Breeding, cub survival, and female reproductive success

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.G.L. Mills ◽  
M.E.J. Mills
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Female Reproductive Success ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Birth Peak ◽  
Weak Tendency

Cheetahs are aseasonal breeders, with a weak tendency towards seasonality corresponding to the birth peak in springbok lambs. Cub survival from birth to adolescence was 31.3% compared with 4.8% in the Serengeti. Predation was the major cause of cub mortality in the den, but it was usually impossible to identify the predator. The low survival of cheetah cubs recorded on the Serengeti Plains may be exceptional; in the den, apart from predation, starvation through desertion due to the migratory nature of the prey may sometimes occur; on leaving the den the extremely open landscape may make them especially vulnerable to predation compared with other areas. The mean period between a female losing cubs prematurely, or raising them to independence, until she gave birth again was 3.9 ± 1.6 months. The minimum mean number of cubs raised by a female in her lifetime was 3.5 ± 3.3. This appears to be higher than in the Serengeti.

On the function of hermaphrodite florets in female inflorescences of Petasites japonicus (Asteraceae)

Botany ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoki Sakai ◽  
Yuka Suzuki ◽  
Tomoyuki Itagaki ◽  
Hisashi Tsujisawa ◽  
Takashi T. Makino
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Female Reproductive Success ◽  
Duration Of Stay ◽  
Prolonged Duration ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Petasites Japonicus

To examine the function of morphologically hermaphroditic, but functionally sterile, florets in female inflorescences of Petasites japonicus (Sieb. & Zucc.) Maxim., we conducted experiments in which all those florets were removed from female inflorescences. We hypothesize that those florets enhance female reproductive success by deceit, because they resemble the morphologically hermaphroditic, but functionally male florets, in male inflorescences. We found that the mean number of pollinator visits per inflorescence did not differ between the intact inflorescences and inflorescences in which such hermaphrodite florets had been removed. However, the mean duration of stay per visit to an inflorescence tended to be shorter in those with removed florets than in the intact inflorescences. The achene / female floret ratio was smaller in the inflorescences with removed florets than in the intact ones. We hence concluded that the hermaphrodite florets in female inflorescences enhance female reproductive success through prolonged duration of pollinator stay.

Factors affecting female reproductive success and the survival of pouch young in the threatened brush-tailed rock-wallaby, Petrogale penicillata

2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi M. Wynd ◽  
Dominique P. Sigg ◽  
Anthony R. Pople ◽  
Stephanie L. Hazlitt ◽  
Anne W. Goldizen
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Demographic Parameters ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Breeding Performance ◽  
Female Reproductive Success ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Species Management ◽  
Birth Peak

Knowledge of factors affecting the survival of individuals and their reproductive success is essential for threatened species management, but studies assessing these factors are lacking for many threatened rock-wallaby species. In this study we investigated the factors influencing the breeding performance of females and the survival of pouch young in a wild colony of the threatened brush-tailed rock-wallaby. Individuals were trapped between October 2000 and April 2004. More than 50% of the females in the colony were breeding below their full potential and giving birth to only one offspring per year. Most females within the colony bred in synchrony, with a substantial birth peak evident during autumn. Pouch young born in autumn left the pouch during spring and were weaned during summer and autumn when forage was most abundant. Pouch young born during the autumn birth peak or in winter had a substantially higher probability of surviving through to pouch emergence than those born during spring or summer. This study provides demographic parameters that may be used in population models and for comparison with other populations, particularly those that are small and declining. To optimise reproductive success in reintroduction programs, females in good condition and with small pouch young should be released at the end of the wettest season.

Significance of wounding to female reproductive success in Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) at Laysan Island

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Hiruki ◽  
Ian Stirling ◽  
William G. Gilmartin ◽  
Thea C. Johanos ◽  
Brenda L. Becker
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
Lactation Period ◽  
Female Reproductive Success ◽  
Monachus Schauinslandi ◽  
Lower Survival Rate ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Pup Survival ◽  
Monk Seals

We studied reproductive rate, length of lactation period, pup survival, and mortality of injured and uninjured female Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) on Laysan Island, northwestern Hawaiian Islands, in 1983 – 1989. The severity and timing of nonfatal injuries were influential in determining their effect on female reproductive success. There was a tendency towards a shorter mean lactation period and lower survival rate of pups for females with major injuries than for uninjured females. Females with minor injuries were similar to uninjured females in terms of reproductive rate, length of lactation, and pup survival. For females injured shortly before the birth of their pup or during lactation, pup survival was lower than for uninjured females, whereas for females injured during the year prior to pupping, measures of reproductive success were not significantly different from those for uninjured females. Immature (aged 4 – 8 years) females entering the reproductive population were injured by adult male seals significantly more often than females aged 0 – 3 years, but at a similar rate to adult females. The major effect of injuries on female reproductive success is an increase in female mortality: 87.5 % of the adult females (n = 16) that died on Laysan Island in 1983 – 1989 sustained injuries from adult male seals.

Female reproductive success in a species with an age-inversed hierarchy

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 433-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorien DE VRIES ◽  
Andreas KOENIG ◽  
Carola BORRIES
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Female Reproductive Success

scholarly journals Male and female reproductive success in natural and anthropogenic populations of Malaxis monophyllos (L.) Sw. (Orchidaceae)

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edyta Jermakowicz ◽  
Beata Ostrowiecka ◽  
Izabela Tałałaj ◽  
Artur Pliszko ◽  
Agata Kostro-Ambroziak
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Fruit Set ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Floral Display ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Female Reproductive Success ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Demographic Processes ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Effective Pollinators

Abstract In the presented study, male and female reproductive success was analyzed in relation to the population size, floral display and pollinators’ availability in natural and anthropogenic populations of the orchid Malaxis monophyllos (L.) Sw. Our results indicated significant differences between all investigated populations in parameters of floral display, including heights and number of flowers per inflorescence, as well the number of flowering individuals and their spatial structure. Additionally, populations differed both in male (pollinia removal) and female (fruit set) reproductive success, but only the fruit set clearly differentiated anthropogenic and natural populations. Despite the average flower number per plant being significantly higher in two of the anthropogenic populations, it was not related to the fruits set, which was significantly lower there. Moreover, our preliminary study concerning the potential pollinators of M. monophyllos showed a higher contribution of flies in natural habitats than in anthropogenic ones. Thus, we can suspect that the main factors influencing the level of female reproductive success in M. monophyllos populations are abundance of effective pollinators, as well as flower visitors, which may have resulted in a different level of pollen discounting in populations. Therefore, further studies concerning breeding system and pollination as important forces that shape demographic processes in M. monophyllos populations are necessary. Our results also indicate that suitable conservation methods in M. monophyllos should always include the preservation of potential pollinators, especially in these new, secondary habitats.

Females of a solitary bee reject males to collect food for offspring

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 884-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Laura Dutra ◽  
Clemens Schlindwein ◽  
Reisla Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Solitary Bee ◽  
Female Reproductive Success ◽  
Offspring Production ◽  
Quantitative Estimates ◽  
Foraging Performance ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
The Mean

Abstract The time dedicated to courtship and copulation is the most general cost of mating for females. However, quantitative estimates of this cost and the consequences for female mating behavior have been investigated for only a few model organisms and mostly under laboratory conditions. We determined the costs of copulations and persistent courtship by males in terms of time for females of the solitary bee Anthrenoides micans. We estimated the rate and duration of male mating behaviors and the consequences for sexual interactions for females with respect to the loss of foraging opportunity in the wild. Males invested most of their time searching for mates and intercepted foraging females every 3 min. Copulas lasted, on average, 10 times longer than the time females took to resist male mating attempts. Despite the high frequency of these rejections (82%), females spent 3-fold more time copulating than rejecting males. Considering the rate of encounters with males and the mean duration of flower visits by females, we estimated that females would perform 64% fewer flower visits per hour if they accepted all copulation attempts. The loss of time is especially significant in the natural habitat of the species, where host cacti blossom for extraordinary short periods of time and females compete with other cacti-specialized bees and conspecifics. Because the offspring production of a female solitary bee depends on its pollen collection capacity, reduced foraging performance directly influences female reproductive success.

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