Trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk drive sex-specific foraging strategies in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seals.
Sex-specific phenotypic differences are widespread throughout the animal kingdom. Reproductive advantages provided by trait differences come at a cost. Here, we link sex-specific foraging strategies to trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seal...
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2022
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7fc626qv 2023-05-15T16:05:39+02:00 Trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk drive sex-specific foraging strategies in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seals. Kienle, Sarah S Friedlaender, Ari S Crocker, Daniel E Mehta, Rita S Costa, Daniel P 210522 2022-01-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7fc626qv unknown eScholarship, University of California qt7fc626qv https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7fc626qv public Royal Society open science, vol 9, iss 1 feeding fitness marine mammal niche divergence spatial ecology survival Good Health and Well Being article 2022 ftcdlib 2023-03-06T18:47:56Z Sex-specific phenotypic differences are widespread throughout the animal kingdom. Reproductive advantages provided by trait differences come at a cost. Here, we link sex-specific foraging strategies to trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris). We analyse a decadal dataset on movement patterns, dive behaviour, foraging success and mortality rates. Females are deep-diving predators in open ocean habitats. Males are shallow-diving benthic predators in continental shelf habitats. Males gain six times more mass and acquire energy 4.1 times faster than females. High foraging success comes with a high mortality rate. Males are six times more likely to die than females. These foraging strategies and trade-offs are related to different energy demands and life-history strategies. Males use a foraging strategy with a high mortality risk to attain large body sizes necessary to compete for females, as only a fraction of the largest males ever mate. Females use a foraging strategy with a lower mortality risk, maximizing reproductive success by pupping annually over a long lifespan. Our results highlight how sex-specific traits can drive disparity in mortality rates and expand species' niche space. Further, trade-offs between foraging rewards and mortality risk can differentially affect each sex's ability to maximize fitness. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seals University of California: eScholarship |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
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language |
unknown |
topic |
feeding fitness marine mammal niche divergence spatial ecology survival Good Health and Well Being |
spellingShingle |
feeding fitness marine mammal niche divergence spatial ecology survival Good Health and Well Being Kienle, Sarah S Friedlaender, Ari S Crocker, Daniel E Mehta, Rita S Costa, Daniel P Trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk drive sex-specific foraging strategies in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seals. |
topic_facet |
feeding fitness marine mammal niche divergence spatial ecology survival Good Health and Well Being |
description |
Sex-specific phenotypic differences are widespread throughout the animal kingdom. Reproductive advantages provided by trait differences come at a cost. Here, we link sex-specific foraging strategies to trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris). We analyse a decadal dataset on movement patterns, dive behaviour, foraging success and mortality rates. Females are deep-diving predators in open ocean habitats. Males are shallow-diving benthic predators in continental shelf habitats. Males gain six times more mass and acquire energy 4.1 times faster than females. High foraging success comes with a high mortality rate. Males are six times more likely to die than females. These foraging strategies and trade-offs are related to different energy demands and life-history strategies. Males use a foraging strategy with a high mortality risk to attain large body sizes necessary to compete for females, as only a fraction of the largest males ever mate. Females use a foraging strategy with a lower mortality risk, maximizing reproductive success by pupping annually over a long lifespan. Our results highlight how sex-specific traits can drive disparity in mortality rates and expand species' niche space. Further, trade-offs between foraging rewards and mortality risk can differentially affect each sex's ability to maximize fitness. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kienle, Sarah S Friedlaender, Ari S Crocker, Daniel E Mehta, Rita S Costa, Daniel P |
author_facet |
Kienle, Sarah S Friedlaender, Ari S Crocker, Daniel E Mehta, Rita S Costa, Daniel P |
author_sort |
Kienle, Sarah S |
title |
Trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk drive sex-specific foraging strategies in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seals. |
title_short |
Trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk drive sex-specific foraging strategies in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seals. |
title_full |
Trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk drive sex-specific foraging strategies in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seals. |
title_fullStr |
Trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk drive sex-specific foraging strategies in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seals. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk drive sex-specific foraging strategies in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seals. |
title_sort |
trade-offs between foraging reward and mortality risk drive sex-specific foraging strategies in sexually dimorphic northern elephant seals. |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7fc626qv |
op_coverage |
210522 |
genre |
Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seals |
op_source |
Royal Society open science, vol 9, iss 1 |
op_relation |
qt7fc626qv https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7fc626qv |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1766401544247312384 |