Data from: Maternal age effects on offspring lifespan and reproduction vary within a species

Across diverse taxa, offspring from older mothers have decreased lifespan
and fitness. Little is known about the extent to which maternal age
effects vary among genotypes for a given species, however, except for
studies of a few arthropod species. To investigate the presence and degree
of intraspecific variability in maternal age effects, we compared
lifespan, reproductive schedule, and lifetime reproductive output of
offspring produced by young, middle-aged, and old mothers in four strains
of rotifers in the Brachionus plicatilis species complex. We found
significant variability among strains in the magnitude and direction of
maternal age effects on offspring life history traits. In one strain,
offspring of young mothers lived 20% longer than offspring of old mothers,
whereas there were no significant effects of maternal age on lifespan for
other strains. Depending on strain, advanced maternal age had positive
effects, negative effects, or no effect on lifetime reproductive output.
Across strains, older mothers produced offspring that had higher maximum
daily reproduction early in life. Effects of maternal age on offspring
vital rates could not be explained by changes in trade-offs between
lifespan and reproduction. This study documents intraspecific variability
in maternal age effects in an additional clade. Investigating
intraspecific variability is critical for understanding the ubiquity of
maternal age effects and their role in the evolution of life history and
aging.