Silver spoons, reproduction, and growth catch-up in eastern Grey kangaroos.

ABSTRACT: Early growth and environmental conditions can shape life-history trajectories. Long-lived iteroparous species with indeterminate growth face growth-reproduction trade-offs for most of their lives. Poor early conditions can delay primiparity and restrict growth, potentially compensated for by faster growth later in life, at the cost of reduced reproduction. We explored the variation in age at primiparity and early reproduction in eastern Grey kangaroos, based upon 13 yr of monitoring about 100 known-age females. We then examined associations between early reproduction, later reproduction, and lifetime growth. We used a modified von Bertalanffy growth function to model the indeterminate growth of females and to test the effects of early reproduction on lifetime growth. Favorable environmenta

SUBMITTER: Forrester K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11933691 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature