Influence of early reproductive success on longevity and late reproductive success in an alpine ungulate

The life-history theories of aging predict lifetime trade-offs between early reproductive allocation and late-life survival, reproduction, or both components of fitness. Recent studies in wild populations have found evidence for these early-late life trade-offs, but rarely have they been found across multiple traits while exploring the additional effects of variation in environmental conditions and individual quality. Benefiting from longitudinal data on adult female mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), we investigated the influence of age at first reproduction (AFR) and early reproductive success (ERS) on longevity, late reproductive success, and senescence rates while accounting for the influence of natal environmental conditions and individual quality. Contrary to predictions, we did not find evidence for early-late life trade-offs. Instead, an earlier AFR and a greater ERS had positive but weak direct effects on late reproductive success. Natal population density, however, was the ...

衰老的生活史理论预测，早期繁殖分配与后期存活、繁殖或二者兼具的适合度组分之间存在终身权衡。近期针对野生种群的研究已发现此类早期-后期生活史权衡的证据，但在探究环境条件变异与个体质量差异的附加效应时，同时在多类性状中发现此类权衡的研究仍较为罕见。本研究依托成年雌性北美野山羊（Oreamnos americanus）的纵向监测数据，探讨了首次繁殖年龄（AFR, age at first reproduction）与早期繁殖成功率（ERS, early reproductive success）对寿命、后期繁殖成功率以及衰老速率的影响，同时控制了出生时环境条件与个体质量的效应。与理论预测相悖的是，本研究未发现早期-后期生活史权衡的证据。相反，较早的首次繁殖年龄与更高的早期繁殖成功率，对后期繁殖成功率存在微弱的正向直接效应。然而，出生时的种群密度是 ...