Reproductive Effort and Costs

2021 ◽  
pp. 59-74
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Hutchings
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Total Energy ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Reproductive Costs ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Differential Allocation ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Potential Benefits

Predictions about life-history evolution are intellectually bereft without a consideration of trade-offs. Benefits derived from making one life-history ‘decision’ are made at a cost of not realizing potential benefits associated with alternative decisions. These trade-offs are the inevitable product of constraints, often driven by an individual’s differential allocation of fixed resources to reproduction versus survival or growth. These allocations prevent multiple positive outcomes from being simultaneously realized. Reproductive effort is the proportion of total energy or resources allocated to all elements of reproduction. Reproductive effort generates reproductive costs. Increases in current reproductive effort reduce future reproductive success by affecting survival, growth, and/or fecundity. The causal mechanisms of these costs can be energetic, ecological, behavioural, or genetic. Evidence for reproductive costs is widespread. Instances where the evidence of costs is equivocal are usually caused by using among-individual correlations to study what is a within-individual phenomenon.

Intraspecific variation in reproductive effort by female Parapediasia teterrella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and its relation to body size

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry D. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Reproductive Parameters ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Egg Number ◽  
Lepidoptera Pyralidae

Daily egg production of the moth Parapediasia teterrella declined over the life-span of the female but egg size remained constant. The absence of water resulted in lower fecundity and early mortality. Egg size and lifetime fecundity showed considerable inter-individual variation and large females produced more and larger eggs than their smaller counterparts. Large females expended greater reproductive effort than small females. Hatching success was negatively related to egg size. In spite of this, large females laying large eggs had higher fitness than small females. I postulate that multiple reproductive strategies within a species, resulting from differences in reproductive effort expended, may explain why expected trade-offs in reproductive parameters (e.g., egg size versus egg number) were not found in this species. Furthermore, I argue that the prevalent interpretation of life-history evolution (that body size is the important determining parameter of life-history parameters) may reflect correlation of body size with reproductive effort, and reproductive effort may be more important in determining the nature of trade-offs between reproductive parameters.

Life History Adaptation in Prey

2018 ◽  
pp. 323-346
Author(s):  
Gary A. Wellborn
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Reproductive Value ◽  
Offspring Size ◽  
Selective Predation ◽  
Antipredator Defense ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
History Evolution

Predation is a powerful agent of life history evolution in prey species, as demonstrated in diverse examples in crustaceans. Ubiquitous size- and age-selective predation mediates trade-offs among reproductive effort, survival, and growth, which cause evolution of constitutive and phenotypically plastic shifts in age and size at maturity. In accord with predictions of life history theory, comparative studies demonstrate that contrasting forms of selective predation generate divergent evolutionary changes in age- and size-specific allocation of reproductive effort within populations and species. Predation risk also influences egg and offspring size, and some crustaceans exhibit phenotypic plasticity in offspring size in response to chemical cues of predators. Because age-selective predation impacts the relative benefits of earlier versus later reproductive investment, predation may also shape senescence and life span of crustaceans. Additionally, individual differences in risk-taking behavior, sometimes termed “personalities,” have been examined in several crustaceans, and these may arise through among-individual variation in reproductive value. Finally, in some crustacean groups limb autotomy is a common, but costly, antipredator defense, and life history perspectives on autotomy suggest individuals may balance costs and benefits during predator encounters. Much of our understanding of predation’s role in life history evolution of prey derives from studies of crustaceans, and these organisms continue to be promising avenues to elucidate mechanisms of life history evolution.

Infectious diseases, reproductive effort and the cost of reproduction in birds

1994 ◽  
Vol 346 (1317) ◽  
pp. 323-331 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Cell Mediated Immunity ◽  
Ficedula Albicollis ◽  
Life History Variation ◽  
Subsequent Performance ◽  
Trade Offs

Reproductive effort can have profound effects on subsequent performance. Field experiments on the collared flycatcher ( Ficedula albicollis ) have demonstrated a number of trade-offs between life-history traits at different ages. The mechanism by which reproductive effort is mediated into future reproductive performance remains obscure. Anti-parasite adaptations such as cell-mediated immunity may probably also be costly. Hence the possibility exists of a trade-off between reproductive effort and the ability to resist parasitic infection. Serological tests on unmanipulated collared flycatchers show that pre-breeding nutritional status correlates positively with reproductive success and negatively with susceptibility to parasitism (viruses, bacteria and protozoan parasites). Both immune response and several indicators of infectious disease correlate negatively with reproductive success. Similar relations are found between secondary sexual characters and infection parameters. For brood-size-manipulated birds there was a significant interaction between experimentally increased reproductive effort and parasitic infection rate with regard to both current and future fecundity. It seems possible that the interaction between parasitic infection, nutrition and reproductive effort can be an important mechanism in the ultimate shaping of life-history variation in avian populations.

scholarly journals The physiological costs of reproduction in small mammals

2007 ◽  
Vol 363 (1490) ◽  
pp. 375-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R Speakman
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Indirect Costs ◽  
Direct Costs ◽  
Costs Of Reproduction ◽  
Dominant Component ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Almost All

Life-history trade-offs between components of fitness arise because reproduction entails both gains and costs. Costs of reproduction can be divided into ecological and physiological costs. The latter have been rarely studied yet are probably a dominant component of the effect. A deeper understanding of life-history evolution will only come about once these physiological costs are better understood. Physiological costs may be direct or indirect. Direct costs include the energy and nutrient demands of the reproductive event, and the morphological changes that are necessary to facilitate achieving these demands. Indirect costs may be optional ‘compensatory costs’ whereby the animal chooses to reduce investment in some other aspect of its physiology to maximize the input of resource to reproduction. Such costs may be distinguished from consequential costs that are an inescapable consequence of the reproductive event. In small mammals, the direct costs of reproduction involve increased energy, protein and calcium demands during pregnancy, but most particularly during lactation. Organ remodelling is necessary to achieve the high demands of lactation and involves growth of the alimentary tract and associated organs such as the liver and pancreas. Compensatory indirect costs include reductions in thermogenesis, immune function and physical activity. Obligatory consequential costs include hyperthermia, bone loss, disruption of sleep patterns and oxidative stress. This is unlikely to be a complete list. Our knowledge of these physiological costs is currently at best described as rudimentary. For some, we do not even know whether they are compensatory or obligatory. For almost all of them, we have no idea of exact mechanisms or how these costs translate into fitness trade-offs.

scholarly journals Life‐history evolution in the anthropocene: effects of increasing nutrients on traits and trade‐offs

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 635-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Snell‐Rood ◽  
Rickey Cothran ◽  
Anne Espeset ◽  
Punidan Jeyasingh ◽  
Sarah Hobbie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
History Evolution

Meristem allocation and life-history evolution in herbaceous plants

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen P. Bonser ◽  
Lonnie W. Aarssen
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Apical Dominance ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Meristem Development ◽  
Vegetative Traits ◽  
History Evolution ◽  
Meristem Allocation ◽  
Branching Intensity ◽  
Iteroparous Species

Generalisations of life histories in plants are often framed in terms of allocation to reproduction. For example, relative allocation to reproduction is commonly found to be higher in semelparous than in iteroparous plant species. However, the association between vegetative traits and life history has been largely unexplored. In higher plants, reproductive and vegetative function can be measured in terms of meristem allocation. Under this approach, two vegetative traits (apical dominance (the suppression of axillary meristem development) and branching intensity (the commitment of axillary meristems to branches)) can be measured as well as one reproductive trait (reproductive effort). We used phylogenetically independent contrasts to compare reproductive and vegetative function in annual semelparous and perennial iteroparous species. Twenty congeneric species pairs (each species pair represented by one semelparous and one iteroparous species) across nine families were selected based on availability of herbarium specimens. Semelparous life-history evolution was associated with higher reproductive effort. Conversely, iteroparous life-history evolution was associated with higher apical dominance. Branching intensity was not associated with life history. An evolutionary association between life history and apical dominance but not branching intensity suggests a complex relationship between allocation to vegetative traits and the evolution of plant strategies across environments.

Life histories of North American game birds: a reanalysis

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 1906-1912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd W. Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
North American ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Cost Of Reproduction ◽  
Reproductive Value ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Game Birds ◽  
The Cost

Recently, Zammuto (R. M. Zammuto. 1986. Can. J. Zool. 64: 2739–2749) suggested that North American game birds exhibited survival–fecundity trade-offs consistent with the "cost of reproduction" hypothesis. However, there were four serious problems with the data and the analyses that Zammuto used: (i) the species chosen for analysis ("game birds") showed little taxonomic or ecological uniformity, (ii) the measures of future reproductive value (maximum longevity) were severely biased by unequal sample sizes of band recoveries, (iii) the measures of current reproductive effort (clutch sizes) were inappropriate given that most of the birds analyzed produce self-feeding precocial offspring, and (iv) the statistical units used in the majority of analyses (species) were not statistically independent with respect to higher level taxonomy. After correcting these problems, I found little evidence of survival–fecundity trade-offs among precocial game birds, and I attribute most of the explainable variation in life-history traits of these birds to allometry, phylogeny, and geography.

Trade-Offs in Life-History Evolution

1989 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 259 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Stearns
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
History Evolution

scholarly journals Using life history trade-offs to understand core-transient structuring of a small mammal community

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah R Supp ◽  
David N. Koons ◽  
S. K. Morgan Ernest
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Survival Strategies ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
High Survival ◽  
Transient Species ◽  
Ecological Specialization ◽  
Core Species ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Source Sink

An emerging conceptual framework suggests that communities are comprised of two main groups of species: core species that are temporally persistent, and transient species that are temporally intermittent. Core and transient species have been shown to differ in spatiotemporal turnover, diversity patterns, and importantly, survival strategies targeted at local vs. regional habitat use. While the core-transient framework has typically been a site-specific designation for species, we suggest that if core and transient species have local vs. regional survival strategies across sites, and consistently differ in population-level spatial structure and gene flow, they may also exhibit different life-history strategies. Specifically, core species should display relatively low dispersal rates, low reproductive effort, high ecological specialization and high survival rates compared to transient species, which may display a wider range of traits given that transience may result from source-sink dynamics or from the ability to emigrate readily. We present results from 21 years of capture-mark-recapture data in a diverse rodent community, evaluating the linkages between temporal persistence, local abundance, and trade-offs among life-history traits. Core species at our site conservatively supported our hypotheses, differing in ecological specialization, survival and dispersal probabilities, and reproductive effort from transient species. Transient species exhibited a wider range of characteristics, which likely stems from the multiple processes generating source-sink dynamics and nomadic transience in local communities. We suggest that trait associations among core-transient species may be similar in other systems and warrants further study.

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