Age-specific cost of first reproduction in female southern elephant seals
When to commence breeding is a crucial life-history decision that may be the most important determinant of an individual's lifetime reproductive output and can have major consequences on population dynamics. The age at which individuals first reproduce is an important factor influencing the int...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0264 2024-06-02T08:06:02+00:00 Age-specific cost of first reproduction in female southern elephant seals Desprez, Marine Harcourt, Robert Hindell, Mark A. Cubaynes, Sarah Gimenez, Olivier McMahon, Clive R. 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0264 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0264 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0264 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Biology Letters volume 10, issue 5, page 20140264 ISSN 1744-9561 1744-957X journal-article 2014 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0264 2024-05-07T14:16:23Z When to commence breeding is a crucial life-history decision that may be the most important determinant of an individual's lifetime reproductive output and can have major consequences on population dynamics. The age at which individuals first reproduce is an important factor influencing the intensity of potential costs (e.g. reduced survival) involved in the first breeding event. However, quantifying age-related variation in the cost of first reproduction in wild animals remains challenging because of the difficulty in reliably recording the first breeding event. Here, using a multi-event capture–recapture model that accounts for both imperfect detection and uncertainty in the breeding status on an 18-year dataset involving 6637 individuals, we estimated age and state-specific survival of female elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina ) in the declining Macquarie Island population. We detected a clear cost of first reproduction on survival. This cost was higher for both younger first-time breeders and older first-time breeders compared with females recruiting at age four, the overall mean age at first reproduction. Neither earlier primiparity nor delaying primiparity appear to confer any evolutionary advantage, rather the optimal strategy seems to be to start breeding at a single age, 4 years. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seals Macquarie Island Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals The Royal Society Biology Letters 10 5 20140264 |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
When to commence breeding is a crucial life-history decision that may be the most important determinant of an individual's lifetime reproductive output and can have major consequences on population dynamics. The age at which individuals first reproduce is an important factor influencing the intensity of potential costs (e.g. reduced survival) involved in the first breeding event. However, quantifying age-related variation in the cost of first reproduction in wild animals remains challenging because of the difficulty in reliably recording the first breeding event. Here, using a multi-event capture–recapture model that accounts for both imperfect detection and uncertainty in the breeding status on an 18-year dataset involving 6637 individuals, we estimated age and state-specific survival of female elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina ) in the declining Macquarie Island population. We detected a clear cost of first reproduction on survival. This cost was higher for both younger first-time breeders and older first-time breeders compared with females recruiting at age four, the overall mean age at first reproduction. Neither earlier primiparity nor delaying primiparity appear to confer any evolutionary advantage, rather the optimal strategy seems to be to start breeding at a single age, 4 years. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Desprez, Marine Harcourt, Robert Hindell, Mark A. Cubaynes, Sarah Gimenez, Olivier McMahon, Clive R. |
spellingShingle |
Desprez, Marine Harcourt, Robert Hindell, Mark A. Cubaynes, Sarah Gimenez, Olivier McMahon, Clive R. Age-specific cost of first reproduction in female southern elephant seals |
author_facet |
Desprez, Marine Harcourt, Robert Hindell, Mark A. Cubaynes, Sarah Gimenez, Olivier McMahon, Clive R. |
author_sort |
Desprez, Marine |
title |
Age-specific cost of first reproduction in female southern elephant seals |
title_short |
Age-specific cost of first reproduction in female southern elephant seals |
title_full |
Age-specific cost of first reproduction in female southern elephant seals |
title_fullStr |
Age-specific cost of first reproduction in female southern elephant seals |
title_full_unstemmed |
Age-specific cost of first reproduction in female southern elephant seals |
title_sort |
age-specific cost of first reproduction in female southern elephant seals |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0264 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0264 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0264 |
genre |
Elephant Seals Macquarie Island Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seals Macquarie Island Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals |
op_source |
Biology Letters volume 10, issue 5, page 20140264 ISSN 1744-9561 1744-957X |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0264 |
container_title |
Biology Letters |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
20140264 |
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1800750917935431680 |