Long-term effects of litter characteristics on reproduction in female cavies (Cavia aperea)

In mammals, birth mass is an important predictor of early growth and survival. Within litters, heavier siblings are usually able to outcompete smaller siblings and gain more resources, thereby often permanently shaping phenotypic development. Early body size and growth are particularly important for...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2024-08, Vol.78 (8), p.91, Article 91
Main Authors: Kraus, Sabine, Trillmich, Fritz, Guenther, Anja
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Ecology
Animals
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Body size
Cavia aperea
Environmental conditions
Females
Fitness
Life Sciences
Litter size
Long-term effects
Mammals
Maturation
Offspring
Original Article
Phenotypic variations
Reproduction
Reproductive effort
Sex ratio
Siblings
Social environment
Survival
Zoology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In mammals, birth mass is an important predictor of early growth and survival. Within litters, heavier siblings are usually able to outcompete smaller siblings and gain more resources, thereby often permanently shaping phenotypic development. Early body size and growth are particularly important for later fitness. Only few studies investigated if and how differences within the early family environment contribute to long-term variation in fitness among individuals. We quantified if initial differences in size translate to size differences in adulthood and whether birth mass, relative size within the litter, litter size or the litter sex-ratio affect maturation and reproductive output of female wild cavies ( Cavia aperea ). Initial differences in mass were maintained until animals reached maximum adult mass at two years of age. Heavier sisters matured earlier and invested more into their first litter than smaller sisters, presumably because smaller sisters invested more into their own growth during the first pregnancy. Growing up in mixed-sexed litters in comparison to female-only litters slowed down maturation in smaller but not the heaviest female within a litter and had no effect on female reproductive effort. Variation in reproduction of multiparous females was to a lesser extent explained by the initial relative size of siblings. Offspring survival to independence was high but slightly lower when mothers had been born as smaller sisters. Our results demonstrate that factors of the early family environment not only affect immediate offspring development but lead to long-term fitness consequences. Significance Environmental conditions during an individuals’ early life can have profound long-term consequences. For many animals, siblings represent one of the most important components of the early social environment during development, with larger siblings typically being competitively superior. We here show for the cavy ( Cavia aperea ) that such early sibling differences affect the timing and investment into first reproduction and potential life-long fitness in a precocial mammal. Initial size differences between siblings persist long into adulthood. Heavier sisters matured earlier than their smaller sisters and invested more into the first litter. Initial size differences among siblings even explained variation in later reproduction. In conclusion, the slight advantage gained by larger relative size within a litter explains a substantial part of individua
ISSN:0340-5443
1432-0762
DOI:10.1007/s00265-024-03508-w