Reproductive phenology is a repeatable, heritable trait linked to the timing of other life-history events in a migratory marine predator.

ABSTRACT: Population-level shifts in reproductive phenology in response to environmental change are common, but whether individual-level responses are modified by demographic and genetic factors remains less well understood. We used mixed models to quantify how reproductive timing varied across 1772 female southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) breeding at Marion Island in the Southern Ocean (1989-2019), and to identify the factors that correlate with phenological shifts within and between individuals. We found strong support for covariation in the timing of breeding arrival dates and the timing of the preceding moult. Breeding arrival dates were more repeatable at the individual level, as compared with the population level, even after accounting for individual traits (wean date as a pup,

SUBMITTER: Oosthuizen WC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10354465 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature