Differences in Reproductive Success in Young and Old Females of a Long-Lived Species.

ABSTRACT: Long-lived species are particularly interesting for investigation of trade-offs that shape reproductive allocation and the effective contribution to the next generations. Life history theory predicts that these species will buffer environmental stochasticity via changes in the reproductive investment, while maintaining high adult survival rates. The spur-thighed tortoise was selected as a case study in order to investigate the relationship between the linked maternal characteristics (size and age) and related traits in their hatchlings. We tracked naturally emerging hatchlings from young and old females under semi-natural conditions to test variations in hatchling numbers, body mass, size and survival over two years. We used linear mixed-effect models to analyze variations in hatchling bod

SUBMITTER: Segura A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7916336 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature