1
|
Toni P, Forsyth DM, Festa-Bianchet M. Determinants of offspring sex in kangaroos: a test of multiple hypotheses. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
When the fitness costs and benefits of sons and daughters differ, offspring sex ratio manipulation could be an important reproductive tactic. We explored the effects of environment and maternal caring ability on offspring sex to test four adaptive sex ratio modification hypotheses: the extrinsic modification hypothesis (EMH), carrying capacity hypothesis (CCH), Trivers-Willard hypothesis (TWH), and cost-of-reproduction hypothesis (CRH). The EMH and CCH propose that environmental conditions shape offspring sex ratios, directly or in interaction with maternal condition. The TWH and CRH predict a positive relationship between maternal condition and production of the costlier sex. The TWH predicts that mothers with superior caring ability should produce more of the sex that can provide the greatest fitness returns from additional maternal allocation, and the CRH proposes that females with limited caring ability should reduce fitness costs by producing the cheaper sex. Repeated measures on 83 known-age eastern gray kangaroos, polygynous marsupials with strong sexual dimorphism, revealed that offspring sex ratio was independent of per capita forage, supporting neither the EMH nor CCH, but was dependent on maternal mass, consistent with the TWH and CCH. Our results, however, cannot clearly identify the ultimate cause of the relationship between maternal mass and greater production of sons. One of the three assumptions of the TWH could not be verified, and mothers of sons suffered only marginal additional fitness costs. Sex ratios in higher vertebrates are likely not solely explained by factors dependent on maternal control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Toni
- Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boulevard de l’Université, J1K2R1 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - David M Forsyth
- Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Orange, NSW, Australia
| | - Marco Festa-Bianchet
- Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boulevard de l’Université, J1K2R1 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Brandimarti ME, Gray R, Coulson G, Cripps JK, Wilson ME, Death C, Snape M, Wimpenny C, Silva FRO, Miller EJ, Scanes E, Spielman D, Thomas G, Herbert CA. Reference intervals for parameters of health of eastern grey kangaroos Macropus giganteus and management implications across their geographic range. WILDLIFE BIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.2981/wlb.00692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maquel E. Brandimarti
- M. E. Brandimarti (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4055-6623) ✉ , G. Thomas, C. A. Herbert (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0174-0898), F. R. O. Silva and E. Scanes (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7520-3804), School of Life and
| | - Rachael Gray
- R. Gray and D. Spielman, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The Univ. of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Graeme Coulson
- G. Coulson (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9873-8203), J. K. Cripps (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3049-5510) and M. E. Wilson, School of BioSciences, The Univ. of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. JKC also at: Dept of Environment, Land, Water an
| | - Jemma K. Cripps
- G. Coulson (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9873-8203), J. K. Cripps (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3049-5510) and M. E. Wilson, School of BioSciences, The Univ. of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. JKC also at: Dept of Environment, Land, Water an
| | - Michelle E. Wilson
- G. Coulson (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9873-8203), J. K. Cripps (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3049-5510) and M. E. Wilson, School of BioSciences, The Univ. of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. JKC also at: Dept of Environment, Land, Water an
| | - Clare Death
- C. Death, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The Univ. of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria, Australia
| | - Melissa Snape
- M. Snape and C. Wimpenny, Conservation Research, Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate, ACT Government, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Claire Wimpenny
- M. Snape and C. Wimpenny, Conservation Research, Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate, ACT Government, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Fabiola Rodrigues Oliveira Silva
- M. E. Brandimarti (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4055-6623) ✉ , G. Thomas, C. A. Herbert (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0174-0898), F. R. O. Silva and E. Scanes (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7520-3804), School of Life and
| | - Emily J. Miller
- E. J. Miller, The Univ. of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Elliot Scanes
- M. E. Brandimarti (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4055-6623) ✉ , G. Thomas, C. A. Herbert (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0174-0898), F. R. O. Silva and E. Scanes (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7520-3804), School of Life and
| | - Derek Spielman
- R. Gray and D. Spielman, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The Univ. of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Georgia Thomas
- M. E. Brandimarti (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4055-6623) ✉ , G. Thomas, C. A. Herbert (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0174-0898), F. R. O. Silva and E. Scanes (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7520-3804), School of Life and
| | - Catherine A. Herbert
- M. E. Brandimarti (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4055-6623) ✉ , G. Thomas, C. A. Herbert (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0174-0898), F. R. O. Silva and E. Scanes (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7520-3804), School of Life and
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Quesnel L, King WJ, Coulson G, Festa-Bianchet M. Tall young females get ahead: size-specific fecundity in wild kangaroos suggests a steep trade-off with growth. Oecologia 2017; 186:59-71. [PMID: 29127479 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-4003-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Louise Quesnel
- Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada.
| | - Wendy J King
- Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Graeme Coulson
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Marco Festa-Bianchet
- Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Quesnel L, MacKay A, Forsyth DM, Nicholas KR, Festa-Bianchet M. Size, season and offspring sex affect milk composition and juvenile survival in wild kangaroos. J Zool (1987) 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L. Quesnel
- Département de biologie; Université de Sherbrooke; Sherbrooke QC Canada
| | - A. MacKay
- Département de biologie; Université de Sherbrooke; Sherbrooke QC Canada
| | - D. M. Forsyth
- Vertebrate Pest Research Unit; New South Wales Department of Primary Industries; Orange NSW Australia
- School of BioSciences; University of Melbourne; Melbourne Vic. Australia
| | - K. R. Nicholas
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology; Monash University; Melbourne Vic. Australia
| | - M. Festa-Bianchet
- Département de biologie; Université de Sherbrooke; Sherbrooke QC Canada
- School of BioSciences; University of Melbourne; Melbourne Vic. Australia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Schwanz LE, Robert KA. Costs of Rearing the Wrong Sex: Cross-Fostering to Manipulate Offspring Sex in Tammar Wallabies. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0146011. [PMID: 26849128 PMCID: PMC4743941 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0146011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2015] [Accepted: 12/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex allocation theory assumes that offspring sex (son vs. daughter) has consequences for maternal fitness. The most compelling experiment to test this theory would involve manipulating offspring sex and measuring the fitness consequences of having the "wrong" sex. Unfortunately, the logistical challenges of such an experiment limit its application. In tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii), previous evidence suggests that mothers in good body condition are more likely to produce sons compared to mothers in poor condition, in support of the Trivers-Willard Hypothesis (TW) of condition-dependent sex allocation. More recently, we have found in our population of tammar wallabies that females with seemingly poor access to resources (based on condition loss over the dry summer) are more likely to produce sons, consistent with predictions from the Local Resource Competition (LRC) hypothesis, which proposes that production of sons or daughters is driven by the level of potential competition between mothers and philopatric daughters. We conducted a cross-fostering experiment in free-ranging tammar wallabies to disassociate the effects of rearing and birthing offspring of each sex. This allowed us to test the prediction of the LRC hypothesis that rearing daughters reduces the future direct fitness of mothers post-weaning and the prediction of the TW hypothesis that rearing sons requires more energy during lactation. Overall, we found limited costs to the mother of rearing the "wrong" sex, with switching of offspring sex only reducing the likelihood of a mother having a pouch young the following year. Thus, we found some support for both hypotheses in that rearing an unexpected son or an unexpected daughter both lead to reduced future maternal fitness. The study suggests that there may be context-specific costs associated with rearing the "wrong" sex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lisa E. Schwanz
- School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
- Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Kylie A. Robert
- School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Individual heterogeneity and offspring sex affect the growth-reproduction trade-off in a mammal with indeterminate growth. Oecologia 2015; 180:1127-35. [PMID: 26714827 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3531-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2014] [Accepted: 12/16/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Reproduction can lead to a trade-off with growth, particularly when individuals reproduce before completing body growth. Kangaroos have indeterminate growth and may always face this trade-off. We combined an experimental manipulation of reproductive effort and multi-year monitoring of a large sample size of marked individuals in two populations of eastern grey kangaroos to test the predictions (1) that reproduction decreases skeletal growth and mass gain and (2) that mass loss leads to reproductive failure. We also tested if sex-allocation strategies influenced these trade-offs. Experimental reproductive suppression revealed negative effects of reproduction on mass gain and leg growth from 1 year to the next. Unmanipulated females, however, showed a positive correlation between number of days lactating and leg growth over periods of 2 years and longer, suggesting that over the long term, reproductive costs were masked by individual heterogeneity in resource acquisition. Mass gain was necessary for reproductive success the subsequent year. Although mothers of daughters generally lost more mass than females nursing sons, mothers in poor condition experienced greater mass gain and arm growth if they had daughters than if they had sons. The strong links between individual mass changes and reproduction suggest that reproductive tactics are strongly resource-dependent.
Collapse
|