Data from: Distinguishing between determinate and indeterminate growth in a long-lived mammal

Background: The growth strategy of a species influences many key aspects
of its life-history. Animals can either grow indeterminately (throughout
life), or grow determinately, ceasing at maturity. In mammals, continued
weight gain after maturity is clearly distinguishable from continued
skeletal growth (indeterminate growth). Elephants represent an interesting
candidate for studying growth because of their large size, long life and
sexual dimorphism. Objective measures of their weight, height and age,
however, are rare. Results: We investigate evidence for indeterminate
growth in the Asian elephant Elephas maximus using a longitudinal dataset
from a semi-captive population. We fit growth curves to weight and height
measurements, assess sex differences in growth, and test for indeterminate
growth by comparing the asymptotes for height and weight curves. Our
results show no evidence for indeterminate growth in the Asian elephant;
neither sex increases in height throughout life, with the majority of
height growth completed by the age of 15 years in females and 21 years in
males. Females show a similar pattern with weight, whereas males continue
to gain weight until over age 50. Neither sex shows any declines in weight
with age. Conclusions: These results have implications for understanding
mammalian life-history, which could include sex-specific differences in
trade-offs between size and reproductive investment.