In vertebrates, offspring survival often decreases with increasing maternal age. While many studies have reported a decline in fitness-related traits of offspring with increasing maternal age, the study of senescence in maternal effect through age-specific changes in offspring physiological condition is still at its infancy. We assessed the influence of maternal age and body mass on offspring physiological condition in two populations of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) subjected to markedly different environmental conditions. We measured seven markers to index body condition and characterize the immune profile in 86 fawns which became recently independent of their known-aged mothers. We did not find striking effects of maternal age on offspring physiological condition measured at 8 months of age. This absence of evidence for senescence in maternal effects is likely due to the strong viability selection observed in the very first months of life in this species. Offspring physiological condition was, on the other hand, positively influenced by maternal body mass. Between-population differences in environmental conditions experienced by fawns also influenced their average body condition and immune phenotype. Fawns facing food limitation displayed lower values in some markers of body condition (body mass and haemoglobin levels) than those living in good quality habitat. They also allocated preferentially to humoral immunity, contrary to those living in good conditions, which allocated more to cellular response. These results shed a new light on the eco-physiological pathways mediating the relationship between mother's mass and offspring condition.

中文翻译：

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母体效应会影响后代的生理状况，但不会在野生哺乳动物中衰老。

在脊椎动物中，后代存活率通常随着母亲年龄的增加而降低。虽然许多研究报告了后代的健康相关特征随着母亲年龄的增加而下降，但通过后代生理状况的年龄特异性变化对母亲衰老影响的研究仍处于起步阶段。我们评估了在环境条件明显不同的两个狍子 (Capreolus capreolus) 中，母亲年龄和体重对后代生理状况的影响。我们测量了七个标志物来指示身体状况并表征 86 头小鹿的免疫特征，这些小鹿最近独立于它们已知年龄的母亲。我们没有发现母亲年龄对 8 个月大时测量的后代生理状况的显着影响。缺乏母体效应衰老的证据可能是由于在该物种生命的最初几个月观察到的强烈生存选择。另一方面，后代的生理状况受到母体体重的积极影响。小鹿所经历的环境条件的种群间差异也影响了它们的平均身体状况和免疫表型。与生活在优质栖息地的小鹿相比，面临食物限制的小鹿在某些身体状况指标（体重和血红蛋白水平）中显示出较低的值。他们还优先分配给体液免疫，这与那些生活在良好条件下的人相反，后者更多地分配给细胞反应。这些结果为介导母亲之间关系的生态生理途径提供了新的线索。