A long postreproductive life span is a shared trait among genetically distinct killer whale populations. ...
The extended female postreproductive life span found in humans and some toothed whales remains an evolutionary puzzle. Theory predicts demographic patterns resulting in increased female relatedness with age (kinship dynamics) can select for a prolonged postreproductive life span due to the combined...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.73916 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/326465 |
| Summary: | The extended female postreproductive life span found in humans and some toothed whales remains an evolutionary puzzle. Theory predicts demographic patterns resulting in increased female relatedness with age (kinship dynamics) can select for a prolonged postreproductive life span due to the combined costs of intergenerational reproductive conflict and benefits of late-life helping. Here, we test this prediction using >40 years of longitudinal demographic data from the sympatric yet genetically distinct killer whale ecotypes: resident and Bigg's killer whales. The female relatedness with age is predicted to increase in both ecotypes, but with a less steep increase in Bigg's due to their different social structure. Here, we show that there is a significant postreproductive life span in both ecotypes with >30% of adult female years being lived as postreproductive, supporting the general prediction that an increase in local relatedness with age predisposes the evolution of a postreproductive life span. ... |
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