Producing sons reduces lifetime reproductive success of subsequent offspring in pre-industrial Finns.

ABSTRACT: Life-history theory states that reproductive events confer costs upon mothers. Many studies have shown that reproduction causes a decline in maternal condition, survival or success in subsequent reproductive events. However, little attention has been given to the prospect of reproductive costs being passed onto subsequent offspring, despite the fact that parental fitness is a function of the reproductive success of progeny. Here we use pedigree data from a pre-industrial human population to compare offspring life-history traits and lifetime reproductive success (LRS) according to the cost incurred by each individual's mother in the previous reproductive event. Because producing a son versus a daughter has been associated with greater maternal reproductive cost, we hypothesize that individu

SUBMITTER: Rickard IJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2211518 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature