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Reed J, New L, Corkeron P, Harcourt R. Disentangling the influence of entanglement on recruitment in North Atlantic right whales. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240314. [PMID: 38471549 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
North Atlantic right whales are Critically Endangered and declining, with entanglements in fishing gear a key contributor to their decline. Entanglement events can result in lethal and sub-lethal (i.e. increased energetic demands and reduced foraging ability) impacts, with the latter influencing critical life-history states, such as reproduction. Using a multi-event framework, we developed a Bayesian mark-recapture model to investigate the influence of entanglement severity on survival and recruitment for female right whales. We used information from 199 known-aged females sighted between 1977 and 2018, combined with known entanglements of varying severity that were classified as minor, moderate or severe. Severe entanglements resulted in an average decline in survival of 27% for experienced non-breeders, 9% for breeders and 26% for pre-breeding females compared with other entanglements and unentangled individuals. Surviving individuals with severe entanglements had low transitional probabilities to breeders, but surprisingly, individuals with minor entanglements had the lowest transitional probabilities, contrary to expectations underpinning current management actions. Management actions are needed to address the lethal and sub-lethal impacts of entanglements, regardless of severity classification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Reed
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2109, Australia
| | - Leslie New
- Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA, 19426, USA
| | - Peter Corkeron
- Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia
| | - Robert Harcourt
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2109, Australia
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2
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Volzke S, McMahon CR, Hindell MA, Burton HR, Wotherspoon SJ. Climate influences on female survival in a declining population of southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina). Ecol Evol 2021; 11:11333-11344. [PMID: 34429922 PMCID: PMC8366891 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The Southern Ocean has been disproportionately affected by climate change and is therefore an ideal place to study the influence of changing environmental conditions on ecosystems. Changes in the demography of predator populations are indicators of broader shifts in food web structure, but long-term data are required to study these effects. Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) from Macquarie Island have consistently decreased in population size while all other major populations across the Southern Ocean have recently stabilized or are increasing. Two long-term mark-recapture studies (1956-1967 and 1993-2009) have monitored this population, which provides an opportunity to investigate demographic performance over a range of climatic conditions. Using a 9-state matrix population model, we estimated climate influences on female survival by incorporating two major climatic indices into our model: The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). Our best model included a 1 year lagged effect of SAM and an unlagged SOI as covariates. A positive relationship with SAM1 (lagged) related the previous year's SAM with juvenile survival, potentially due to changes in local prey availability surrounding Macquarie Island. The unlagged SOI had a negative effect on both juvenile and adult seals, indicating that sea ice dynamics and access to foraging grounds on the East Antarctic continental shelf could explain the different contributions of ENSO events on the survival of females in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia Volzke
- Institute for Marine & Antarctic StudiesUniversity of TasmaniaHobartTas.Australia
| | - Clive R. McMahon
- Institute for Marine & Antarctic StudiesUniversity of TasmaniaHobartTas.Australia
- IMOS Animal TaggingSydney Institute of Marine ScienceMosmanNSWAustralia
| | - Mark A. Hindell
- Institute for Marine & Antarctic StudiesUniversity of TasmaniaHobartTas.Australia
- Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research CentreUniversity of TasmaniaHobartTas.Australia
| | - Harry R. Burton
- Australian Antarctic DivisionDepartment of Agriculture, Water and the EnvironmentKingstonTas.Australia
| | - Simon J. Wotherspoon
- Institute for Marine & Antarctic StudiesUniversity of TasmaniaHobartTas.Australia
- Australian Antarctic DivisionDepartment of Agriculture, Water and the EnvironmentKingstonTas.Australia
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3
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Determinants of moult haulout phenology and duration in southern elephant seals. Sci Rep 2021; 11:13331. [PMID: 34172785 PMCID: PMC8233432 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-92635-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Phenological shifts are among the most obvious biological responses to environmental change, yet documented responses for Southern Ocean marine mammals are extremely rare. Marine mammals can respond to environmental changes through phenological flexibility of their life-history events such as breeding and moulting. Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) undergo an obligatory annual moult which involves the rapid shedding of epidermal skin and hair while seals fast ashore. We quantified the timing (phenology) and duration (the time from arrival ashore to departure) of the moult haulout of 4612 female elephant seals at Marion Island over 32 years. Using linear mixed-effects models, we investigated age, breeding state and environmental drivers of moult timing and haulout duration. We found no clear evidence for a temporal shift in moult phenology or its duration. Annual variation in moult arrival date and haulout duration was small relative to age and breeding effects, which explained more than 90% of the variance in moult arrival date and 25% in moult haulout duration. All environmental covariates we tested explained minimal variation in the data. Female elephant seals moulted progressively later as juveniles, but adults age 4 and older had similar moult start dates that depended on the breeding state of the female. In contrast, moult haulout duration was not constant with age among adults, but instead became shorter with increasing age. Moulting is energetically expensive and differences in the moult haulout duration are possibly due to individual variation in body mass and associated metabolizable energy reserves, although other drivers (e.g. hormones) may also be present. Individual-based data on moult arrival dates and haulout duration can be used as auxiliary data in demographic modelling and may be useful proxies of other important biological parameters such as body condition and breeding history.
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4
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Recent spread of blue tits into the Barcelona urban environment: morphological differences and the role of balanced dispersal. Evol Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-020-10087-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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5
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Senar JC, Arroyo L, Ortega‐Segalerva A, Carrillo JG, Tomás X, Montalvo T, Sanz‐Aguilar A. Estimating age-dependent survival when juveniles resemble females: Invasive ring-necked parakeets as an example. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:891-898. [PMID: 30766678 PMCID: PMC6362439 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Revised: 05/29/2018] [Accepted: 06/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Many species only show sexual dimorphism at the age of maturity, such that juveniles typically resemble females. Under these circumstances, estimating accurate age-specific demographic parameters is challenging. Here, we propose a multievent model parameterization able to estimate age-dependent survival using capture-recapture data with uncertainty in age and sex assignment of individuals. We illustrate this modeling approach with capture-recapture data from the ring-necked parakeet Psittacula krameri. We analyzed capture, recapture, and resighting data (439 recaptures/resightings) of 156 ring-necked parakeets tagged with neck collars in Barcelona city from 2003 to 2016 to estimate the juvenile and adult survival rate. Our models successfully estimated the survival probabilities of the different age classes considered. Survival probability was similar between adults (0.83, 95% CI = 0.77-0.87) and juveniles during their second (0.79, 95% CI = 0.58-0.87) and third winter (0.83, 95% CI = 0.65-0.88). The youngest juveniles (1st winter) showed a slightly lower survival (0.57, 95% CI = 0.37-0.79). Among adults, females showed a slightly higher survival than males (0.87, 95% CI = 0.78-0.93; and 0.80, 95% CI = 0.73-0.86, respectively). These high survival figures predict high population persistence in this species and urge management policies. The analysis also stresses the usefulness of multievent models to estimate juvenile survival when age cannot be fully ascertained.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Xavier Tomás
- Natural History Museum of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Tomas Montalvo
- Agencia de Salut Pública de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud PúblicaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Ana Sanz‐Aguilar
- Animal Demography and Ecology GroupIMEDEA, CSIC‐UIBEsporlesSpain
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6
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Santostasi NL, Ciucci P, Caniglia R, Fabbri E, Molinari L, Reggioni W, Gimenez O. Use of hidden Markov capture-recapture models to estimate abundance in the presence of uncertainty: Application to the estimation of prevalence of hybrids in animal populations. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:744-755. [PMID: 30766665 PMCID: PMC6362442 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Estimating the relative abundance (prevalence) of different population segments is a key step in addressing fundamental research questions in ecology, evolution, and conservation. The raw percentage of individuals in the sample (naive prevalence) is generally used for this purpose, but it is likely to be subject to two main sources of bias. First, the detectability of individuals is ignored; second, classification errors may occur due to some inherent limits of the diagnostic methods. We developed a hidden Markov (also known as multievent) capture-recapture model to estimate prevalence in free-ranging populations accounting for imperfect detectability and uncertainty in individual's classification. We carried out a simulation study to compare naive and model-based estimates of prevalence and assess the performance of our model under different sampling scenarios. We then illustrate our method with a real-world case study of estimating the prevalence of wolf (Canis lupus) and dog (Canis lupus familiaris) hybrids in a wolf population in northern Italy. We showed that the prevalence of hybrids could be estimated while accounting for both detectability and classification uncertainty. Model-based prevalence consistently had better performance than naive prevalence in the presence of differential detectability and assignment probability and was unbiased for sampling scenarios with high detectability. We also showed that ignoring detectability and uncertainty in the wolf case study would lead to underestimating the prevalence of hybrids. Our results underline the importance of a model-based approach to obtain unbiased estimates of prevalence of different population segments. Our model can be adapted to any taxa, and it can be used to estimate absolute abundance and prevalence in a variety of cases involving imperfect detection and uncertainty in classification of individuals (e.g., sex ratio, proportion of breeders, and prevalence of infected individuals).
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Luisa Santostasi
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”University of Rome La SapienzaRomeItaly
- CEFE, CNRSUniversity of Montpellier, University Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Paolo Ciucci
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”University of Rome La SapienzaRomeItaly
| | - Romolo Caniglia
- Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA)Unit for Conservation Genetics (BIO‐CGE)Ozzano dell'EmiliaBolognaItaly
| | - Elena Fabbri
- Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA)Unit for Conservation Genetics (BIO‐CGE)Ozzano dell'EmiliaBolognaItaly
| | - Luigi Molinari
- Wolf Apennine CenterAppennino Tosco‐Emiliano National ParkLigonchioItaly
| | - Willy Reggioni
- Wolf Apennine CenterAppennino Tosco‐Emiliano National ParkLigonchioItaly
| | - Olivier Gimenez
- CEFE, CNRSUniversity of Montpellier, University Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRDMontpellierFrance
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7
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Benhaiem S, Marescot L, Hofer H, East ML, Lebreton JD, Kramer-Schadt S, Gimenez O. Robustness of Eco-Epidemiological Capture-Recapture Parameter Estimates to Variation in Infection State Uncertainty. Front Vet Sci 2018; 5:197. [PMID: 30211175 PMCID: PMC6121098 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Estimating eco-epidemiological parameters in free-ranging populations can be challenging. As known individuals may be undetected during a field session, or their health status uncertain, the collected data are typically "imperfect". Multi-event capture-mark-recapture (MECMR) models constitute a substantial methodological advance by accounting for such imperfect data. In these models, animals can be "undetected" or "detected" at each time step. Detected animals can be assigned an infection state, such as "susceptible" (S), "infected" (I), or "recovered" (R), or an "unknown" (U) state, when for instance no biological sample could be collected. There may be heterogeneity in the assignment of infection states, depending on the manifestation of the disease in the host or the diagnostic method. For example, if obtaining the samples needed to prove viral infection in a detected animal is difficult, this can result in a low chance of assigning the I state. Currently, it is unknown how much uncertainty MECMR models can tolerate to provide reliable estimates of eco-epidemiological parameters and whether these parameters are sensitive to heterogeneity in the assignment of infection states. We used simulations to assess how estimates of the survival probability of individuals in different infection states and the probabilities of infection and recovery responded to (1) increasing infection state uncertainty (i.e., the proportion of U) from 20 to 90%, and (2) heterogeneity in the probability of assigning infection states. We simulated data, mimicking a highly virulent disease, and used SIR-MECMR models to quantify bias and precision. For most parameter estimates, bias increased and precision decreased gradually with state uncertainty. The probabilities of survival of I and R individuals and of detection of R individuals were very robust to increasing state uncertainty. In contrast, the probabilities of survival and detection of S individuals, and the infection and recovery probabilities showed high biases and low precisions when state uncertainty was >50%, particularly when the assignment of the S state was reduced. Considering this specific disease scenario, SIR-MECMR models are globally robust to state uncertainty and heterogeneity in state assignment, but the previously mentioned parameter estimates should be carefully interpreted if the proportion of U is high.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Benhaiem
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lucile Marescot
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- CEFE, CNRS, University Montpellier, University Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Heribert Hofer
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marion L. East
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jean-Dominique Lebreton
- CEFE, CNRS, University Montpellier, University Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Stephanie Kramer-Schadt
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Olivier Gimenez
- CEFE, CNRS, University Montpellier, University Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
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8
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Marescot L, Benhaiem S, Gimenez O, Hofer H, Lebreton J, Olarte‐Castillo XA, Kramer‐Schadt S, East ML. Social status mediates the fitness costs of infection with canine distemper virus in Serengeti spotted hyenas. Funct Ecol 2018; 32:1237-1250. [PMID: 32313354 PMCID: PMC7163977 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2016] [Accepted: 01/26/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The extent to which the fitness costs of infection are mediated by key life-history traits such as age or social status is still unclear. Within populations, individual heterogeneity in the outcome of infection is the result of two successive processes; the degree of contact with the pathogen (exposure) and the immune response to infection. In social mammals, because individuals holding high social status typically interact more frequently with group members, they should be more often in contact with infected individuals than those of low social status. However, when access to resources is determined by social status, individuals with a high social status are often better nourished, have a greater opportunity to allocate resources to immune processes and therefore should have a smaller chance of succumbing to infection than individuals with low social status.We investigated the risk and fitness costs of infection during a virulent epidemic of canine distemper virus (CDV) in a social carnivore, the spotted hyena, in the Serengeti National Park. We analysed two decades of detailed life-history data from 625 females and 816 males using a multi-event capture-mark-recapture model that accounts for uncertainty in the assignment of individual infection states.Cubs of mothers with a high social status had a lower probability of CDV infection and were more likely to survive infection than those with low social status. Subadult and adult females with high social status had a higher infection probability than those with low social status. Subadult females and pre-breeder males that had recovered from CDV infection had a lower survival than susceptible ones.Our study disentangles the relative importance of individual exposure and resource allocation to immune processes, demonstrates fitness costs of infection for juveniles, particularly for those with low social status, shows that patterns of infection can be driven by different mechanisms among juveniles and adults and establishes a negative relationship between infection and fitness in a free-ranging mammal. A http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.13059/suppinfo is available for this article.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucile Marescot
- Department of Ecological DynamicsLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
| | - Sarah Benhaiem
- Department of Ecological DynamicsLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
| | - Olivier Gimenez
- CEFEUMR 5175CNRSUniversité de MontpellierUniversité Paul‐Valéry MontpellierEPHEMontpellier Cedex 5France
| | - Heribert Hofer
- Department of Ecological DynamicsLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
- Department of Veterinary MedicineFreie Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
- Department of Biology, Chemistry, PharmacyFreie Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Jean‐Dominique Lebreton
- CEFEUMR 5175CNRSUniversité de MontpellierUniversité Paul‐Valéry MontpellierEPHEMontpellier Cedex 5France
| | | | - Stephanie Kramer‐Schadt
- Department of Ecological DynamicsLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
| | - Marion L. East
- Department of Ecological DynamicsLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
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9
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Desprez M, Gimenez O, McMahon CR, Hindell MA, Harcourt RG. Optimizing lifetime reproductive output: Intermittent breeding as a tactic for females in a long-lived, multiparous mammal. J Anim Ecol 2017; 87:199-211. [PMID: 29063588 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In iteroparous species, intermittent breeding is an important life-history tactic that can greatly affect animal population growth and viability. Despite its importance, few studies have quantified the consequences of breeding pauses on lifetime reproductive output, principally because calculating lifetime reproductive output requires knowledge of each individual's entire reproductive history. This information is extremely difficult to obtain in wild populations. We applied novel statistical approaches that account for uncertainty in state assessment and individual heterogeneity to an 18-year capture-recapture dataset of 6,631 female southern elephant seals from Macquarie Island. We estimated survival and breeding probabilities, and investigated the consequences of intermittent breeding on lifetime reproductive output. We found consistent differences in females' demographic performance between two heterogeneity classes. In particular, breeding imbued a high cost on survival in the females from the heterogeneity class 2, assumed to be females of lower quality. Individual quality also appeared to play a major role in a female's decision to skip reproduction with females of poorer quality more likely to skip breeding events than females of higher quality. Skipping some breeding events allowed females from both heterogeneity classes to increase lifetime reproductive output over females that bred annually. However, females of lower quality produced less offspring over their lifetime. Intermittent breeding seems to be used by female southern elephant seals as a tactic to offset reproductive costs on survival and enhance lifetime reproductive output but remains unavoidable and driven by individual-specific constraints in some other females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Desprez
- Marine Predator Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
| | - Olivier Gimenez
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | | | - Mark A Hindell
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
| | - Robert G Harcourt
- Marine Predator Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
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10
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Gervasi V, Boitani L, Paetkau D, Posillico M, Randi E, Ciucci P. Estimating survival in the Apennine brown bear accounting for uncertainty in age classification. POPUL ECOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10144-017-0587-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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11
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Sanz-Aguilar A, Igual JM, Oro D, Genovart M, Tavecchia G. Estimating recruitment and survival in partially monitored populations. J Appl Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Sanz-Aguilar
- Population Ecology Group; Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados; IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB); Miquel Marqués 21 E-07190 Esporles Islas Baleares Spain
| | - José Manuel Igual
- Population Ecology Group; Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados; IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB); Miquel Marqués 21 E-07190 Esporles Islas Baleares Spain
| | - Daniel Oro
- Population Ecology Group; Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados; IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB); Miquel Marqués 21 E-07190 Esporles Islas Baleares Spain
| | - Meritxell Genovart
- Population Ecology Group; Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados; IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB); Miquel Marqués 21 E-07190 Esporles Islas Baleares Spain
| | - Giacomo Tavecchia
- Population Ecology Group; Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados; IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB); Miquel Marqués 21 E-07190 Esporles Islas Baleares Spain
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12
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McMahon CR, New LF, Fairley EJ, Hindell MA, Burton HR. The effects of body size and climate on post‐weaning survival of elephant seals at
H
eard
I
sland. J Zool (1987) 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C. R. McMahon
- Sydney Institute of Marine Science Mosman NSW Australia
- Australian Antarctic Division Hobart Tas. Australia
| | - L. F. New
- US Marine Mammal Commission Bethesda MD USA
- USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Laurel MD USA
- Washington State University Vancouver WA USA
| | | | - M. A. Hindell
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies University of Tasmania Hobart Tas. Australia
| | - H. R. Burton
- Australian Antarctic Division Hobart Tas. Australia
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13
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Desprez M, Harcourt R, Hindell MA, Cubaynes S, Gimenez O, McMahon CR. Age-specific cost of first reproduction in female southern elephant seals. Biol Lett 2014; 10:20140264. [PMID: 24872464 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2014.0264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Desprez
- Marine Predator Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Robert Harcourt
- Marine Predator Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Mark A Hindell
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
| | - Sarah Cubaynes
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Olivier Gimenez
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Campus CNRS, UMR 5175, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Clive R McMahon
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia Sydney Institute of Marine Science, 19 Chowder Bay Road, Mosman, New South Wales 2088, Australia
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