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1.
    
The trade‐off between reproductive investment in early versus late life is central to life‐history theory. Despite abundant empirical evidence supporting different versions of this trade‐off, the specific trade‐off between age at first reproduction (AFR) and age at last reproduction (ALR) has received little attention, especially in long‐lived species with a pronounced reproductive senescence such as humans. Using genealogical data for a 19th‐century Swiss village, we (i) quantify natural selection acting on reproductive timing, (ii) estimate the underlying additive genetic (co)variances, and (iii) use these to predict evolutionary responses. Selection gradients were computed using multiple linear regression, and the additive genetic variance–covariance matrix was estimated using a restricted maximum‐likelihood animal model. We found strong selection for both an early AFR and a late ALR, which resulted from selection for an earlier and longer reproductive period (RP, i.e., ALR‐AFR). Furthermore, postponing AFR shortened RP in both sexes, but twice as much in women. Finally, AFR and ALR were strongly and positively genetically correlated, which led to a considerable reduction in the predicted responses to selection, or even rendered them maladaptive. These results provide evidence for strong genetic constraints underlying reproductive timing in humans, which may have contributed to the evolution of menopause.  相似文献   

2.
    
Prenatal investment directly determines the size at birth and fetus growth rate, which affects neonatal survival and growth and potentially affects maternal fitness. This study explored the associated prenatal life history traits of cetaceans. Using multivariate analysis and ANCOVA, baleen whales and toothed cetaceans had distinct energy patterns, with two exceptions including beaked whales and eusocial cetaceans. Baleen whales are characterized by fast prenatal growth, which suggests high prenatal energetics, and utilize the capital breeder tactic. Toothed cetaceans, except for beaked whales, utilize income breeder energetics, which yields relatively slow prenatal growth. However, eusocial cetaceans have especially slow prenatal growth, suggesting very low prenatal energetic effort with social compensation. Although beaked whales are behaviorally income breeders, both discriminant analysis and ANCOVA showed that they are energetically similar to baleen whales, utilizing capital energetics. ANCOVA further revealed that beaked whales have comparatively large calf size, suggesting high prenatal investment. Because all cetaceans wean their calves at comparable size, high prenatal investment may further suggest reduced cost of lactation, which may be behaviorally and energetically adaptive to their specific deep‐dive‐feeding niche.  相似文献   

3.
    
Disentangling the relationship between age and reproduction is central to understand life‐history evolution, and recent evidence shows that considering condition‐dependent mortality is a crucial piece of this puzzle. For example, nonrandom mortality of ‘low‐condition’ individuals can lead to an increase in average lifespan. However, selective disappearance of such low‐condition individuals may also affect reproductive senescence at the population level due to trade‐offs between physiological functions related to survival/lifespan and the maintenance of reproductive functions. Here, we address the idea that condition‐dependent extrinsic mortality (i.e. simulated predation) may increase the age‐related decline in male reproductive success and with it the potential for sexual conflict, by comparing reproductive ageing in Drosophila melanogaster male/female cohorts exposed (or not) to condition‐dependent simulated predation across time. Although female reproductive senescence was not affected by predation, male reproductive senescence was considerably higher under predation, due mainly to an accelerated decline in offspring viability of ‘surviving’ males with age. This sex‐specific effect suggests that condition‐dependent extrinsic mortality can exacerbate survival‐reproduction trade‐offs in males, which are typically under stronger condition‐dependent selection than females. Interestingly, condition‐dependent extrinsic mortality did not affect mating success, hinting that accelerated reproductive senescence is due to a decrease in male post‐copulatory fitness components. Our results support the recent proposal that male ageing can be an important source of sexual conflict, further suggesting this effect could be exacerbated under more natural conditions.  相似文献   

4.
    
To understand the evolutionary forces that have shaped primate lactation strategies, it is important to understand the proximate mechanisms of milk synthesis and their ecological and phylogenetic contexts. The lactation strategy of a species has four interrelated dimensions: the frequency and duration of nursing bouts, the period of lactation until weaning, the number and sex ratio of infants that a mother rears simultaneously, and the composition and yield of the milk that mothers synthesize. Milk synthesis, arguably the most physiologically costly component of rearing infants, remains the least studied. Energy transfer becomes energetically less efficient, transitioning from placental support to milk synthesis just as the energy requirements for infant growth, development, and behavioral activity substantially increase. Here we review primate lactation biology and milk synthesis, integrating studies from anthropology, biology, nutrition, animal science, immunology, and biochemistry, to identify the derived and ancestral features of primate milks and enhance our understanding of primate life history.  相似文献   

5.
  总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3  
Ecological processes are central to the formation of new species when barriers to gene flow (reproductive isolation) evolve between populations as a result of ecologically‐based divergent selection. Although laboratory and field studies provide evidence that ‘ecological speciation’ can occur, our understanding of the details of the process is incomplete. Here we review ecological speciation by considering its constituent components: an ecological source of divergent selection, a form of reproductive isolation, and a genetic mechanism linking the two. Sources of divergent selection include differences in environment or niche, certain forms of sexual selection, and the ecological interaction of populations. We explore the evidence for the contribution of each to ecological speciation. Forms of reproductive isolation are diverse and we discuss the likelihood that each may be involved in ecological speciation. Divergent selection on genes affecting ecological traits can be transmitted directly (via pleiotropy) or indirectly (via linkage disequilibrium) to genes causing reproductive isolation and we explore the consequences of both. Along with these components, we also discuss the geography and the genetic basis of ecological speciation. Throughout, we provide examples from nature, critically evaluate their quality, and highlight areas where more work is required.  相似文献   

6.
    
Females of many organisms mate more than once and with more than one male, suggesting that polyandry confers some advantage to the female or her offspring. However, variation in maternal investment in response to mate choice and mate number can confound efforts to determine if there are benefits of polyandry. Access to multiple mates could increase maternal investment in offspring via a number of different mechanisms. Few studies have determined if investment is influenced by mate choice and number, and data are particularly lacking for marine invertebrates. This study was designed to determine if maternal investment and offspring size increase with access to increasing numbers of mates in the protandrous intertidal slipper snail Crepidula cf. marginalis. Virgin female slipper limpets were exposed to one, three, or five potential mates and their fecundity, egg size, and hatchling size were measured for multiple clutches. Treatment had a significant effect on fecundity, with fecundity increasing with the number of potential mates. Treatment did not have an effect on the size of eggs or hatchlings, on the variation in egg size or hatchling size within broods, or on the frequency of oviposition. Treatment did alter the variation in average offspring size among females, but not in the way predicted by theory. The main result, that access to multiple mates does not have an effect on per offspring maternal investment, makes C. cf. marginalis an ideal candidate to study the effects of polyandry on offspring fitness without having to take into account confounding effects of variation in maternal investment.  相似文献   

7.
    
Initial offspring size is a fundamental component of absolute growth rate, where large offspring will reach a given adult body size faster than smaller offspring. Yet, our knowledge regarding the coevolution between offspring and adult size is limited. In time‐constrained environments, organisms need to reproduce at a high rate and reach a reproductive size quickly. To rapidly attain a large adult body size, we hypothesize that, in seasonal habitats, large species are bound to having a large initial size, and consequently, the evolution of egg size will be tightly matched to that of body size, compared to less time‐limited systems. We tested this hypothesis in killifishes, and found a significantly steeper allometric relationship between egg and body sizes in annual, compared to nonannual species. We also found higher rates of evolution of egg and body size in annual compared to nonannual species. Our results suggest that time‐constrained environments impose strong selection on rapidly reaching a species‐specific body size, and reproduce at a high rate, which in turn imposes constraints on the evolution of egg sizes. In combination, these distinct selection pressures result in different relationships between egg and body size among species in time‐constrained versus permanent habitats.  相似文献   

8.
Summary The life-history strategies of a selection of the most common European freshwater leeches (Euhirudinea) are described. On the basis of this information and results from the literature, the probable phylogenetic development of parental care in the Euhirudinea is reconstructed. The jawless worm leeches (Erpobdellidae) secrete a protective cocoon, cement it to the substrate and sometimes ventilate it before they leave the egg capsules. This behaviour represents the most ancient state in leech evolution. Members of the jawed Hirudinidae deposit desiccation-resistant cocoons on land. All known Glossiphoniidae (leeches equipped with a proboscis) have evolved the habit of brooding the eggs and young. These unique parental care patterns within one family of extant freshwater leeches can be arranged schematically in a series of increasing complexity which may reflect the evolution of brooding behaviour. Glossiphoniid leeches of the genus Helobdella, which have a world-wide distribution, display the most highly developed parental care system: they not only protect but also feed the young they carry. This results in the young being much larger when they leave the parent and, presumably, in higher subsequent survival. Isolated cocoons of all aquatic leeches are rapidly destroyed by predators, primarily water snails. In erpobdellids (but not glossiphoniids, which protect the cocoons) a large portion of the cocoons are lost due to predatory attacks. We conclude that the major selective pressure driving the evolution of parental care in leeches may have been predation on eggs and juvenile stages. Dedicated to Professor Dr. G. Osche on the occasion of his 75th birthday  相似文献   

9.
    
Offspring size is one of the most important life‐history traits with consequences for both the ecology and evolution of most organisms. Surprisingly, formal estimates of selection on offspring size are rare, and the degree to which selection (particularly nonlinear selection) varies among environments remains poorly explored. We estimate linear and nonlinear selection on offspring size, module size, and senescence rate for a sessile marine invertebrate in the field under three different intensities of interspecific competition. The intensity of competition strongly modified the strength and form of selection acting on offspring size. We found evidence for differences in nonlinear selection across the three environments. Our results suggest that the fitness returns of a given offspring size depend simultaneously on their environmental context, and on the context of other offspring traits. Offspring size effects can be more pervasive with regards to their influence on the fitness returns of other traits than previously recognized, and we suggest that the evolution of offspring size cannot be understood in isolation from other traits. Overall, variability in the form and strength of selection on offspring size in nature may reduce the efficacy of selection on offspring size and maintain variation in this trait.  相似文献   

10.
    
Increased dispersal propensity often evolves on expanding range edges due to the Olympic Village effect, which involves the fastest and fittest finding themselves together in the same place at the same time, mating, and giving rise to like individuals. But what happens after the range's leading edge has passed and the games are over? Although empirical studies indicate that dispersal propensity attenuates following range expansion, hypotheses about the mechanisms driving this attenuation have not been clearly articulated or tested. Here, we used a simple model of the spatiotemporal dynamics of two phenotypes, one fast and the other slow, to propose that dispersal attenuation beyond preexpansion levels is only possible in the presence of trade‐offs between dispersal and life‐history traits. The Olympic Village effect ensures that fast dispersers preempt locations far from the range's previous limits. When trade‐offs are absent, this preemptive spatial advantage has a lasting impact, with highly dispersive individuals attaining equilibrium frequencies that are strictly higher than their introduction frequencies. When trade‐offs are present, dispersal propensity decays rapidly at all locations. Our model's results about the postcolonization trajectory of dispersal evolution are clear and, in principle, should be observable in field studies. We conclude that empirical observations of postcolonization dispersal attenuation offer a novel way to detect the existence of otherwise elusive trade‐offs between dispersal and life‐history traits.  相似文献   

11.
    
Aim Variation of life history traits along spatial gradients is poorly understood in invasive species and particularly in freshwater fish. We aimed to examine life history variation in a highly invasive fish (Gambusia holbrooki) along latitudinal and upstream–downstream river gradients and to assess the effects of age on this variation. We hypothesized similar responses in populations inhabiting environments more favourable to this species (lower latitudes and lower reaches of rivers). Location European rivers from southern Spain to southern France. Methods We sampled mosquitofish from the lowest reaches of ten river basins along 6° of latitude in the Mediterranean region and seven sites along the upstream–downstream gradient in three of the rivers. We examined abundance, population structure, size‐at‐age and other life history traits along these gradients. Results As hypothesized, lower reaches and lower latitudes both resulted in higher reproductive effort and lower body condition of mosquitofish. However, these patterns explained low per cent variation, were nonlinear and strongly depended on fish age. Independently of fish size, age groups differed in reproductive effort, in the gonadal weight–size relationship and its variation along spatial gradients. Mean size‐at‐age (or overall body size) did not vary with latitude (so the intra‐specific version of Bergmann’s rule or its converse does not apply) and in contrast increased upstream in rivers. Main conclusions Our findings suggest that for life history traits of freshwater organisms, river longitudinal variation plays a role as important as climate, with often differential effects. Our results also illustrate the poor knowledge of spatial variation of many life history traits, which precludes the understanding and prediction of biological invasions in a rapidly changing world.  相似文献   

12.
Life-history theory predicts that older females will increase reproductive effort through increased fecundity. Unless offspring survival is density dependent or female size constrains offspring size, theory does not predict variation in offspring size. However, empirical data suggest that females of differing age or condition produce offspring of different sizes. We used a dynamic state-variable model to determine when variable offspring sizes can be explained by an interaction between female age, female state and survival costs of reproduction. We found that when costs depend on fecundity, young females with surplus state increase offspring size and reduce number to minimize fitness penalties. When costs depend on total reproductive effort, only older females increase offspring size. Young females produce small offspring, because decreasing offspring size is less expensive than number, as fitness from offspring investment is nonlinear. Finally, allocation patterns are relatively stable when older females are better at acquiring food and are therefore in better condition. Our approach revealed an interaction between female state, age and survival costs, providing a novel explanation for observed variation in reproductive traits.  相似文献   

13.
14.
    
Organisms have limited resources available to invest in reproduction, causing a trade‐off between the number and size of offspring. One consequence of this trade‐off is the evolution of disparate egg sizes and, by extension, developmental modes. In particular, echinoid echinoderms (sea urchins and sand dollars) have been widely used to experimentally manipulate how changes in egg size affect development. Here, we test the generality of the echinoid results by (a) using laser ablations of blastomeres to experimentally reduce embryo energy in the asteroid echinoderms (sea stars), Pisaster ochraceus and Asterias forbesi and (b) comparing naturally produced, variably sized eggs (1.7‐fold volume difference between large and small eggs) in A. forbesi. In P. ochraceus and A. forbesi, there were no significant differences between juveniles from both experimentally reduced embryos and naturally produced eggs of variable size. However, in both embryo reduction and egg size variation experiments, simultaneous reductions in larval food had a significant and large effect on larval and juvenile development. These results indicate that (a) food levels are more important than embryo energy or egg size in determining larval and juvenile quality in sea stars and (b) the relative importance of embryo energy or egg size to fundamental life history parameters (time to and size at metamorphosis) does not appear to be consistent within echinoderms.  相似文献   

15.
    
The degree to which females allocate resources between current reproduction, future fecundity and survival is a central theme in life history theory. We investigated two hypotheses proposed to explain patterns of reproductive investment, terminal investment and senescence, by examining the effects of maternal traits (age and maternal mass) on annual fecundity in female northern brown bandicoots, Isoodon macrourus (Marsupialia: Peramelidae). We found that annual fecundity in females declined in their final year of reproduction, indicating reproductive senescence. Maternal mass significantly influenced the rate of senescence and, in turn, a female's lifetime reproductive output. Mass had little effect on fecundity in 1st and 2nd year females, but a positive relationship with fecundity in 3rd year females. This meant that heavy, 3rd year females did not suffer the decline in fecundity shown in light 3rd year females. For 1st year females, mass and leg length increased between their first and second reproductive seasons, indicating a temporary shift, from the allocation of resources to reproduction, to increasing condition or structural size post their first breeding event. There were no net changes to body mass in subsequent years. We suggest that this year of post‐reproductive growth has important consequences for senescent effects on reproduction. Overall, results provided support for the effects of senescence on annual fecundity. Our findings were not consistent with the terminal investment hypothesis; reproductive output did not increase in females' final reproductive season despite a rapid decline in survival. However, this notion cannot be entirely dismissed; other measures of reproductive performance not examined here (e.g. offspring mass) may have provided an indication that females did increase their effort at the end of their lifespan. This study highlights the difficulty of measuring reproductive costs and the importance of understanding the combined effects of specific characteristics of an individual when interpreting reproductive strategies in iteroparous organisms.  相似文献   

16.
    
Patterns of parental care are strikingly diverse in nature, and parental care is thought to have evolved repeatedly multiple times. Surprisingly, relatively little is known about the most general conditions that lead to the origin of parental care. Here, we use a theoretical approach to explore the basic life‐history conditions (i.e., stage‐specific mortality and maturation rates, reproductive rates) that are most likely to favor the evolution of some form of parental care from a state of no care. We focus on parental care of eggs and eggs and juveniles and consider varying magnitudes of the benefits of care. Our results suggest that parental care can evolve under a range of life‐history conditions, but in general will be most strongly favored when egg death rate in the absence of care is high, juvenile survival in the absence of care is low (for the scenario in which care extends into the juvenile stage), adult death rate is relatively high, egg maturation rate is low, and the duration of the juvenile stage is relatively short. Additionally, parental care has the potential to be favored at a broad range of adult reproductive rates. The relative importance of these life‐history conditions in favoring or limiting the evolution of care depends on the magnitude of the benefits of care, the relationship between initial egg allocation and subsequent offspring survival, and whether care extends into the juvenile stage. The results of our model provide a general set of predictions regarding when we would expect parental care to evolve from a state of no care, and in conjunction with other work on the topic, will enhance our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of parental care and facilitate comparative analyses.  相似文献   

17.
    
Reproductive traits differ between intralacustrine Arctic charr morphs. Here, we examine three sympatric lacustrine Arctic charr morphs with respect to fecundity, egg size and spawning time/site to assess reproductive investments and trade‐offs, and possible fitness consequences. The littoral omnivore morph (LO‐morph) utilizes the upper water for feeding and reproduction and spawn early in October. The large profundal piscivore morph (PP‐morph) and the small profundal benthivore morph (PB‐morph) utilize the profundal habitat for feeding and reproduction and spawn in December and November, respectively. Females from all morphs were sampled for fecundity and egg‐size analysis. There were large differences between the morphs. The PB‐morph had the lowest fecundity (mean = 45, SD = 13) and smallest egg size (mean = 3.2 mm, SD = 0.32 mm). In contrast, the PP‐morph had the highest fecundity (mean = 859.5, SD = 462) and the largest egg size (mean = 4.5 mm, SD = 0.46 mm), whereas the LO‐morph had intermediate fecundity (mean = 580, SD = 225) and egg size (mean = 4.3, SD = 0.24 mm). Fecundity increased with increasing body size within each morph. This was not the case for egg size, which was independent of body sizes within morph. Different adaptations to feeding and habitat utilization have apparently led to a difference in the trade‐off between fecundity and egg size among the three different morphs.  相似文献   

18.
    
In sexually reproducing species, resources may theoretically be distributed with bias to the production of male or female offspring in response to the condition of the mother, commonly recognized as sex allocation. Using a recently characterized sex‐specific molecular marker, we tested for maternal sex allocation (i.e. maternal primary sex ratio bias and sex‐specific offspring investment) in captive laboratory‐bred western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) at early stages of offspring development. We found no statistical evidence to support sex allocation in G. affinis, based on maternal condition. In addition, we found little evidence for correlations between maternal condition and investment in the condition (mass) of individual offspring (of one sex or the other), although we did find that larger mothers tended to have higher fecundity.  相似文献   

19.
Recent theory predicted that male advertisement will reliably signal investment in paternal care in species where offspring survival requires paternal care and males allocate resources between advertisement and care. However, the predicted relationship between care and advertisement depended on the marginal gains from investment in current reproductive traits. Life history theory suggests that these fitness gains are also subject to a trade‐off between current and future reproduction. Here, we investigate whether male signalling remains a reliable indicator of parental care when males allocate resources between current advertisement, paternal care and survival to future reproduction. We find that advertisement is predicted to remain a reliable signal of male care but that advertisement may cease to reliably indicate male quality because low‐quality males are predicted to invest in current reproduction, whereas higher‐quality males are able to invest in both current reproduction and survival to future reproduction.  相似文献   

20.
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