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Effects of mating age and mate age on lifespan and reproduction in a horned beetle
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology ( IF 2.3 ) Pub Date : 2022-07-08 , DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03206-5
Daniel González-Tokman

Abstract

Mating young can cause early death due to resulting energetic depletion, physical damage, or sexually transmitted disease, whereas waiting too long to mate has the risks of suffering reproductive senescence or death before finding a mate. The ideal age for reproducing also depends on the mate’s age, as young partners may be more aggressive or less fertile and experienced than mature partners. Therefore, longevity and lifetime reproductive success depend on the combination rather than the individual effects of self- and the mate’s mating age, but this idea has not been formally explored. Here I evaluated lifetime reproductive success and longevity in males and females mated at different ages (i.e., young or mature) with mates of the same or a different age. As a study system, I used the horned dung beetle Euoniticellus intermedius, a classic study subject with intense sexual selection for male horn size, which is a reliable indicator of male strength and condition. For both males and females, mating young severely reduced lifespan, independent of the mate’s age, body, or male horn size. Due to reduced survival, females, but not males, had fewer offspring, with a stronger fitness effect suffered by mature than by young females. Regarding reproductive success, mature males and females had 3.4 and 1.6 times more offspring, respectively, when mated with mature than when mated with young partners, independently of their own body and horn sizes. Reproductive success of young males or females was not sensitive to the mate’s age. These results indicate that the optimal onset of reproduction and the ideal reproductive investment are highly dependent on the combination of self- and the mate’s age.

Significance statement

A very important decision in life is when to mate for the first time. Whereas mating too young can be risky or suboptimal, waiting too long increases the chance of dying before finding a mate. Here I show that in dung beetles, it can be equally important to choose the correct mate’s age in order to maximize lifetime reproduction. The most dramatic decision is for individuals (mainly males) that take a long time to mate, whose fitness get reduced by up to three times when mated with young rather than mature couples. This idea had never been tested in animals, and dung beetles showed that a combination of self- and the mate’s age will be determinant of how much progeny can animals have and how deadly it can be to take maladaptive decisions.



中文翻译:

交配年龄和交配年龄对角甲虫寿命和繁殖的影响

摘要

由于导致能量消耗、身体损伤或性传播疾病,年轻的交配可能导致过早死亡,而等待交配时间过长则有在找到配偶之前遭受生殖衰老或死亡的风险。繁殖的理想年龄还取决于配偶的年龄,因为与成熟的伴侣相比,年轻的伴侣可能更具攻击性或生育能力和经验不足。因此,寿命和终生繁殖成功取决于组合而不是个体的自我影响和配偶的交配年龄,但这一想法尚未得到正式探索。在这里,我评估了在不同年龄(即年轻或成熟)与相同或不同年龄的配偶交配的男性和女性的终生繁殖成功率和寿命。作为一个学习系统,我使用了角蜣螂中间毛细丝菌,一个经典的研究对象,对雄性角大小有强烈的性选择,这是雄性力量和状况的可靠指标。对于雄性和雌性而言,与配偶的年龄、身体或雄性角的大小无关,年轻时交配会严重缩短寿命。由于存活率降低,雌性(而非雄性)的后代较少,成熟的体能效果比年轻的雌性更强。关于生殖成功,成熟雄性和雌性与成熟雄性和雌性交配时的后代数量分别是与年轻伴侣交配时的 3.4 倍和 1.6 倍,与它们自身的身体和角大小无关。年轻雄性或雌性的生殖成功对配偶的年龄不敏感。

意义陈述

人生中一个非常重要的决定是第一次交配的时间。虽然过早交配可能有风险或次优,但等待时间过长会增加在找到配偶之前死亡的机会。在这里,我展示了在粪甲虫中,选择正确的配偶年龄以最大化终生繁殖同样重要。最戏剧性的决定是对于需要很长时间才能交配的个体(主要是男性),当与年轻而不是成熟的夫妇交配时,他们的健康度会降低多达三倍。这个想法从未在动物身上进行过测试,蜣螂表明,自我年龄和配偶年龄的结合将决定动物可以有多少后代,以及做出不适应的决定有多致命。

更新日期:2022-07-08
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