Lifetime fitness consequences of early-life ecological hardship in a wild mammal population
Marshall, H; Vitikainen, EIK; Mwanguhya, F; et al.Businge, R; Kyabulima, S; Hares, MC; Inzani, E; Kalema-Zikusosa, G; Mwesige, K; Nichols, HJ; Sanderson, JL; Thompson, FJ; Cant, MA
Date: 12 February 2017
Article
Journal
Ecology and Evolution
Publisher
Wiley
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Early-life ecological conditions have major effects on survival and reproduction.
Numerous studies in wild systems show fitness benefits of good quality early-life ecological
conditions (“silver-spoon” effects). Recently, however, some studies have reported
that poor-quality early-life ecological conditions are associated with ...
Early-life ecological conditions have major effects on survival and reproduction.
Numerous studies in wild systems show fitness benefits of good quality early-life ecological
conditions (“silver-spoon” effects). Recently, however, some studies have reported
that poor-quality early-life ecological conditions are associated with later-life
fitness advantages and that the effect of early-life conditions can be sex-specific.
Furthermore, few studies have investigated the effect of the variability of early-life
ecological conditions on later-life fitness. Here, we test how the mean and variability
of early-life ecological conditions affect the longevity and reproduction of males and
females using 14 years of data on wild banded mongooses (Mungos mungo). Males that
experienced highly variable ecological conditions during development lived longer and
had greater lifetime fitness, while those that experienced poor early-life conditions
lived longer but at a cost of reduced fertility. In females, there were no such effects.
Our study suggests that exposure to more variable environments in early life can result
in lifetime fitness benefits, whereas differences in the mean early-life conditions
experienced mediate a life-history trade-off between survival and reproduction. It also
demonstrates how early-life ecological conditions can produce different selection
pressures on males and females.
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