequency of males varied between populations although their body condition was similar. We discussed two major issues: (1) implications of size at sexual maturity for body size and fecundity; (2) trade-offs in reproductive characters.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 54%

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confidence: 99%

Phenotypic plasticity of life history traits in relation to reproductive strategies in Boa constrictor occidentalis

Cardozo

Chiaraviglio

2011

Evol Ecol

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“…By comparison, previous work on Columbian ground squirrels has shown a reproductive advantage to early reproduction (Neuhaus, 2000). Unlike migratory birds, therefore, in which a reproductive/somatic investment trade‐off is imposed by the energetic challenges of completing migration (Schmidt‐Wellenburg et al. , 2008), it is feasible that earlier emergences (and therefore reproduction) could evolve in parallel with higher body masses in this species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A quantitative genetic analysis of hibernation emergence date in a wild population of Columbian ground squirrels

Lane

Kruuk

Charmantier

et al. 2011

Journal of Evolutionary Biology

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The life history schedules of wild organisms have long attracted scientific interest, and, in light of ongoing climate change, an understanding of their genetic and environmental underpinnings is increasingly becoming of applied concern. We used a multi‐generation pedigree and detailed phenotypic records, spanning 18 years, to estimate the quantitative genetic influences on the timing of hibernation emergence in a wild population of Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus). Emergence date was significantly heritable [h2 = 0.22 ± 0.05 (in females) and 0.34 ± 0.14 (in males)], and there was a positive genetic correlation (rG = 0.76 ± 0.22) between male and female emergence dates. In adult females, the heritabilities of body mass at emergence and oestrous date were h2 = 0.23 ± 0.09 and h2 = 0.18 ± 0.12, respectively. The date of hibernation emergence has been hypothesized to have evolved so as to synchronize subsequent reproduction with upcoming peaks in vegetation abundance. In support of this hypothesis, although levels of phenotypic variance in emergence date were higher than oestrous date, there was a highly significant genetic correlation between the two (rG = 0.98 ± 0.01). Hibernation is a prominent feature in the annual cycle of many small mammals, but our understanding of its influences lags behind that for phenological traits in many other taxa. Our results provide the first insight into its quantitative genetic influences and thus help contribute to a more general understanding of its evolutionary significance.

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“…This may be an important component of the strategies of migrant bird species that use high latitude areas. But migration is a costly strategy and so there are likely to be non-lethal effects operating at the level of life-history selection (see Schmidt-Wellenburg et al 2008). For example, higher adult or nestling survival may be traded off against reduced annual reproductive output (Dobson and Power 1990).…”

Section: When Predation Is Genuinely Absentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predation in bird populations

Cresswell

2010

J Ornithol

238

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One of the classic ecological questions is how predators affect population size. This is often assessed by measuring how many individuals are killed by a predator, yet such direct effects may only be a relatively minor part of population dynamics. Predators frequently affect prey populations indirectly, with the fear of predation resulting in costly behavioural compensation leading to potentially large population and community effects. Large observable lethal effects may then just represent the most easily observed "special" cases of the effects of predation on populations, with the costs of non-lethal effects being ubiquitous and usually dominant. This review explores these two ideas: that cases where there are no population effects due to predation, and cases where lethal effects dominate, are unusual and involve special circumstances. First, systems where predation effects appear not to arise include complete avoidance of predators by prey; when other environmental factors limit populations so that predation is not additive to mortality; when there are other more vulnerable prey for a predator; when predators interact; because the relationship of perceived predation risk with predator abundance is usually a non-linear function, and simply because non-lethal effects have not been considered. Second, lethal effects tend to dominate over non-lethal effects when there is a high cost of compensating for predation risk associated with either resource constraint or a particularly vulnerable niche or life history stage (e.g. the nest stage generally for birds); when prey are the most popular prey of a predator or linear trophic chains operate; when there is evolutionary lag such as introduced predators and naïve prey populations; and when there are several predator species hunting the same prey in diverse ways. The presence of predators may or may not affect the size of a bird population at any particular life history stage, although in most cases it will through non-lethal effects and occasionally through lethal effects.But the presence of predators will always affect intra-and interspecific competition and so will always affect population dynamics. Studies that wish to fully demonstrate that predation has no effect on bird populations must show that lethal effects and the costs of non-lethal compensation by the prey do not significantly change its density and so the level of competition.3

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Trade-off between migration and reproduction: does a high workload affect body condition and reproductive state?

Cited by 20 publications

References 43 publications

Phenotypic plasticity of life history traits in relation to reproductive strategies in Boa constrictor occidentalis

Phenotypic plasticity of life history traits in relation to reproductive strategies in Boa constrictor occidentalis

A quantitative genetic analysis of hibernation emergence date in a wild population of Columbian ground squirrels

Predation in bird populations

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