Competition, breeding success and ageing rates in female meerkats

Sharp, S. P. and Clutton-Brock, Tim H. (2011) Competition, breeding success and ageing rates in female meerkats. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 24 (8). pp. 1756-1762. ISSN 1010-061X

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Abstract

Competition between females is particularly intense in cooperatively breeding mammals, where one female monopolises reproduction in each group. Chronic competition often affects stress and may therefore have long-term consequences for fitness, but no studies have yet investigated whether intrasexual competition has effects of this kind and, in particular, whether it affects rates of reproductive senescence. Here, we use long-term data from a wild population of meerkats to test whether reproductive success and senescence in dominant females are affected by the degree of intrasexual competition experienced prior to dominance acquisition. Females that experienced greater competition had lower breeding success and higher rates of reproductive senescence. Furthermore, females that were evicted from the group more frequently as subordinates had lower breeding success when dominant. We conclude that the intense intrasexual competition between females in cooperatively breeding groups may carry fitness costs over a longer period than is usually recognised.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1105
Subjects:
?? socialitystressdominancesubordinate reproductionlife-spanstressreproductive suppressionsuricata-suricattameerkatageingreproductive successcooperative breedingenvironmental-conditionsintrasexual competitionreproductive successsenescencesexual selectioninfa ??
ID Code:
63237
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
05 Apr 2013 08:39
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Jul 2024 13:43