Extreme polygyny results in intersex differences in age-dependent survival of a highly dimorphic marine mammal
Developmental differences in vital rates are especially profound in polygamous mating systems. Southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina ) are highly dimorphic and extremely polygynous marine mammals. A demographic model, supported by long-term capture–mark–recapture records, investigated the influ...
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2023
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221635 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.221635 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.221635 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsos.221635 2024-09-15T18:04:43+00:00 Extreme polygyny results in intersex differences in age-dependent survival of a highly dimorphic marine mammal Volzke, Sophia Cleeland, Jaimie B. Hindell, Mark A. Corney, Stuart P. Wotherspoon, Simon J. McMahon, Clive R. University of Tasmania 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221635 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.221635 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.221635 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Royal Society Open Science volume 10, issue 3 ISSN 2054-5703 journal-article 2023 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221635 2024-07-01T04:20:46Z Developmental differences in vital rates are especially profound in polygamous mating systems. Southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina ) are highly dimorphic and extremely polygynous marine mammals. A demographic model, supported by long-term capture–mark–recapture records, investigated the influence of sex and age on survival in this species. The study revealed clear differences between female and male age-dependent survival rates. Overall juvenile survival estimates were stable around 80–85% for both sexes. However, male survival estimates were 5–10% lower than females in the same age classes until 8 years of age. At this point, male survival decreased rapidly to 50% ± 10% while female estimates remained constant at 80% ± 5%. Different energetic requirements could underpin intersex differences in adult survival. However, the species' strong sexual dimorphism diverges during early juvenile development when sex-specific survival rates were less distinct. Maximizing growth is especially advantageous for males, with size being a major determinant of breeding probability. Maturing males may employ a high-risk high-reward foraging strategy to compensate for extensive sexual selection pressures and sex-specific energetic needs. Our findings suggest sex-specific adult survival is a result of in situ ecological interactions and evolutionary specialization associated with being a highly polygynous marine predator. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals The Royal Society Royal Society Open Science 10 3 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Developmental differences in vital rates are especially profound in polygamous mating systems. Southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina ) are highly dimorphic and extremely polygynous marine mammals. A demographic model, supported by long-term capture–mark–recapture records, investigated the influence of sex and age on survival in this species. The study revealed clear differences between female and male age-dependent survival rates. Overall juvenile survival estimates were stable around 80–85% for both sexes. However, male survival estimates were 5–10% lower than females in the same age classes until 8 years of age. At this point, male survival decreased rapidly to 50% ± 10% while female estimates remained constant at 80% ± 5%. Different energetic requirements could underpin intersex differences in adult survival. However, the species' strong sexual dimorphism diverges during early juvenile development when sex-specific survival rates were less distinct. Maximizing growth is especially advantageous for males, with size being a major determinant of breeding probability. Maturing males may employ a high-risk high-reward foraging strategy to compensate for extensive sexual selection pressures and sex-specific energetic needs. Our findings suggest sex-specific adult survival is a result of in situ ecological interactions and evolutionary specialization associated with being a highly polygynous marine predator. |
author2 |
University of Tasmania |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Volzke, Sophia Cleeland, Jaimie B. Hindell, Mark A. Corney, Stuart P. Wotherspoon, Simon J. McMahon, Clive R. |
spellingShingle |
Volzke, Sophia Cleeland, Jaimie B. Hindell, Mark A. Corney, Stuart P. Wotherspoon, Simon J. McMahon, Clive R. Extreme polygyny results in intersex differences in age-dependent survival of a highly dimorphic marine mammal |
author_facet |
Volzke, Sophia Cleeland, Jaimie B. Hindell, Mark A. Corney, Stuart P. Wotherspoon, Simon J. McMahon, Clive R. |
author_sort |
Volzke, Sophia |
title |
Extreme polygyny results in intersex differences in age-dependent survival of a highly dimorphic marine mammal |
title_short |
Extreme polygyny results in intersex differences in age-dependent survival of a highly dimorphic marine mammal |
title_full |
Extreme polygyny results in intersex differences in age-dependent survival of a highly dimorphic marine mammal |
title_fullStr |
Extreme polygyny results in intersex differences in age-dependent survival of a highly dimorphic marine mammal |
title_full_unstemmed |
Extreme polygyny results in intersex differences in age-dependent survival of a highly dimorphic marine mammal |
title_sort |
extreme polygyny results in intersex differences in age-dependent survival of a highly dimorphic marine mammal |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221635 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.221635 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.221635 |
genre |
Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science volume 10, issue 3 ISSN 2054-5703 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221635 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
3 |
_version_ |
1810442340878254080 |