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The rate of senescence in maternal performance increases with early‐life fecundity in red deer
Author(s) -
Nussey Daniel H.,
Kruuk Loeske E. B.,
Donald Alison,
Fowlie Martin,
CluttonBrock Tim H.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00989.x
Subject(s) - fecundity , biology , senescence , reproduction , ecology , longevity , offspring , population , life history theory , ageing , zoology , life history , demography , genetics , pregnancy , sociology
Tradeoffs between reproduction and somatic maintenance are a frequently cited explanation for reproductive senescence in long‐lived vertebrates. Between‐individual variation in quality makes such tradeoffs difficult to detect and evidence for their presence from wild populations remains scarce. Here, we examine the factors affecting rates of senescence in maternal breeding performance in a natural population of red deer ( Cervus elaphus ), using a mixed model framework to control for between‐individual variance. Senescence began at 9 years of age in two maternal performance traits. In both traits, females that produced more offspring in early life had faster rates of senescence. This tradeoff is evident alongside significant effects of individual quality on late life breeding performance. These results present rare evidence in support of the disposable soma and antagonistic pleiotropy theories of senescence from a wild vertebrate population and highlight the utility of mixed models for testing theories of ageing.