Coadaptation of prenatal and postnatal maternal effects
Coadaptation of prenatal and postnatal maternal effects
In a wide variety of species, a female's age of first reproduction influences offspring size and survival, suggesting that there exists an optimal timing of reproduction. Mothers in many species also influence offspring size and survival after birth through variation in parental care. We experimentally separated these effects in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides to test for coadaptation between prenatal and postnatal maternal effects associated with age at first reproduction. Females that reproduced early produced offspring with lower birth weight. The amount of parental care depended on the age of first reproduction of the caretaker, as did the extent of offspring begging. As predicted for a coadaptation of maternal effects, prenatal and postnatal effects were opposite for different-aged mothers, and larval weight gain and survival was greatest when the age of the caretaker and birth mother matched. Thus, prenatal effects intrinsically associated with age of first reproduction can be ameliorated by innate plasticity in postnatal care. A coadaptation of prenatal and postnatal maternal effects may evolve to allow variable timing of the first reproductive attempt. Such a coadaptation might be particularly valuable when females are constrained from reproducing at an optimal age, as, for example, in species that breed on scarce and unpredictable resources.
age at first reproduction, burying beetle, larval growth, maternal performance, nicrophorus vespilloides, parental care
709-718
Lock, Judith E
34e0dadc-1ebd-41ad-9b22-06d449f90686
Smiseth, Per T.
37aa37d5-b8e1-4764-beaf-2435ea0ea78f
Moore, Patricia J.
a2fcae0c-b234-4865-ae03-3e1cc3a01360
Moore, Allen J.
13b49cf3-1de2-4647-abbe-159f476b511e
November 2007
Lock, Judith E
34e0dadc-1ebd-41ad-9b22-06d449f90686
Smiseth, Per T.
37aa37d5-b8e1-4764-beaf-2435ea0ea78f
Moore, Patricia J.
a2fcae0c-b234-4865-ae03-3e1cc3a01360
Moore, Allen J.
13b49cf3-1de2-4647-abbe-159f476b511e
Lock, Judith E, Smiseth, Per T. and Moore, Patricia J. et al.
(2007)
Coadaptation of prenatal and postnatal maternal effects.
The American Naturalist, 170 (5), .
(doi:10.1086/524963).
(PMID:17926293)
Abstract
In a wide variety of species, a female's age of first reproduction influences offspring size and survival, suggesting that there exists an optimal timing of reproduction. Mothers in many species also influence offspring size and survival after birth through variation in parental care. We experimentally separated these effects in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides to test for coadaptation between prenatal and postnatal maternal effects associated with age at first reproduction. Females that reproduced early produced offspring with lower birth weight. The amount of parental care depended on the age of first reproduction of the caretaker, as did the extent of offspring begging. As predicted for a coadaptation of maternal effects, prenatal and postnatal effects were opposite for different-aged mothers, and larval weight gain and survival was greatest when the age of the caretaker and birth mother matched. Thus, prenatal effects intrinsically associated with age of first reproduction can be ameliorated by innate plasticity in postnatal care. A coadaptation of prenatal and postnatal maternal effects may evolve to allow variable timing of the first reproductive attempt. Such a coadaptation might be particularly valuable when females are constrained from reproducing at an optimal age, as, for example, in species that breed on scarce and unpredictable resources.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 5 September 2007
Published date: November 2007
Keywords:
age at first reproduction, burying beetle, larval growth, maternal performance, nicrophorus vespilloides, parental care
Organisations:
Centre for Biological Sciences
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Local EPrints ID: 356207
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/356207
ISSN: 0003-0147
PURE UUID: 3f9f1099-65f4-4c87-a217-080dda7a78a4
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Date deposited: 21 Oct 2013 11:54
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 14:45
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Author:
Per T. Smiseth
Author:
Patricia J. Moore
Author:
Allen J. Moore
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