Persistent maternal age effects on male offspring fitness traits in a wild mammal population.

ABSTRACT: Effects of parental age on juvenile survival are well documented, but whether parental age has long-term consequences for the fitness of surviving offspring remains poorly understood. This is particularly the case for polygynous mammals, where differential impacts on sons versus daughters are predicted. Here, we investigate the effects of maternal and paternal age on offspring first-year survival, longevity, lifetime reproduction, and annual reproduction in a wild Soay sheep population. We find that younger and older mothers produced offspring that were less likely to survive their first year than middle-aged mothers, and this effect was independent of offspring sex. However, among offspring that survived their first year, adult lifespan and lifetime reproductive success were only influenc

SUBMITTER: Ravindran S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12492104 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature