Intraseasonal Variation in Reproductive Effort: Young Males Finish Last

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 relativ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American naturalist 2012-12, Vol.180 (6), p.823-830
Main Authors: Mason, Tom H. E., Stephens, Philip A., Willis, Stephen G., Chirichella, Roberta, Apollonio, Marco, Richards, Shane A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
Age structure
Animal reproduction
Animals
Biological variation
Body Weight
Breeding
Breeding of animals
Breeding seasons
Chamois
Hunting
Hunting seasons
Italy
Male
Male animals
Mammals
Mating behavior
Natural History Note
Rupicapra - physiology
Sample size
Seasons
Sexes
Sexual Behavior, Animal
Sport hunting
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Summary: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 chamoisRupicapra 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.
ISSN:0003-0147
1537-5323
DOI:10.1086/668082