Data from: Contrasting drivers of reproductive ageing in albatrosses

1.Age-related variation in reproductive performance is ubiquitous in wild
vertebrate populations and has important consequences for population and
evolutionary dynamics. 2.The ageing trajectory is shaped by both
within-individual processes, such as improvement and senescence, and by
the among-individual effects of selective appearance and disappearance. To
date, few studies have compared the role of these different drivers among
species or populations. 3.In this study, we use nearly 40 years of
longitudinal monitoring data to contrast the within- and among-individual
processes contributing to the reproductive ageing patterns in three
albatross species (two biennial and one annual breeder), and test whether
these can be explained by differences in life-histories. 4.Early life
performance in all species increased with age, and was predominantly
influenced by within-individual improvements. However, reproductive
senescence was detected in only two of the species. In the species
exhibiting senescent declines, we also detected a terminal improvement in
breeding success. This is suggestive of a trade-off between reproduction
and survival, which was supported by evidence of selective disappearance
of good breeders. 5.We demonstrate that comparisons of closely-related
species which differ in specific aspects of their life-history can shed
light on the ecological and evolutionary forces shaping variation in
ageing patterns.