Intraseasonal Variation in Reproductive Effort: Young Males Finish Last
Intraseasonal Variation in Reproductive Effort: Young Males Finish Last
复制标题
繁殖努力的季节内变化：年轻雄性最后完成
DOI：
--
复制
发表时间：
2012
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
S. Richards
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
T. H. Mason;P. Stephens;S. G. Willis;R. Chirichella;M. Apollonio;S. Richards
在许多物种的雌性中都观察到了与年龄相关的生殖时间；年长的雌性通常在季节较早繁殖，因此繁殖成功率较高。然而，迄今为止，有关雄性繁殖努力（RE）季节内变化的证据相对较弱。预计雄性会根据雌性接受性的季节内变化以及与其他雄性的竞争来安排 RE 时间。年轻的雄性通常体型较小，经验较少，可能会从季节后期的繁殖中受益，因为此时雄性之间的竞争不那么激烈。使用高山羚羊的长期数据集，我们试图评估以下假设：年轻雄性在繁殖季节后期分配最高的 RE，而此时年长雄性 RE 已大幅下降。我们的结果支持这一假设，即 RE 的季节内变化可能是男性和女性的适应性生活史特征。
Age-dependent reproductive timing has been observed in females of a number of species; older females often breed earlier in the season and experience higher reproductive success as a result. However, to date, evidence for within-season variation in reproductive effort (RE) for males has been relatively weak. Males are expected to time RE in light of intraseasonal variations in the availability of receptive females and competition with other males. Young males, which are typically smaller and less experienced, might benefit from breeding later in the season, when male-male competition is less intense. Using a long-term data set of Alpine chamois Rupicapra rupicapra, we sought to evaluate the hypothesis that younger males allocate highest RE late in the breeding season, at a time when older male RE has decreased substantially. Our results support this hypothesis, which suggests that intraseasonal variation in RE may be an adaptive life-history trait for males as well as females.