The Offspring-Development-Time/Offspring-Number Trade-Off

2012 ◽  
Vol 179 (6) ◽  
pp. E196-E203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Bueno ◽  
Ángel López-Urrutia
1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. van Huis ◽  
M. de Rooy

AbstractThe performance of the egg parasitoidUscana lariophagaSteffan was studied when reared on eggs of the bruchid storage pest,Callosobruchus maculatus(Fabricius) developing in seeds of cowpea, chickpea and pigeonpea. The beetle laid more and larger eggs on pigeonpea than on cowpea and chickpea, indicating that there was not a trade-off between number and size of the eggs. The bruchid larvae reared on pigeonpea exhibited a longer development time and a higher mortality than those reared on cowpea and chickpea. The resulting males weighed less than those reared on cowpea and chickpea. The trichogrammatidU. lariophagaparasitized more eggs whenC. maculatuswas reared on chickpea than when reared on the other hosts. Parasitoid larvae developed slowest and had the highest mortality in eggs ofC. maculatusreared on pigeonpea compared to those reared on cowpea and chickpea; the sex ratio (% of females) of the resulting adults was also higher. The high mortality and long development time ofC. maculatusreared on pigeonpea indicated that this legume was less favourable toC. maculatusthan chickpea or cowpea. This was probably also true for the parasitoid since the mortality was higher and development longer in eggs ofC. maculatusreared on pigeonpea compared to those reared on cowpea and chickpea. Therefore, when host eggs were larger and of lower nutritional quality, the proportion of female egg parasitoids was greater.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bradley Duthie ◽  
Aline M. Lee ◽  
Jane M. Reid

AbstractInbreeding increases parent-offspring relatedness and commonly reduces offspring viability, shaping selection on reproductive interactions involving relatives and associated parental investment (PI). Nevertheless, theories predicting selection for inbreeding versus inbreeding avoidance and selection for optimal PI have only been considered separately, precluding prediction of optimal PI and associated reproductive strategy given inbreeding. We unify inbreeding and PI theory, demonstrating that optimal PI increases when a female's inbreeding decreases the viability of her offspring. Inbreeding females should therefore produce fewer offspring due to the fundamental trade-off between offspring number and PI. Accordingly, selection for inbreeding versus inbreeding avoidance changes when females can adjust PI with the degree that they inbreed. In contrast, optimal PI does not depend on whether a focal female is herself inbred. However, inbreeding causes optimal PI to increase given strict monogamy and associated biparental investment compared to female-only investment. Our model implies that understanding evolutionary dynamics of inbreeding strategy, inbreeding depression, and PI requires joint consideration of the expression of each in relation to the other. Overall, we demonstrate that existing PI and inbreeding theories represent special cases of a more general theory, implying that intrinsic links between inbreeding and PI affect evolution of behaviour and intra-familial conflict.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 20160101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexis Rutschmann ◽  
Donald B. Miles ◽  
Jean Clobert ◽  
Murielle Richard

Life-history traits involved in trade-offs are known to vary with environmental conditions. Here, we evaluate the response of the trade-off between ‘offspring number’ versus ‘energy invested per offspring’ to ambient temperature in 11 natural populations of the common lizard, Zootoca vivipara . We provide evidence at both the intra- and interpopulation levels that the trade-off is reduced with an increase in air temperature. If this effect enhances current individual fitness, it may lead to an accelerated pace of life in warmer environments and could ultimately increase adult mortality. In the context of global warming, our results advocate the need for more studies in natural populations to explore interactions between life-history traits' trade-offs and environmental conditions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 115-128
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Hutchings

Offspring number and size are two of the most variable life-history traits. Among species, much of this variability can be attributed to genetic, developmental, physiological, or structural constraints. Some trait combinations are not possible because of differences associated with a species’ evolutionary history. Substantial variation in propagule number and size can exist among populations of the same species, generating questions concerning the adaptive significance of this variability. The most influential models are those attributed to Lack on clutch size and to Smith and Fretwell on offspring size. Fundamental to both sets of models is a trade-off between offspring number and parental investment per offspring. When offspring survival or fitness continuously varies with offspring size, the fitness of the parent depends on both offspring size and the number of offspring of that size that the parent can produce. If offspring survival is independent of offspring size, parental fitness is maximized when individuals maximize the production of minimally sized propagules.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document