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Dupont SM, Barbraud C, Chastel O, Delord K, Pallud M, Parenteau C, Weimerskirch H, Angelier F. How does maternal age influence reproductive performance and offspring phenotype in the snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea)? Oecologia 2023; 203:63-78. [PMID: 37833549 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05451-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
In wild vertebrates, the increase of breeding success with advancing age has been extensively studied through laying date, clutch size, hatching success, and fledging success. However, to better evaluate the influence of age on reproductive performance in species with high reproductive success, assessing not only reproductive success but also other proxies of reproductive performance appear crucial. For example, the quality of developmental conditions and offspring phenotype can provide robust and complementary information on reproductive performance. In long-lived vertebrate species, several proxies of developmental conditions can be used to estimate the quality of the produced offspring (i.e., body size, body condition, corticosterone levels, and telomere length), and therefore, their probability to survive. By sampling chicks reared by known-aged mothers, we investigated the influence of maternal age on reproductive performance and offspring quality in a long-lived bird species, the snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea). Older females bred and left their chick alone earlier. Moreover, older females had larger chicks that grew faster, and ultimately, those chicks had a higher survival probability at the nest. In addition, older mothers produced chicks with a higher sensitivity to stress, as shown by moderately higher stress-induced corticosterone levels. Overall, our study demonstrated that maternal age is correlated to reproductive performance (hatching date, duration of the guarding period and survival) and offspring quality (body size, growth rate and sensitivity to stress), suggesting that older individuals provide better parental cares to their offspring. These results also demonstrate that maternal age can affect the offspring phenotype with potential long-term consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie M Dupont
- Laboratoire de Biologie des Organismes et des Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), MNHN, CNRS UMR8067, SU, IRD207, UCN, UA, 97275, Schoelcher Cedex, Martinique, France.
- Institut du Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), CNRS UMR7266, La Rochelle Université, 17000, La Rochelle, France.
| | - Christophe Barbraud
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), CNRS UMR7372, La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Olivier Chastel
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), CNRS UMR7372, La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Karine Delord
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), CNRS UMR7372, La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Marie Pallud
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), CNRS UMR7372, La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Charline Parenteau
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), CNRS UMR7372, La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), CNRS UMR7372, La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Frédéric Angelier
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), CNRS UMR7372, La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
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2
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Bialas JT, Siekiera J, Siekiera A, Chromik W, Dylewski Ł, Tobolka M. Age, brood fate, and territory quality affect nest-site fidelity in white stork Ciconia ciconia. Front Zool 2023; 20:33. [PMID: 37735696 PMCID: PMC10512545 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-023-00506-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A particular type of site fidelity is faithfulness to the nest site, where birds are not only reoccupying breeding territories but also reusing nests built in previous breeding seasons. Staying faithful to the nest site is believed to be an adaptive strategy, and based on the ability to predict an individual's own breeding success, a hypothesis of "win-stay:loose-switch" was proposed. In this study, we aimed to resolve which factors affect the nest-site fidelity of white stork Ciconia ciconia, species known for reusing nests available in the breeding sites. Basing on ring recoveries from 31 years of studies in Western and Southern Poland, we analysed the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on nest-site fidelity. RESULTS We found that increasing age and breeding success (i.e. producing any fledglings or not) increased the probability of reusing the nest, but in the oldest individuals, the probability decreased. In turn, the probability of breeding success increased with age, the increasing number of reproductive events on the particular nest, and the presence on the nest in the previous year. However, the oldest individuals had lower probability of success, as the relationship was curvilinear. The number of fledglings, however, was influenced only by an individual's age. The number of reproductive events on the nest was, in turn, affected by age, with the youngest and oldest individuals using the current nest for the least number of years. CONCLUSIONS Our study shows that the decision process of whether to stay faithful to the nest or switch is based on the experience from the previous breeding event, consistently with the "win-stay:loose-switch" hypothesis. Our results also show that site fidelity benefits white storks, as the probability of breeding success increases if the nest is reused. Results also show the senescence effect that lowers breeding success and site fidelity probabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna T Bialas
- Department of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, 60-625, Poznan, Poland.
| | | | | | | | - Łukasz Dylewski
- Department of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, 60-625, Poznan, Poland
| | - Marcin Tobolka
- Department of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, 60-625, Poznan, Poland
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstraβe 1a, 1160, Vienna, Austria
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Lescroël A, Schmidt A, Ainley DG, Dugger KM, Elrod M, Jongsomjit D, Morandini V, Winquist S, Ballard G. High-resolution recording of foraging behaviour over multiple annual cycles shows decline in old Adélie penguins' performance. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20222480. [PMID: 37015277 PMCID: PMC10072935 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Age-related variation in foraging performance can result from both within-individual change and selection processes. These mechanisms can only be disentangled by using logistically challenging long-term, longitudinal studies. Coupling a long-term demographic data set with high-temporal-resolution tracking of 18 Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae, age 4-15 yrs old) over three consecutive annual cycles, we examined how foraging behaviour changed within individuals of different age classes. Evidence indicated within-individual improvement in young and middle-age classes, but a significant decrease in foraging dive frequency within old individuals, associated with a decrease in the dive descent rate. Decreases in foraging performance occurred at a later age (from 12-15 yrs old to 15-18 yrs old) than the onset of senescence predicted for this species (9-11 yrs old). Foraging dive frequency was most affected by the interaction between breeding status and annual life-cycle periods, with frequency being highest during returning migration and breeding season and was highest overall for successful breeders during the chick-rearing period. Females performed more foraging dives per hour than males. This longitudinal, full annual cycle study allowed us to shed light on the changes in foraging performance occurring among individuals of different age classes and highlighted the complex interactions among drivers of individual foraging behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Annie Schmidt
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA
| | - David G. Ainley
- H. T. Harvey & Associates Ecological Consultants, Los Gatos, CA 95032, USA
| | - Katie M. Dugger
- US Geological Survey, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97333, USA
| | - Megan Elrod
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA
| | | | - Virginia Morandini
- Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, 104 Nash Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
- Fundación Migres, CIMA, N-340km 85, E-11380 Tarifa, Spain
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, C/Jose Gutierrez Abascal, 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Suzanne Winquist
- Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR 97365, USA
| | - Grant Ballard
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA
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Šmejkal M, Bartoň D, Blabolil P, Kolařík T, Kubečka J, Sajdlová Z, Souza AT, Brabec M. Diverse environmental cues drive the size of reproductive aggregation in a rheophilic fish. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:16. [PMID: 36949527 PMCID: PMC10035167 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00379-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Animal migrations are periodic and relatively predictable events, and their precise timing is essential to the reproductive success. Despite large scientific effort in monitoring animal reproductive phenology, identification of complex environmental cues that determine the timing of reproductive migrations and temporal changes in the size of reproductive aggregations in relation to environmental variables is relatively rare in the current scientific literature. METHODS We tagged and tracked 1702 individuals of asp (Leuciscus aspius), a large minnow species, and monitored with a resolution of one hour the size of their reproductive aggregations (counts of sexes present at the breeding grounds standardized by the sum of individuals in the season) over seven breeding seasons using passive integrated transponder tag systems. We examined the size of reproductive aggregations in relation to environmental cues of day number within a reproductive season (intra-year seasonality), water temperature, discharge, hour in a day (intra-day pattern), temperature difference between water and air, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and lunar phase. A generalized additive model integrating evidence from seven breeding seasons and providing typical dynamics of reproductive aggregations was constructed. RESULTS We demonstrated that all environmental cues considered contributed to the changes in the size of reproductive aggregations during breeding season, and that some effects varied during breeding season. Our model explained approximately 50% of the variability in the data and the effects were sex-dependent (models of the same structure were fitted to each sex separately, so that we effectively stratified on sex). The size of reproductive aggregations increased unimodally in response to day in season, correlated positively with water temperature and wind speed, was highest before and after the full moon, and highest at night (interacting with day in a season). Males responded negatively and females positively to increase in atmospheric pressure. CONCLUSION The data demonstrate complex utilization of available environmental cues to time reproductive aggregations in freshwater fish and their interactions during the reproductive season. The study highlights the need to acquire diverse data sets consisting of many environmental cues to achieve high accuracy of interpretation of reproductive timing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Šmejkal
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Daniel Bartoň
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Blabolil
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Kolařík
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Kubečka
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Zuzana Sajdlová
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Allan T Souza
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research INAR, Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Marek Brabec
- Institute of Computer Science, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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Rotella JJ. Patterns, sources, and consequences of variation in age-specific vital rates: Insights from a long-term study of Weddell seals. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:552-567. [PMID: 36495476 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13870] [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: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Variations in the reproductive and survival abilities of individuals within a population are ubiquitous in nature, key to individual fitness, and affect population dynamics, which leads to strong interest in understanding causes and consequences of vital-rate variation. For long-lived species, long-term studies of large samples of known-age individuals are ideal for evaluating vital-rate variation. A population of Weddell seals in Erebus Bay, Antarctica, has been studied each Austral spring since the 1960s. Since 1982, all newborns have been tagged each year and multiple capture-mark-recapture (CMR) surveys have been conducted annually. Over the past 20 years, a series of analyses have built on results of earlier research by taking advantage of steady improvements in the project's long-term CMR data and available analytical methods. Here, I summarize progress made on four major topics related to variation in age-specific vital rates for females: early-life survival and age at first reproduction, costs of reproduction, demographic buffering, and demographic senescence. Multistate modelling found that age at first reproduction varies widely (4-14 years of age) and identified contrasting influences of maternal age on survival and recruitment rates of offspring. Subsequent analyses of data for females after recruitment revealed costs of reproduction to both survival and future reproduction and provided strong evidence of demographic buffering. Recent results indicated that important levels of among-individual variation exist in vital rates and revealed contrasting patterns for senescence in reproduction and survival. Sources of variation in vital rates include age, reproductive state, year, and individual. The combination of luck and individual quality results in strong variation in individual fitness outcomes: ~80% of females born in the population produce no offspring, and the remaining 20% vary strongly in lifetime reproductive output (range: 1-23 pups). Further research is needed to identify the specific environmental conditions that lead to annual variation in vital rates and to better understand the origins of individual heterogeneity. Work is also needed to better quantify the relative roles of luck, maternal effects, and environmental conditions on variation in vital rates and to learn the importance of such variation to demographic performance of offspring and on overall population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay J Rotella
- Ecology Department, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
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6
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Sauser C, Delord K, Barbraud C. Demography of cape petrels in response to environmental changes. POPUL ECOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/1438-390x.12133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christophe Sauser
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé UMR 7372, CNRS Villiers en Bois France
| | - Karine Delord
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé UMR 7372, CNRS Villiers en Bois France
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7
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Saraux C, Chiaradia A. Age‐related breeding success in little penguins: a result of selection and ontogenetic changes in foraging and phenology. ECOL MONOGR 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Claire Saraux
- DEPE UMR7178 IPHC CNRS‐Université de Strasbourg 23 rue du Loess 67037 Strasbourg France
| | - Andre Chiaradia
- Conservation Department Phillip Island Nature Parks PO Box 97 Cowes Victoria 3922 Australia
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8
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Segami JC, Lind MI, Qvarnström A. Should females prefer old males? Evol Lett 2021; 5:507-520. [PMID: 34621537 PMCID: PMC8484724 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.250] [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: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Whether females should prefer to mate with old males is controversial. Old males may sire offspring of low quality because of an aging germline, but their proven ability to reach an old age can also be an excellent indicator of superior genetic quality, especially in natural populations. These genetic effects are, however, hard to study in nature, because they are often confounded with direct benefits offered by old males to the female, such as experience and high territory quality. We, therefore, used naturally occurring extra‐pair young to disentangle different aspects of male age on female fitness in a natural population of collared flycatchers because any difference between within‐ and extra‐pair young within a nest should be caused by paternal genetic effects only. Based on 18 years of long‐term data, we found that females paired with older males as social partners experienced an overall reproductive advantage. However, offspring sired by old males were of lower quality as compared to their extra‐pair half‐siblings, whereas the opposite was found in nests attended by young males. These results imply a negative genetic effect of old paternal age, given that extra‐pair males are competitive middle‐age males. Thus, offspring may benefit from being sired by young males but raised by old males, to maximize both genetic and direct effects. Our results show that direct and genetic benefits from pairing with old males may act in opposing directions and that the quality of the germline may deteriorate before other signs of senescence become obvious.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Carolina Segami
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal Ecology Uppsala University Uppsala SE-75236 Sweden
| | - Martin I Lind
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal Ecology Uppsala University Uppsala SE-75236 Sweden
| | - Anna Qvarnström
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal Ecology Uppsala University Uppsala SE-75236 Sweden
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9
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Lee DS, Kang YHR, Ruiz-Lambides AV, Higham JP. The observed pattern and hidden process of female reproductive trajectories across the life span in a non-human primate. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:2901-2914. [PMID: 34541669 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Age-specific fertility trajectories are fundamental to understanding population structure and the evolutionary ecology of diverse life histories. However, characterizing reproductive ageing has been difficult with cross-sectional data, where senescence especially late in life can be confounded by selective disappearance. Addressing such challenge requires longitudinal data tracking the reproductive life span of known individuals, but such data are rare, especially for very long-lived species such as primates. We analyse the entire life span trajectory of annual fertility, from reproductive maturity to death, for 673 free-ranging female rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta, on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. Using generalized linear mixed-effects models (GLMMs), we first tested if time to death explains the ageing pattern independently of and additionally to chronological age, and if so, whether there is interaction between them. While GLMM captures the patterns in the data well, it is not a generative model. For example, given the GLMM and an individual's reproductive trajectory up to a given age, we cannot directly predict the probability of reproduction or death in the next year. For this reason, we further fitted a hidden Markov chain model (HMM) which allows just such a prediction, and additionally helps infer the process underlying the observed trajectory. We show that, after accounting for individual differences in fertility, reproductive ageing exhibits both age-dependent decline and also an abrupt terminal decline independently of age at death. We infer from the HMM that the underlying process of reproductive trajectory is where individuals cycle between reproductive bouts until they enter an irreversible frail condition that constrains fertility. The findings provide valuable insights into the longitudinal progression of reproductive trajectories in primates, by revealing both age-dependent and age-independent patterns and processes of ageing, and contribute to a growing body of literature on reproductive ageing and senescence across animal taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Susie Lee
- Population Health, Max-Planck-Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.,Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yul H R Kang
- Department of Engineering, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
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Šmejkal M, Bartoň D, Brabec M, Sajdlová Z, Souza AT, Moraes KR, Soukalová K, Blabolil P, Vejřík L, Kubečka J. Climbing up the ladder: male reproductive behaviour changes with age in a long-lived fish. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02961-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
High reproductive performance is the key attribute of male fitness, especially due to the high reproductive skew among the males of most animal species. Males of long-lived iteroparous species have opportunities to improve upon their previous reproductive attempts with increasing age. We collected individual-specific reproductive behaviour and age data on a cyprinid fish, the asp (Leuciscus aspius), from 2015 to 2019. We tested whether males changed their performance over time using a unique dataset where individual performance was recorded yearly with passive telemetry. Individual fish behaviour was tracked from one to five reproductive seasons at least a year after the tagging. Fish were scored by measures of quality (first arrival time, number of visits and time spent in the reproductive grounds, and encountered proportion of males to all adult fish). In general, fish improved in the first three metrics with age, suggesting a shift towards behaviours likely to enhance reproductive success as individuals aged. A larger size at tagging was predictive of earlier fish arrival on the spawning ground in subsequent years. Our study therefore demonstrates the importance of age as a factor when considering the potential reproductive success of long-lived fish species.
Significance statement
High reproductive performance is the key attribute of male fitness. Males of long-lived species reproducing multiple times in their life have opportunities to improve upon their previous reproductive performance with increasing age. In this 5-year study, we tracked a large cyprinid fish with telemetry systems during their reproduction. We investigated the age-related behavioural changes in males and demonstrated the improvement of male reproductive timing and length of stay with potential repercussions for male’s reproductive output. We emphasize the importance of old and experienced individuals among the fish population, which are often targeted and selectively removed from the human-managed waters.
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11
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Muriel J, Vida C, Gil D, Pérez-Rodríguez L. Ontogeny of leukocyte profiles in a wild altricial passerine. J Comp Physiol B 2020; 191:195-206. [PMID: 33196859 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-020-01323-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Ecophysiological studies have highlighted the relevance of the avian immune system in individual fitness prospects in the wild. However, studies on the ontogeny of avian immunity are scarce. We analyse age-related changes in the cellular constitutive immunity throughout nestling development, as well as its relationship with sex and brood size. We found that cellular constitutive immunity could be affected by age, sex, brood size, or daily rhythm. Early-stage nestlings relied more on cells of the innate immunity rather than on cells linked to the adaptive immune system. Cellular immunity may not be fully mature in fledglings, as reflected by differences in phagocytic cell counts with regard to adults. Beyond the age-dependent effects, agranulocyte cell counts were affected by sibling competition while granulocyte cell counts showed a daily rhythm. We also show that the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio was negatively related to body weight when nestlings become more independent. Our study contributes knowledge to the fields of developmental immunology and ecological immunology based on essential components of the cellular immune system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime Muriel
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, IPE (CSIC), Avda. Nuestra Señora de la Victoria 16, 22700, Jaca, Spain.
| | - Carmen Vida
- Department of Biology Systems, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alcalá, C/19, Av. de Madrid, Km 33,600, 28871, Alcalá de Henares,, Madrid, Spain
| | - Diego Gil
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Lorenzo Pérez-Rodríguez
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC, UCLM, JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain
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12
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Long-term capture and handling effects on body condition, reproduction and survival in a semi-aquatic mammal. Sci Rep 2020; 10:17886. [PMID: 33087816 PMCID: PMC7578049 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74933-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In long-term individual-based field studies, several parameters need to be assessed repeatedly to fully understand the potential fitness effects on individuals. Often studies only evaluate capture stress that appears in the immediate weeks or breeding season and even long-term studies fail to evaluate the long-term effects of their capture procedures. We investigated effects of long-term repeated capture and handling of individuals in a large semi-aquatic rodent using more than 20 years of monitoring data from a beaver population in Norway. To investigate the effects, we corrected for ecological factors and analysed the importance of total capture and handling events, years of monitoring and deployment of telemetry devices on measures related to body condition, reproduction and survival of individual beavers. Body mass of dominant individuals decreased considerably with number of capture events (107 g per capture), but we found no statistically clear short or long-term effects of capture and handling on survival or other body condition indices. Annual litter size decreased with increasing number of captures among older individuals. Number of captures furthermore negatively affected reproduction in the beginning of the monitoring, but the effect decreased over the years, indicating habituation to repeated capture and handling. By assessing potential impacts on several fitness-related parameters at multiple times, we can secure the welfare of wild animal populations when planning and executing future conservation studies as well as ensure ecologically reliable research data.
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13
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Lloyd KJ, Oosthuizen WC, Fay R, Bester MN, Nico de Bruyn PJ. Selective disappearance of frail juveniles: consequences for understanding social dominance in adult male elephant seals. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J. Lloyd
- Mammal Research Inst., Dept of Zoology and Entomology, Univ. of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- Landscape Conservation Programme, BirdLife South Africa Pinegowrie South Africa
| | - W. Chris Oosthuizen
- Mammal Research Inst., Dept of Zoology and Entomology, Univ. of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- Marine Apex Predator Research Unit, Zoology Dept, Nelson Mandela Univ. Port Elizabeth South Africa
| | - Rémi Fay
- Swiss Ornithological Institute Seerose Sempach Switzerland
| | - Marthán N. Bester
- Mammal Research Inst., Dept of Zoology and Entomology, Univ. of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
| | - P. J. Nico de Bruyn
- Mammal Research Inst., Dept of Zoology and Entomology, Univ. of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
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14
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Pacoureau N, Delord K, Jenouvrier S, Barbraud C. Demographic and population responses of an apex predator to climate and its prey: a long‐term study of South Polar Skuas. ECOL MONOGR 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Pacoureau
- Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé UMR‐CNRS 7372 79360 Villiers‐en‐Bois France
| | - Karine Delord
- Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé UMR‐CNRS 7372 79360 Villiers‐en‐Bois France
| | - Stéphanie Jenouvrier
- Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé UMR‐CNRS 7372 79360 Villiers‐en‐Bois France
- Biology Department Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution MS‐50 Woods Hole Massachusetts 02543 USA
| | - Christophe Barbraud
- Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé UMR‐CNRS 7372 79360 Villiers‐en‐Bois France
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15
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Douhard M, Festa‐Bianchet M, Landes J, Pelletier F. Trophy hunting mediates sex‐specific associations between early‐life environmental conditions and adult mortality in bighorn sheep. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:734-745. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 01/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Douhard
- Département de BiologieUniversité de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke Quebec Canada
| | | | - Julie Landes
- Département de BiologieUniversité de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke Quebec Canada
| | - Fanie Pelletier
- Département de BiologieUniversité de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke Quebec Canada
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16
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Lescroël A, Ballard G, Massaro M, Dugger K, Jennings S, Pollard A, Porzig E, Schmidt A, Varsani A, Grémillet D, Ainley D. Evidence of age-related improvement in the foraging efficiency of Adélie penguins. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3375. [PMID: 30833598 PMCID: PMC6399253 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39814-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Age variation in reproductive performance is well-documented but the mechanisms underlying this variation remain unclear. Foraging efficiency is likely to be a key source of demographic variation as it determines the amount of energy that can be invested in fitness-related activities. Evidence of age-related changes in the foraging efficiency of adult seabirds is scarce and inconsistent. We investigated the effects of age on the foraging efficiency of breeding Adélie penguins, a relatively short-lived seabird species, in order to gain a broader perspective on the processes driving variation in ageing rates. We found support for a positive effect of age, either linear or levelling off at old ages, on both our proxies for daily catch rate and catch per unit effort. Across all age classes, males were more performant foragers than females. We found no strong evidence for differing ageing patterns between sexes or individual quality levels, and no evidence for senescence. We infer that continuous individual improvement could be responsible for a larger amount of the variation in foraging efficiency with age at our study site, compared with selective disappearance of underperforming phenotypes. The different results reported by other studies highlight the need to conduct longitudinal studies across a range of species in different environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Lescroël
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA. .,Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE, Montpellier, France.
| | - Grant Ballard
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA
| | - Melanie Massaro
- School of Environmental Sciences, Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia
| | - Katie Dugger
- U.S. Geological Survey, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Scott Jennings
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA.,U.S. Geological Survey, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Annie Pollard
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA
| | | | - Annie Schmidt
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA
| | - Arvind Varsani
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Structural Biology Research Unit, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - David Grémillet
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE, Montpellier, France.,FitzPatrick Institute, DST/NRF centre of excellence at the University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
| | - David Ainley
- H.T. Harvey & Associates, Los Gatos, California, USA
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17
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Tompkins EM, Anderson DJ. Sex-specific patterns of senescence in Nazca boobies linked to mating system. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:986-1000. [PMID: 30746683 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Under life-history theories of ageing, increased senescence should follow relatively high reproductive effort. This expectation has rarely been tested against senescence varying between and within the two sexes, although such an approach may clarify the origins of sex-specific ageing in the context of a given mating system. Nazca boobies (Sula granti; a seabird) practise serial monogamy and biparental care. A male-biased population sex ratio results in earlier and more frequent breeding by females. Based on sex-specific reproductive schedules, females were expected to show faster age-related decline for survival and reproduction. Within each sex, high reproductive effort in early life was expected to reduce late-life performance and accelerate senescence. Longitudinal data were used to (a) evaluate the sex specificity of reproductive and actuarial senescence and then (b) test for early-/late-life fitness trade-offs within each sex. Within-sex analyses inform an interpretation of sex differences in senescence based on costs of reproduction. Analyses incorporated individual heterogeneity in breeding performance and cohort-level differences in early-adult environments. Females showed marginally more intense actuarial senescence and stronger age-related declines for fledging success. The opposite pattern (earlier and faster male senescence) was found for breeding probability. Individual reproductive effort in early life positively predicted late-life reproductive performance in both sexes and thus did not support a causal link between early-reproduction/late-life fitness trade-offs and sex differences in ageing. A high-quality diet in early adulthood reduced late-life survival (females) and accelerated senescence for fledging success (males). This study documents clear variation in ageing patterns-by sex, early-adult environment and early-adult reproductive effort-with implications for the role mating systems and early-life environments play in determining ageing patterns. Absent evidence for a disposable soma mechanism, patterns of sex differences in senescence may result from age- and condition-dependent mate choice interacting with this population's male-biased sex ratio and mate rotation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M Tompkins
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
| | - David J Anderson
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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18
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Bichet C, Vedder O, Sauer‐Gürth H, Becker PH, Wink M, Bouwhuis S. Contrasting heterozygosity‐fitness correlations across life in a long‐lived seabird. Mol Ecol 2019; 28:671-685. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.14979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2018] [Revised: 12/09/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Oscar Vedder
- Institute of Avian Research Wilhelmshaven Germany
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Hedwig Sauer‐Gürth
- Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany
| | | | - Michael Wink
- Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany
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19
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Abstract
With the rapid increase in the population of the oldest old (those aged 80 and over), there is some concern how longer life might be associated with a loss of independence in daily living. Addressing the trajectory of loss of independence for the oldest old is challenging, not only because the oldest old are heterogeneous, but also because the health trajectories at the population level may noticeably differ from those at the individual level. We used the 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2008 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Study to assess the age trajectories of the loss of independence for three cohorts born in 1909-1918, 1899-1908 and 1893-1898, respectively, both at the individual and the population levels. Independence was measured by combining the activities of daily living and the Chinese version of the mini-mental state examination. Controlling for various confounding factors, particularly the selectivity due to death and loss to follow-up, we found that, while more recent cohorts had higher initial levels of independence, this was followed by a faster decline compared to the earlier cohorts. Also, their level of independence fell below that of their earlier born counterparts at the same ages. Decomposition analysis further illustrated that the decline of independence at the population level is more gradual than that at the individual level. This finding can be largely attributed to selective mortality and loss to follow-up. For instance, the population prevalence of independence for the 1893-1898 female cohort declined slightly, from 19.7 to 11.1% in 1998-2008, while the proportion for females who survived from 1998 to 2008 dropped from 66.7 to 11.1%. For the population as a whole, a longer life expectancy does not necessarily result in a rapid decline of independence. For individuals, longer life expectancy accompanies deterioration of independence.
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20
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Wiebe KL. Age-related improvements in fecundity are driven by the male in a bird with partially reversed sex roles in parental care. Oecologia 2018; 188:1095-1104. [PMID: 30368615 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-018-4286-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Age-related improvement in reproductive performance is widespread in vertebrates and constraints at young ages are a common cause. The sex that invests energetically more in reproduction, typically the female, is predicted to show stronger age-related performance but the effect of the male's age on reproduction has often been ignored. I studied age-related reproduction of both sexes in northern flickers, in which males invest more parental care than females, predicting that the effect of age would be stronger in males than in females. Longitudinal data on individuals collected during an 18-year field study confirmed this prediction. Laying dates for females improved only between the first 2 years of her life and no other reproductive parameter changed over her lifetime when the male's age was statistically controlled. In contrast, males improved up to age five for laying date, clutch size, hatching success and fledging success. Partner familiarity (fidelity) was further associated with earlier laying, larger clutches, improved fledging success and more fledglings. There was significant assortative pairing by age but there is apparently little benefit for males to choose older females, but a benefit to females with older males. Females appear to strategically lay larger clutches when paired to old males which invest more in paternal care than younger males. This is the first example of clutch size being influenced by only male age and not female age in any bird and suggests that sex roles in parental care are important determinants of aging patterns in vertebrates with diverse life histories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L Wiebe
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2, Canada.
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21
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Murgatroyd M, Roos S, Evans R, Sansom A, Whitfield DP, Sexton D, Reid R, Grant J, Amar A. Sex-specific patterns of reproductive senescence in a long-lived reintroduced raptor. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1587-1599. [PMID: 29975797 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
For many species, there is evidence that breeding performance changes as an individual ages. In iteroparous species, breeding performance often increases through early life and is expected to level out or even decline (senesce) later in life. An individual's sex and conditions experienced in early life may also affect breeding performance and how this changes with age. Long-term monitoring of individuals from reintroduced populations can provide unique opportunities to explore age-related trends in breeding performance that might otherwise be logistically challenging. We used a unique dataset from a reintroduced population of white-tailed eagles Haliaeetus albicilla in Scotland, which has been intensively monitored since their initial reintroduction in 1975, to study age- and sex-specific trends in two measures of breeding performance. This monitoring provided data on the breeding performance of known individuals ranging in age from 3 to 26 years. We also explored changes in breeding performance in relation to early life experience (i.e., whether they were released or fledged in the wild). Breeding performance increased with age in early life in a similar manner for both sexes. We found stronger evidence for senescence in breeding performance in males than females. However, late-life female breeding success was associated with early life experience, while male senescent trends were not apparently impacted by conditions experienced during early life. Sexual differences in senescence mean that older males are less likely to breed successfully compared to older females, and this may influence females' mate changes later in life. This difference may suggest a linked sexual difference in survival rates or the possibility of proactive partner change by females in later life in this typically monogamous biparental species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Murgatroyd
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Staffan Roos
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Richard Evans
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Alex Sansom
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - David Sexton
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Robin Reid
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Arjun Amar
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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22
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Büntgen U, Galván JD, Mysterud A, Krusic PJ, Hülsmann L, Jenny H, Senn J, Bollmann K. Horn growth variation and hunting selection of the Alpine ibex. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1069-1079. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2017] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ulf Büntgen
- Department of Geography; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL; Birmensdorf Switzerland
- Global Change Research Centre and Masaryk University; Brno Czech Republic
| | - Juan D. Galván
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL; Birmensdorf Switzerland
| | - Atle Mysterud
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES); Department of Biosciences; University of Oslo; Oslo Norway
| | - Paul J. Krusic
- Department of Geography; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
- Department of Physical Geography; Stockholm University; Stockholm Sweden
| | - Lisa Hülsmann
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL; Birmensdorf Switzerland
- Forest Ecology; Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems; Department of Environmental Sciences; ETH Zurich; Zurich Switzerland
- Department of Theoretical Ecology; University of Regensburg; Regensburg Germany
| | - Hannes Jenny
- Department of Wildlife and Fishery Service Grisons; Chur Switzerland
| | - Josef Senn
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL; Birmensdorf Switzerland
| | - Kurt Bollmann
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL; Birmensdorf Switzerland
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23
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Hamel S, Gaillard JM, Yoccoz NG. Introduction to: Individual heterogeneity - the causes and consequences of a fundamental biological process. OIKOS 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Hamel
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology; UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway; Tromsø Norway
| | | | - Nigel G. Yoccoz
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology; UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway; Tromsø Norway
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24
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Young parents produce offspring with short telomeres: A study in a long-lived bird, the Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys). PLoS One 2018; 13:e0193526. [PMID: 29561856 PMCID: PMC5862442 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In wild vertebrates, young parents are less likely to successfully rear offspring relative to older ones because of lower parental skills ('the constraint hypothesis'), lower parental investment ('the restraint hypothesis') or because of a progressive disappearance of lower-quality individuals at young ages ('the selection hypothesis'). Because it is practically difficult to follow an offspring during its entire life, most studies have only focused on the ability of individuals to breed or produce young, while neglecting the ability of such young to subsequently survive and reproduce. Several proxies of individual quality can be useful to assess the ability of young to survive and recruit into the population. Among them, telomere length measurement appears especially promising because telomere length has been linked to longevity and fitness in captive and wild animals. By sampling 51 chicks reared by known-aged parents, we specifically tested whether parental age was correlated to offspring telomere length and body condition in a long-lived bird species, the Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys). Young Black-browed albatrosses produced chicks with shorter telomere relative to those raised by older ones. Short offspring telomeres could result from poor developmental conditions or heritability of telomere length. Moreover, young parents also had chicks of lower body condition when compared with older parents, although this effect was significant in female offspring only. Overall, our study demonstrates that parental age is correlated to two proxies of offspring fitness (body condition and telomere length), suggesting therefore that older individuals provide better parental cares to their offspring because of increased parental investment (restraint hypothesis), better foraging/parental skills (constraint hypothesis) or because only high-quality individuals reach older ages (selection hypothesis).
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25
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Douhard M, Guillemette S, Festa-Bianchet M, Pelletier F. Drivers and demographic consequences of seasonal mass changes in an alpine ungulate. Ecology 2018; 99:724-734. [PMID: 29336476 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2017] [Revised: 12/01/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
We know little about the determinants and demographic consequences of the marked seasonal mass changes exhibited by many northern and alpine mammals. We analysed 43 years of data on individual winter mass loss (the difference between mass in early June and mass in mid-September the previous year) and summer mass gain (the difference between mass in mid-September and in early June of the same year) in adult bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). We calculated relative seasonal mass change as a proportion of individual body mass at the start of each season. We first examined the effects of weather and population density on relative changes in body mass. We then assessed the consequences of relative seasonal mass changes on reproduction. Mean April-May temperature was the main driver of relative seasonal mass changes: warm springs reduced both relative winter mass loss and summer mass gain of both sexes, likely partially due to a trade-off between growth rate of plants and duration of access to high-quality forage. Because these effects cancelled each other, spring temperature did not influence mass in mid-September. Mothers that lost relatively more mass during the winter had lambs that gained less mass during summer, likely because these females allocated fewer resources to lactation. Winter survival of lambs increased with their summer mass gain. In males, relative mass loss during winter, which includes the rut, did not influence the probability of siring at least one lamb, possibly indicating that greater mating effort did not necessarily translate into greater reproductive success. Our findings improve our understanding of how weather influences recruitment and underline the importance of cryptic mechanisms behind the effects of climate change on demographic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Douhard
- Département de Biologie et Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Simon Guillemette
- Département de Biologie et Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Marco Festa-Bianchet
- Département de Biologie et Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Fanie Pelletier
- Département de Biologie et Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada
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26
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Rebke M, Becker PH, Colchero F. Better the devil you know: common terns stay with a previous partner although pair bond duration does not affect breeding output. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2016.1424. [PMID: 28053057 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2016] [Accepted: 10/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In a monogamous species two partners contribute to the breeding process. We study pair formation as well as the effect of pair bond length and age on breeding performance, incorporating individual heterogeneity, based on a high-quality dataset of a long-lived seabird, the common tern (Sterna hirundo). To handle missing information and model the complicated processes driving reproduction, we use a hierarchical Bayesian model of the steps that lead to the number of fledglings, including processes at the individual and the pair level. The results show that the age of both partners is important for reproductive performance, with similar patterns for both sexes and individual heterogeneity in reproductive performance, but pair bond length is not. The terns are more likely to choose a former partner independent of the previous breeding outcome with that partner, which suggests a tendency to retain the partner chosen at the beginning of the breeding career.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maren Rebke
- Avitec Research GbR, Sachsenring 11, 27711 Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Germany .,Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
| | - Peter H Becker
- Institute of Avian Research 'Vogelwarte Helgoland', Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Fernando Colchero
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark .,Max Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
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27
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Jenouvrier S, Aubry LM, Barbraud C, Weimerskirch H, Caswell H, Childs D. Interacting effects of unobserved heterogeneity and individual stochasticity in the life history of the southern fulmar. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:212-222. [PMID: 28886208 PMCID: PMC5765524 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Individuals are heterogeneous in many ways. Some of these differences are incorporated as individual states (e.g. age, size, breeding status) in population models. However, substantial amounts of heterogeneity may remain unaccounted for, due to unmeasurable genetic, maternal or environmental factors. Such unobserved heterogeneity (UH) affects the behaviour of heterogeneous cohorts via intra-cohort selection and contributes to inter-individual variance in demographic outcomes such as longevity and lifetime reproduction. Variance is also produced by individual stochasticity, due to random events in the life cycle of wild organisms, yet no study thus far has attempted to decompose the variance in demographic outcomes into contributions from UH and individual stochasticity for an animal population in the wild. We developed a stage-classified matrix population model for the southern fulmar breeding on Ile des Pétrels, Antarctica. We applied multievent, multistate mark-recapture methods to estimate a finite mixture model accounting for UH in all vital rates and Markov chain methods to calculate demographic outcomes. Finally, we partitioned the variance in demographic outcomes into contributions from UH and individual stochasticity. We identify three UH groups, differing substantially in longevity, lifetime reproductive output, age at first reproduction and in the proportion of the life spent in each reproductive state. -14% of individuals at fledging have a delayed but high probability of recruitment and extended reproductive life span. -67% of individuals are less likely to reach adulthood, recruit late and skip breeding often but have the highest adult survival rate. -19% of individuals recruit early and attempt to breed often. They are likely to raise their offspring successfully, but experience a relatively short life span. Unobserved heterogeneity only explains a small fraction of the variances in longevity (5.9%), age at first reproduction (3.7%) and lifetime reproduction (22%). UH can affect the entire life cycle, including survival, development and reproductive rates, with consequences over the lifetime of individuals and impacts on cohort dynamics. The respective role of UH vs. individual stochasticity varies greatly among demographic outcomes. We discuss the implication of our finding for the gradient of life-history strategies observed among species and argue that individual differences should be accounted for in demographic studies of wild populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stéphanie Jenouvrier
- Biology DepartmentWoods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionWoods HoleMAUSA
- Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRSUniv La RochelleVilliers en BoisFrance
| | - Lise M. Aubry
- Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology DepartmentColorado State UniversityFort CollinsCOUSA
| | - Christophe Barbraud
- Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRSUniv La RochelleVilliers en BoisFrance
| | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRSUniv La RochelleVilliers en BoisFrance
| | - Hal Caswell
- Biology DepartmentWoods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionWoods HoleMAUSA
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
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28
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Hamel S, Gaillard JM, Douhard M, Festa-Bianchet M, Pelletier F, Yoccoz NG. Quantifying individual heterogeneity and its influence on life-history trajectories: different methods for different questions and contexts. OIKOS 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.04725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Hamel
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology; Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT the Arctic Univ. of Norway; NO-9037 Tromsø Norway
| | - Jean-Michel Gaillard
- CNRS, UMR 5558 Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Univ. de Lyon; Villeurbanne France
| | - Mathieu Douhard
- Dépt de biologie and Centre d'études Nordiques; Univ. de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke; Québec Canada
| | - Marco Festa-Bianchet
- Dépt de biologie and Centre d'études Nordiques; Univ. de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke; Québec Canada
| | - Fanie Pelletier
- Dépt de biologie and Centre d'études Nordiques; Univ. de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke; Québec Canada
| | - Nigel G. Yoccoz
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology; Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT the Arctic Univ. of Norway; NO-9037 Tromsø Norway
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29
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Froy H, Lewis S, Nussey DH, Wood AG, Phillips RA. Contrasting drivers of reproductive ageing in albatrosses. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:1022-1032. [PMID: 28605018 PMCID: PMC5601251 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2016] [Accepted: 05/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Age-related variation in reproductive performance is ubiquitous in wild vertebrate populations and has important consequences for population and evolutionary dynamics. The ageing trajectory is shaped by both within-individual processes, such as improvement and senescence, and the among-individual effects of selective appearance and disappearance. To date, few studies have compared the role of these different drivers among species or populations. In this study, we use nearly 40 years of longitudinal monitoring data to contrast the within- and among-individual processes contributing to the reproductive ageing patterns in three albatross species (two biennial and one annual breeder) and test whether these can be explained by differences in life histories. Early-life performance in all species increased with age and was predominantly influenced by within-individual improvements. However, reproductive senescence was detected in only two of the species. In the species exhibiting senescent declines, we also detected a terminal improvement in breeding success. This is suggestive of a trade-off between reproduction and survival, which was supported by evidence of selective disappearance of good breeders. We demonstrate that comparisons of closely related species which differ in specific aspects of their life history can shed light on the ecological and evolutionary forces shaping variation in ageing patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Froy
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sue Lewis
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, UK
| | - Daniel H Nussey
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Andrew G Wood
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, UK
| | - Richard A Phillips
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, UK
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30
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Fay R, Barbraud C, Delord K, Weimerskirch H. Paternal but not maternal age influences early-life performance of offspring in a long-lived seabird. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:rspb.2015.2318. [PMID: 27053738 PMCID: PMC4843644 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2015] [Accepted: 03/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Variability in demographic traits between individuals within populations has profound implications for both evolutionary processes and population dynamics. Parental effects as a source of non-genetic inheritance are important processes to consider to understand the causes of individual variation. In iteroparous species, parental age is known to influence strongly reproductive success and offspring quality, but consequences on an offspring fitness component after independence are much less studied. Based on 37 years longitudinal monitoring of a long-lived seabird, the wandering albatross, we investigate delayed effects of parental age on offspring fitness components. We provide evidence that parental age influences offspring performance beyond the age of independence. By distinguishing maternal and paternal age effects, we demonstrate that paternal age, but not maternal age, impacts negatively post-fledging offspring performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémi Fay
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle, Villiers-en-Bois 79360, France
| | - Christophe Barbraud
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle, Villiers-en-Bois 79360, France
| | - Karine Delord
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle, Villiers-en-Bois 79360, France
| | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle, Villiers-en-Bois 79360, France
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31
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Bauch C, Riechert J, Verhulst S, Becker PH. Telomere length reflects reproductive effort indicated by corticosterone levels in a long-lived seabird. Mol Ecol 2016; 25:5785-5794. [PMID: 27696588 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2015] [Revised: 09/13/2016] [Accepted: 09/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Telomere length (TL) is a candidate biomarker of ageing and phenotypic quality, but little is known of the (physiological) causes of TL variation. We previously showed that individual common terns Sterna hirundo with high reproductive success had short telomeres independent of age, and this pattern was particularly strong in the longer telomeres of the within-individual TL distribution. To test whether this relation can be attributed to effects of reproductive effort, we investigated baseline corticosterone in relation to reproductive success (number of fledglings) and TL. In this context, we assume that variation in baseline corticosterone can be interpreted as index of energy expenditure and allostatic load. Males with higher corticosterone levels during incubation, compared between and within individuals, achieved higher reproductive success and had shorter telomeres. The effect on telomeres was more pronounced in corticosterone measured later in incubation and in the longer telomeres of the within-individual TL distribution. Female corticosterone level during incubation was neither related to reproductive success nor to TL. That we observed these effects only in males mirrors different parental roles during reproduction in the common tern, where males do most of the chick provisioning. The negative association between reproductive success and TL suggests individual differences in reproductive effort as reflected in, or mediated by, baseline corticosterone. We see this result as a promising step towards unravelling the physiological causes of variation in TL and the costs of reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Bauch
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.,Institute of Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland", An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Juliane Riechert
- Institute of Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland", An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Peter H Becker
- Institute of Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland", An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
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32
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Benthem KJ, Bruijning M, Bonnet T, Jongejans E, Postma E, Ozgul A. Disentangling evolutionary, plastic and demographic processes underlying trait dynamics: a review of four frameworks. Methods Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Koen J. Benthem
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 8057 Zurich Switzerland
| | - Marjolein Bruijning
- Department of Animal Ecology and Physiology Radboud University 6500 GL Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Timothée Bonnet
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 8057 Zurich Switzerland
| | - Eelke Jongejans
- Department of Animal Ecology and Physiology Radboud University 6500 GL Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Erik Postma
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 8057 Zurich Switzerland
| | - Arpat Ozgul
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 8057 Zurich Switzerland
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33
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Mills JA, Teplitsky C, Arroyo B, Charmantier A, Becker PH, Birkhead TR, Bize P, Blumstein DT, Bonenfant C, Boutin S, Bushuev A, Cam E, Cockburn A, Côté SD, Coulson JC, Daunt F, Dingemanse NJ, Doligez B, Drummond H, Espie RHM, Festa-Bianchet M, Frentiu F, Fitzpatrick JW, Furness RW, Garant D, Gauthier G, Grant PR, Griesser M, Gustafsson L, Hansson B, Harris MP, Jiguet F, Kjellander P, Korpimäki E, Krebs CJ, Lens L, Linnell JDC, Low M, McAdam A, Margalida A, Merilä J, Møller AP, Nakagawa S, Nilsson JÅ, Nisbet ICT, van Noordwijk AJ, Oro D, Pärt T, Pelletier F, Potti J, Pujol B, Réale D, Rockwell RF, Ropert-Coudert Y, Roulin A, Sedinger JS, Swenson JE, Thébaud C, Visser ME, Wanless S, Westneat DF, Wilson AJ, Zedrosser A. Archiving Primary Data: Solutions for Long-Term Studies. Trends Ecol Evol 2016; 30:581-589. [PMID: 26411615 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2015] [Revised: 07/14/2015] [Accepted: 07/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The recent trend for journals to require open access to primary data included in publications has been embraced by many biologists, but has caused apprehension amongst researchers engaged in long-term ecological and evolutionary studies. A worldwide survey of 73 principal investigators (Pls) with long-term studies revealed positive attitudes towards sharing data with the agreement or involvement of the PI, and 93% of PIs have historically shared data. Only 8% were in favor of uncontrolled, open access to primary data while 63% expressed serious concern. We present here their viewpoint on an issue that can have non-trivial scientific consequences. We discuss potential costs of public data archiving and provide possible solutions to meet the needs of journals and researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Céline Teplitsky
- Département Ecologie et Gestion de la Biodiversité, UMR 7204 CNRS/MNHN/UPMC, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.
| | - Beatriz Arroyo
- Instituto de Investigacion en Recursos Cinegeticos (IREC) (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13005 Ciudad, Real, Spain
| | - Anne Charmantier
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175, Campus CNRS, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier CEDEX 5, France
| | - Peter H Becker
- Institute of Avian Research, 'Vogelwarte Helgoland', An der Vogelwarte 21 D26386 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Tim R Birkhead
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Pierre Bize
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Daniel T Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| | - Christophe Bonenfant
- CNRS,Université Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, UMR 5558, Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Évolutive, 43 boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne CEDEX, France
| | - Stan Boutin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Andrey Bushuev
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1/12, 119234 Moscow, Russia
| | - Emmanuelle Cam
- UMR 5174 EDB Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique, CNRS, ENFA, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse CEDEX 9, France
| | - Andrew Cockburn
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Steeve D Côté
- Département de Biologie and Centre d'Etudes Nordiques, Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
| | | | - Francis Daunt
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, EH26 0QB UK
| | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany; Evolutionary Ecology of Variation Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Blandine Doligez
- CNRS,Université Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, UMR 5558, Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Évolutive, 43 boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne CEDEX, France
| | - Hugh Drummond
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70-275, México DF 04510, México
| | - Richard H M Espie
- Technical Resource Branch, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, 3211 Albert Street, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 5W6, Canada
| | - Marco Festa-Bianchet
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, Québec J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Francesca Frentiu
- School of Biomedical Sciences and Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059 Australia
| | - John W Fitzpatrick
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Robert W Furness
- Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Dany Garant
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, Québec J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Gilles Gauthier
- Département de Biologie and Centre d'Etudes Nordiques, Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Peter R Grant
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1003, USA
| | - Michael Griesser
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Lars Gustafsson
- Department of Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Bengt Hansson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - Michael P Harris
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, EH26 0QB UK
| | - Frédéric Jiguet
- CESCO, UMR7204 Sorbonne Universités-MNHN-CNRS-UPMC, CP51, 55 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Petter Kjellander
- Grimso Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) 73091, Riddarhyttan, Sweden
| | - Erkki Korpimäki
- Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
| | - Charles J Krebs
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - John D C Linnell
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, PO Box 5685 Sluppen, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Matthew Low
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Andrew McAdam
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Antoni Margalida
- Faculty of Life Sciences and Engineering, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain
| | - Juha Merilä
- Ecological Genetics Research Unit, Department of Biosciences, PO Box 65 (Biocenter 3, Viikinkaari 1), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helskinki, Finland
| | - Anders P Møller
- Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Equipe Diversité, Ecologie et Evolution Microbiennes, Bâtiment 362, 91405 Orsay CEDEX, France
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jan-Åke Nilsson
- Department of Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ian C T Nisbet
- I.C.T. Nisbet and Company, 150 Alder Lane, North Falmouth, MA 02556, USA
| | - Arie J van Noordwijk
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), PO Box 50, 6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Daniel Oro
- Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Miquel Marques 21, 07190 Esporles, Mallorca, Spain
| | - Tomas Pärt
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Fanie Pelletier
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, Québec J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Jaime Potti
- Departamento de Ecologia Evolutiva, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, Av. Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain
| | - Benoit Pujol
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Denis Réale
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec A Montréal, CP 8888 Cuccursale Centre Ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3P8, Canada
| | - Robert F Rockwell
- Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024 USA
| | - Yan Ropert-Coudert
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS UMR7178, 23 rue Becquerel 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Alexandre Roulin
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - James S Sedinger
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada Reno, Reno NV 89512, USA
| | - Jon E Swenson
- Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, PO Box 5003, 1432 Ås, and Norway and Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, PO Box 5685 Sluppen, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Christophe Thébaud
- UMR 5174 EDB Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique, CNRS, ENFA, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse CEDEX 9, France
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), PO Box 50, 6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Sarah Wanless
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, EH26 0QB UK
| | - David F Westneat
- Department of Biology, Center for Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Alastair J Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn TR10 9EZ, UK
| | - Andreas Zedrosser
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Environmental and Health Studies, Telemark University College, 3800 Bø i Telemark, Norway
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34
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Curtsinger JW. Retired flies, hidden plateaus, and the evolution of senescence in Drosophila melanogaster. Evolution 2016; 70:1297-306. [PMID: 27166620 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2016] [Revised: 04/24/2016] [Accepted: 05/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Late-life plateaus in age-specific mortality have been an evolutionary and biodemographic puzzle for decades. Although classic theory on the evolution of senescence predicts late-life walls of death, observations in experimental organisms document the opposite trend: a slowing in the rate of increase of mortality at advanced ages. Here, I analyze published life-history data on individual Drosophila melanogaster females and argue for a fundamental change in our understanding of mortality in this important model system. Mortality plateaus are not, as widely assumed, exclusive to late life, and are not explained by population heterogeneity-they are intimately connected to individual fecundity. Female flies begin adult life in the working stage, a period of active oviposition and low but accelerating mortality. Later they transition to the retired stage, a terminal period characterized by limited fecundity and relatively constant mortality. Because ages of transition differ between flies, age-synchronized cohorts contain a mix of working and retired flies. Early- and mid-life plateaus are obscured by the presence of working flies, but can be detected when cohorts are stratified by retirement status. Stage-specificity may be an important component of Drosophila life-history evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W Curtsinger
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55108.
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35
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Lopez‐Idiaquez D, Vergara P, Fargallo JA, Martinez‐Padilla J. Old males reduce melanin-pigmented traits and increase reproductive outcome under worse environmental conditions in common kestrels. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:1224-35. [PMID: 26941948 PMCID: PMC4761766 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2015] [Accepted: 12/01/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Secondary sexual traits displayed by males and females may have evolved as a signal of individual quality. However, both individual quality and investment on producing or maintaining enhanced sexual traits change as individuals age. At the same time, the costs associated to produce sexual traits might be attenuated or increased if environmental conditions are benign or worse respectively. Accordingly, environmental conditions are expected to shape the association between the expression of sexual traits and their reproductive outcome as individuals age. Nonetheless, little is known about the environmental influence on the co-variation between sexual traits and reproductive outcome throughout the life of individuals. We studied the age-dependency of the number and size of back spots, a melanin-based and sexual trait in adults of common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus). We analysed the age-dependence of reproductive traits and the environmental influence, defined as vole abundance, using a 10-year individual-based dataset. We broke down age-related changes of reproductive traits into within- and between-individual variation to assess their contribution to population-level patterns. Our results showed a within-individual decrease in the number, but not the size, of back spots in males. The size of back spots was positively correlated with food availability in males. Reproductive performance of males increased as they aged, in agreement with the life-history theory but depending of vole abundance. Remarkably, we found that having fewer back spots was positively associated with clutch size only for old individuals under low-food conditions. We suggest that environmental variation may shape the association between the expression of a sexual signal and reproductive outcome. We speculate that the reliability of sexual traits is higher when environmental conditions are poor only for old individuals. Within an evolutionary context, we suggest that the expression of sexual traits might be constrained by environmental conditions at later stages of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Lopez‐Idiaquez
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesMadridJosé Gutiérrez Abascal2. 23006MadridSpain
- Department of EcologyInstituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos – IRECRonda de Toledos/n. 13005Ciudad RealSpain
| | - Pablo Vergara
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesMadridJosé Gutiérrez Abascal2. 23006MadridSpain
| | - Juan Antonio Fargallo
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesMadridJosé Gutiérrez Abascal2. 23006MadridSpain
| | - Jesús Martinez‐Padilla
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesMadridJosé Gutiérrez Abascal2. 23006MadridSpain
- Research Unit of Biodiversity (OU, CSIC, PA)Oviedo University33600MieresSpain
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36
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Fairlie J, Holland R, Pilkington JG, Pemberton JM, Harrington L, Nussey DH. Lifelong leukocyte telomere dynamics and survival in a free-living mammal. Aging Cell 2016; 15:140-8. [PMID: 26521726 PMCID: PMC4717268 DOI: 10.1111/acel.12417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomeres play a fundamental role in the maintenance of genomic integrity at a cellular level, and average leukocyte telomere length (LTL) has been proposed as a biomarker of organismal aging. However, studies tracking LTL across the entire life course of individuals are lacking. Here, we examined lifelong patterns of variation in LTL among four birth cohorts of female Soay sheep (Ovis aries) that were longitudinally monitored and sampled from birth to death. Over the first 4 months of life, there was within‐individual loss of LTL, consistent with findings in the human and primate literature, but there was little evidence of consistent LTL loss associated with age after this point. Overall, we observed only weak evidence of individual consistency in LTL across years and over the entire lifespan: Within‐individual variation was considerable, and birth cohorts differed markedly in their telomere dynamics. Despite the high levels of LTL variation within the lifetimes of individuals, there remained significant associations between LTL and longevity. Detailed analysis of the longitudinal data set showed that this association was driven by improved survival of individuals with longer LTL over the first 2 years of life. There was no evidence that LTL predicted survival in later adulthood. Our data provide the first evidence from a mammal that LTL can predict mortality and lifespan under natural conditions, and also highlight the potentially dynamic nature of LTL within the lifetimes of individuals experiencing a complex and highly variable environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Fairlie
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh EH9 3FL UK
| | - Rebecca Holland
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh EH9 3FL UK
| | - Jill G. Pilkington
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh EH9 3FL UK
| | | | - Lea Harrington
- Institute for Research in Immunology & Cancer; Université de Montréal; Montreal QC Canada H3T 1J4
| | - Daniel H. Nussey
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh EH9 3FL UK
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37
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Lee PC, Fishlock V, Webber CE, Moss CJ. The reproductive advantages of a long life: longevity and senescence in wild female African elephants. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016; 70:337-345. [PMID: 26900212 PMCID: PMC4748003 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-015-2051-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2015] [Revised: 12/03/2015] [Accepted: 12/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Long-lived species such as elephants, whales and primates exhibit extended post-fertile survival compared to species with shorter lifespans but data on age-related fecundity and survival are limited to few species or populations. We assess relationships between longevity, reproductive onset, reproductive rate and age for 834 longitudinally monitored wild female African elephants in Amboseli, Kenya. The mean known age at first reproduction was 13.8 years; only 5 % commenced reproduction by 10 years. Early reproducers (<12.5 years) had higher age-specific fertility rates than did females who commenced reproduction late (15+ years) with no differences in survival between these groups. Age-specific reproductive rates of females dying before 40 years were reduced by comparison to same-aged survivors, illustrating a mortality filter and reproductive advantages of a long life. Overall, 95 % of fertility was completed before 50, and 95 % of mortality experienced by age 65, with a mean life expectancy of 41 years for females who survived to the minimum age at first birth (9 years). Elephant females have a relatively long period (c. 16 years) of viability after 95 % completed fertility, although reproduction does not entirely cease until they are over 65. We found no evidence of increased investment among females aged over 40 in terms of delay to next birth or calf mortality. The presence of a mother reproducing simultaneously with her daughter was associated with higher rates of daughter reproduction suggesting advantages from maternal (and grandmaternal) co-residence during reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phyllis C Lee
- Amboseli Trust for Elephants, P.O. Box 15135, Langata, 00509 Nairobi Kenya ; Behaviour and Evolution Research Group, Psychology, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA UK
| | - Victoria Fishlock
- Amboseli Trust for Elephants, P.O. Box 15135, Langata, 00509 Nairobi Kenya ; Behaviour and Evolution Research Group, Psychology, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA UK
| | - C Elizabeth Webber
- Behaviour and Evolution Research Group, Psychology, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA UK
| | - Cynthia J Moss
- Amboseli Trust for Elephants, P.O. Box 15135, Langata, 00509 Nairobi Kenya
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Hayward AD, Moorad J, Regan CE, Berenos C, Pilkington JG, Pemberton JM, Nussey DH. Asynchrony of senescence among phenotypic traits in a wild mammal population. Exp Gerontol 2015; 71:56-68. [PMID: 26277618 PMCID: PMC4661475 DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2015.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2015] [Revised: 07/14/2015] [Accepted: 08/04/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The degree to which changes in lifespan are coupled to changes in senescence in different physiological systems and phenotypic traits is a central question in biogerontology. It is underpinned by deeper biological questions about whether or not senescence is a synchronised process, or whether levels of synchrony depend on species or environmental context. Understanding how natural selection shapes patterns of synchrony in senescence across physiological systems and phenotypic traits demands the longitudinal study of many phenotypes under natural conditions. Here, we examine the patterns of age-related variation in late adulthood in a wild population of Soay sheep (Ovis aries) that have been the subject of individual-based monitoring for thirty years. We examined twenty different phenotypic traits in both males and females, encompassing vital rates (survival and fecundity), maternal reproductive performance (offspring birth weight, birth date and survival), male rutting behaviour, home range measures, parasite burdens, and body mass. We initially quantified age-related variation in each trait having controlled for annual variation in the environment, among-individual variation and selective disappearance effects. We then standardised our age-specific trait means and tested whether age trajectories could be meaningfully grouped according to sex or the type of trait. Whilst most traits showed age-related declines in later life, we found striking levels of asynchrony both within and between the sexes. Of particular note, female fecundity and reproductive performance declined with age, but male annual reproductive success did not. We also discovered that whilst home range size and quality decline with age in females, home range size increases with age in males. Our findings highlight the complexity of phenotypic ageing under natural conditions and, along with emerging data from other wild populations and laboratory models, suggest that the long-standing hypothesis within evolutionary biology that fitness-related traits should senesce in a synchronous manner is seriously flawed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam D Hayward
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Jacob Moorad
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Charlotte E Regan
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Camillo Berenos
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Jill G Pilkington
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Josephine M Pemberton
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel H Nussey
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
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Abstract
It is widely expected that the quality of offspring will vary with the age of their parents and that this variation should influence animals’ choice of mates. However, theoretical predictions for age effects are contradictory and, to our knowledge, we do not know for any wild animal how the quality of offspring is affected by both parents’ ages across their lifespans, or whether mothers’ and fathers’ ages interact. We tackled this question using long-term data on a highly philopatric, insular population of the blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii). In this species extra-pair paternity is most common in pairs of two young parents or two old parents, implying that these age combinations might prejudice offspring quality. Analysis of the viability of 3,361 offspring of parents up to 21 years old revealed that fledglings with two young parents or two old parents were least likely to become breeders, whereas fledglings with one young parent and one old parent were most likely to do so. For young parents of either sex, offspring viability increased with age of the other parent; for very old parents, it decreased. These effects could be mediated by parents flexibly modifying their investment in offspring in response to their own and their partners´ ages, but evidence for this was lacking. In 5,343 breeding attempts, although mothers’ and fathers’ ages independently affected four heavily care-dependent breeding traits at the clutch and nestling stages, their interaction did not affect any trait. The effects of parental age combinations on viability could also be mediated by genes: fledglings with one young parent and one old parent could benefit from greater heterozygosity or better genes.
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40
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Bouwhuis S, Vedder O, Becker PH. Sex-specific pathways of parental age effects on offspring lifetime reproductive success in a long-lived seabird. Evolution 2015; 69:1760-71. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2014] [Accepted: 05/22/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Bouwhuis
- Institute of Avian Research; An der Vogelwarte 21; D-26386 Wilhelmshaven Germany
| | - Oscar Vedder
- Institute of Avian Research; An der Vogelwarte 21; D-26386 Wilhelmshaven Germany
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences; University of Groningen; PO Box 11103 9700 CC Groningen the Netherlands
| | - Peter H. Becker
- Institute of Avian Research; An der Vogelwarte 21; D-26386 Wilhelmshaven Germany
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41
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Becker PH. In search of the gap: temporal and spatial dynamics of settling in natal common tern recruits. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-015-1954-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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42
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Szostek KL, Becker PH. Survival and local recruitment are driven by environmental carry-over effects from the wintering area in a migratory seabird. Oecologia 2015; 178:643-57. [PMID: 25864177 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3298-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2014] [Accepted: 03/15/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
We estimated annual apparent survival rates, as well as local recruitment rates in different age groups and for different breeding status in the common tern Sterna hirundo using mark-recapture analysis on a long-term individual-based dataset from a breeding colony in Germany. Strong inter-annual variability in survival rates became apparent, especially in prospectors. Local recruitment also varied strongly between years and age groups. To explain these fluctuations, we linked survival and recruitment estimates to several environmental covariates expected to be limiting during the wintering period and migration, including the global climate indices of North Atlantic Oscillation and Southern Oscillation, fish abundance indices, and marine primary productivity in the West African wintering area. Contrary to expectations, global indices did not seem to be linked strongly to vital rates. Results showed that primary productivity had the strongest effect on annual survival, especially in young and inexperienced individuals. Primary productivity in the wintering area was also strongly associated with the probability of recruitment in the following breeding season, indicating that conditions during winter can have carry-over effects on the life cycle of individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Lesley Szostek
- Institute of Avian Research, Vogelwarte Helgoland, An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany,
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43
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Froy H, Lewis S, Catry P, Bishop CM, Forster IP, Fukuda A, Higuchi H, Phalan B, Xavier JC, Nussey DH, Phillips RA. Age-related variation in foraging behaviour in the wandering albatross at South Georgia: no evidence for senescence. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0116415. [PMID: 25574995 PMCID: PMC4289070 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2014] [Accepted: 12/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Age-related variation in demographic rates is now widely documented in wild vertebrate systems, and has significant consequences for population and evolutionary dynamics. However, the mechanisms underpinning such variation, particularly in later life, are less well understood. Foraging efficiency is a key determinant of fitness, with implications for individual life history trade-offs. A variety of faculties known to decline in old age, such as muscular function and visual acuity, are likely to influence foraging performance. We examine age-related variation in the foraging behaviour of a long-lived, wide-ranging oceanic seabird, the wandering albatross Diomedea exulans. Using miniaturised tracking technologies, we compared foraging trip characteristics of birds breeding at Bird Island, South Georgia. Based on movement and immersion data collected during the incubation phase of a single breeding season, and from extensive tracking data collected in previous years from different stages of the breeding cycle, we found limited evidence for age-related variation in commonly reported trip parameters, and failed to detect signs of senescent decline. Our results contrast with the limited number of past studies that have examined foraging behaviour in later life, since these have documented changes in performance consistent with senescence. This highlights the importance of studies across different wild animal populations to gain a broader perspective on the processes driving variation in ageing rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Froy
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Sue Lewis
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Paulo Catry
- Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Charles M. Bishop
- School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, United Kingdom
| | - Isaac P. Forster
- Australian Antarctic Division, University of Tasmania, Kingston, Australia
| | | | | | - Ben Phalan
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jose C. Xavier
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portuga
| | - Daniel H. Nussey
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Richard A. Phillips
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Kervinen M, Lebigre C, Alatalo RV, Siitari H, Soulsbury CD. Life-History Differences in Age-Dependent Expressions of Multiple Ornaments and Behaviors in a Lekking Bird. Am Nat 2015; 185:13-27. [DOI: 10.1086/679012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Zhang H, Vedder O, Becker PH, Bouwhuis S. Contrasting between‐ and within‐individual trait effects on mortality risk in a long‐lived seabird. Ecology 2015; 96:71-9. [DOI: 10.1890/14-0064.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- He Zhang
- Institute of Avian Research “Vogelwarte Helgoland,” An der Vogelwarte 21, D-26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Oscar Vedder
- Institute of Avian Research “Vogelwarte Helgoland,” An der Vogelwarte 21, D-26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Peter H. Becker
- Institute of Avian Research “Vogelwarte Helgoland,” An der Vogelwarte 21, D-26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Sandra Bouwhuis
- Institute of Avian Research “Vogelwarte Helgoland,” An der Vogelwarte 21, D-26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
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46
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Zhang H, Vedder O, Becker PH, Bouwhuis S. Age-dependent trait variation: the relative contribution of within-individual change, selective appearance and disappearance in a long-lived seabird. J Anim Ecol 2014; 84:797-807. [PMID: 25399484 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2014] [Accepted: 11/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Within populations, the expression of phenotypic traits typically varies with age. Such age-dependent trait variation can be caused by within-individual change (improvement, senescence, terminal effects) and/or selective (dis)appearance of certain phenotypes among older age classes. In this study, we applied two methods (decomposition and mixed modelling) to attribute age-dependent variation in seven phenological and reproductive traits to within-individual change and selective (dis)appearance, in a long-lived seabird, the common tern (Sterna hirundo). At the population level, all traits, except the probability to breed, improved with age (i.e. phenology advanced and reproductive output increased). Both methods identified within-individual change as the main responsible process, and, within individuals, performance improved until age 6-13, before levelling off. In contrast, within individuals, breeding probability decreased to age 10, then levelled off. Effects of selective appearance and disappearance were small, but showed that longer-lived individuals had a higher breeding probability and bred earlier and that younger recruits performed better throughout life than older recruits in terms of both phenology and reproductive performance. In the year prior to death, individuals advanced reproduction, suggesting terminal investment. The decomposition method attributed more age-dependent trait variation to selective disappearance than the mixed-modelling method: 14-36% versus 0-8%, respectively, which we identify to be due to covariance between rates of within-individual change and selective (dis)appearance leading to biased results from the decomposition method. We conclude that the decomposition method is ideal for visualizing processes underlying population change in performance from one age class to the next, but that a mixed-modelling method is required to investigate the significance and relative contribution of age effects. Considerable variation in the contribution of the different age processes between the seven phenotypic traits studied, as well as notable differences between species in patterns of age-dependent trait expression, calls for better predictions regarding optimal allocation strategies with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- He Zhang
- Institute of Avian Research 'Vogelwarte Helgoland', An der Vogelwarte 21, Wilhelmshaven, D-26386, Germany
| | - Oscar Vedder
- Institute of Avian Research 'Vogelwarte Helgoland', An der Vogelwarte 21, Wilhelmshaven, D-26386, Germany
| | - Peter H Becker
- Institute of Avian Research 'Vogelwarte Helgoland', An der Vogelwarte 21, Wilhelmshaven, D-26386, Germany
| | - Sandra Bouwhuis
- Institute of Avian Research 'Vogelwarte Helgoland', An der Vogelwarte 21, Wilhelmshaven, D-26386, Germany
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47
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Davison R, Boggs CL, Baudisch A. Resource allocation as a driver of senescence: Life history tradeoffs produce age patterns of mortality. J Theor Biol 2014; 360:251-262. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2014.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2013] [Revised: 05/24/2014] [Accepted: 07/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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48
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49
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Riechert J, Becker PH, Chastel O. Predicting reproductive success from hormone concentrations in the common tern (Sterna hirundo) while considering food abundance. Oecologia 2014; 176:715-27. [PMID: 25168005 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-3040-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2013] [Accepted: 08/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In birds, reproductive success is mainly a function of skill or environmental conditions, but it can also be linked to hormone concentrations due to their effect on behavior and individual decisions made during reproduction. For example, a high prolactin concentration is required to express parental behaviors such as incubation or guarding and feeding the young. Corticosterone level, on the other hand, is related to energy allocation or stress and foraging or provisioning effort. In this study, we measured individual baseline prolactin and corticosterone between 2006 and 2012 in breeding common terns (Sterna hirundo) using blood-sucking bugs. Reproductive parameters as well as prey abundance on a local and a wider scale were also determined during this period. Baseline prolactin and corticosterone varied significantly between years, as did breeding success. At the individual level, prolactin was positively and corticosterone was negatively linked to herring and sprat abundance. At the population level, we also found a negative link between corticosterone and prey abundance, probably reflecting overall foraging conditions. High prolactin during incubation was mainly predictive of increased hatching success, potentially by supporting more constant incubation and nest-guarding behavior. It was also positively linked to a lesser extent with fledging success, which could indicate a high feeding rate of young. Corticosterone concentration was positively related to high breeding success, which may be due to increased foraging activity and feeding of young. In general, our study shows that baseline prolactin and corticosterone levels during incubation can predict reproductive success, despite the presence of an interval between sampling and hatching or fledging of young.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Riechert
- Institute of Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland", An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany,
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50
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Zhang H, Rebke M, Becker PH, Bouwhuis S. Fitness prospects: effects of age, sex and recruitment age on reproductive value in a long-lived seabird. J Anim Ecol 2014; 84:199-207. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2013] [Accepted: 06/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- He Zhang
- Institute of Avian Research ‘Vogelwarte Helgoland’; An der Vogelwarte 21 D-26386 Wilhelmshaven Germany
| | - Maren Rebke
- Avitec Research GbR; Sachsenring 11 D-27711 Osterholz-Scharmbeck Germany
| | - Peter H. Becker
- Institute of Avian Research ‘Vogelwarte Helgoland’; An der Vogelwarte 21 D-26386 Wilhelmshaven Germany
| | - Sandra Bouwhuis
- Institute of Avian Research ‘Vogelwarte Helgoland’; An der Vogelwarte 21 D-26386 Wilhelmshaven Germany
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