The oxidative costs of reproduction are group-size dependent in a wild cooperative breeder.

ABSTRACT: Life-history theory assumes that reproduction entails a cost, and research on cooperatively breeding societies suggests that the cooperative sharing of workloads can reduce this cost. However, the physiological mechanisms that underpin both the costs of reproduction and the benefits of cooperation remain poorly understood. It has been hypothesized that reproductive costs may arise in part from oxidative stress, as reproductive investment may elevate exposure to reactive oxygen species, compromising survival and future reproduction and accelerating senescence. However, experimental evidence of oxidative costs of reproduction in the wild remains scarce. Here, we use a clutch-removal experiment to investigate the oxidative costs of reproduction in a wild cooperatively breeding bird, the white

SUBMITTER: Cram DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4685817 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature