Immune function does not trade‐off with reproductive effort in a semelparous wolf spider with parental care

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas J. Kirschman ◽  
Lindsey Dewey ◽  
Andre Gregory
2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 714-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.J. Bowden ◽  
C.M. Buddle

We studied populations of three tundra-dwelling wolf spider (Lycosidae) species to determine reproductive trait relationships and developmental timing in the Arctic. We collected 451 Pardosa lapponica (Thorell, 1872), 176 Pardosa sodalis Holm, 1970, and 117 Pardosa moesta Banks, 1892 during summer 2008. We used log-likelihood ratio tests and multiple linear regressions to determine the best predictors of fecundity and relative reproductive effort. Female body size best explained the variation in fecundity and body condition was the best predictor for relative reproductive effort. We tested for a trade-off between the allocation of resources to individual eggs and the number of eggs produced (fecundity) within each species using linear regression. There was variation in detectable egg size and number trade-offs among sites and these may be related to local variation in resource allocation linked to density-related biotic or abiotic factors. These findings contribute to knowledge about the fitness of arctic wolf spiders in the region of study and are particularly relevant in light of the effects that climate changes are predicted to have on the arctic fauna.


The Auk ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne H. Brunton

Abstract The reproductive investment strategies of the sexes during the breeding season are detailed for Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), a monogamous plover. I measured the energy investments of the sexes in reproductive, mating, and parental effort. As predicted, males expend more mating effort than females; however, the sexes expend equal amounts of parental effort. Total energy expenditure in reproductive effort (mating and parental effort) during a successful nesting attempt was also equal for the sexes. However, early parental effort expenditures by females, early mating effort expenditures by males, and high rates of nest failure combine to result in female reproductive energy expenditures being significantly higher over the breeding season. This suggests that energy expenditure alone is not adequate for accurate comparisons of the relative investments of the sexes. Studies investigating male and female investments need to consider the degree and pattern of nest failures along with patterns of energy expenditure. The advantages to male and female Killdeer of sharing parental care is demonstrated using adult removal experiments. In general, a deserted parent expends more energy in parental effort than a bi-parental parent and has significantly lower reproductive success. However, males are able to hatch chicks, whereas females lose or abandon their nests within a few days of mate removal. Thus, monogamy in Killdeer appears to result from high nest failure rates, the necessity of two parents for any reproductive success, and the generalizable nature of Killdeer parental care.


1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1461-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Fasola ◽  
Nicola Saino

We studied parental-care allocation by males and females in three tern species. Female Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) and Little Terns (S. albifrons) performed more incubation and brooding than males, whereas in the Sandwich Tern (S. sandvicensis) the sexes shared these duties equally. In all three species, agonistic behaviors were performed equally by females and males. Prey types brought by males and females of each species were similar, but males tended to bring larger prey and had higher delivery rates than females. Information on parental-care allocation by female and male seabirds of various species, 5 gulls, 6 terns, and 1 skimmer, indicates that females perform most of the incubation and brooding in both gulls and terns, whereas males perform most territory attendance and agonistic behavior (gulls) and more prey provisioning (terns). These patterns are qualitatively consistent with the explanation that the differences between gulls and terns in sex-biased parental care are related to the fact that gulls exhibit sexual size dimorphism but terns do not. Contrary to theoretical predictions that in monogamous birds, females contribute more reproductive effort than males, in all the seabird species studied so far the total parental expenditure by males seems to equal or outweigh that by females.


1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 1977-1983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne C. Chambers

The relationships of clone area and neighborhood to ramet size, reproductive effort, and spatial distribution within Geum rossii clones were studied in an alpine ecosystem on the Beartooth Plateau, Montana. Clones growing on an early seral site in relative isolation were compared to clones on a late seral site within dense, heterogeneous neighborhoods. Individual clones of G. rossii required a minimum clone area of about 200 cm2 before maximum ramet size and reproductive effort were achieved. Mean ramet size and reproductive effort were fairly constant among clones larger than 200 cm2 on both the early and later seral sites. Within clones the size and reproductive effort of ramets were positively related. Pattern analysis revealed that ramets became more widely and irregularly spaced as clone area increased on the early seral site. This may have been a geometric function of an increase in the space required as clones aged and became larger. On the late seral site, clones were characterized by ramets that were widely and erratically spaced, that had low leaf numbers and mass, and that had low reproductive effort. For clones of comparable area on the early seral site, ramets were more closely and uniformly spaced, and leaf number, mass, and reproduction per ramet were higher. Conservative patterns of growth and reproduction make G. rossii well suited to dominate in dense, heterogeneous neighborhoods of late seral sites and to colonize mineral soils of early seral sites. Similar to other clonal species, site characteristics and the type of neighborhood determine the trade-off between the physical occupation of space and the allocation to ramet growth and reproduction in G. rossii. Key words: Geum rossii, alpine, reproductive effort, growth, clone area, pattern analysis, succession, neighborhood.


Oecologia ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 145 (4) ◽  
pp. 564-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Rivalan ◽  
Anne-Caroline Prévot-Julliard ◽  
Remi Choquet ◽  
Roger Pradel ◽  
Bertrand Jacquemin ◽  
...  

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