Effects of recruiting age on senescence lifespan

Authors: SinYeon Kim Alberto Velando Roxana Torres Hugh Drummond

Publish Date: 2011/02/01

Volume: 166, Issue: 3, Pages: 615-626

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Abstract

Theories of ageing predict that early reproduction should be associated with accelerated reproductive senescence and reduced longevity Here the influence of age of first reproduction on reproductive senescence and lifespan and consequences for lifetime reproductive success LRS were examined using longitudinal reproductive records of male and female bluefooted boobies Sula nebouxii from two cohorts 1989 and 1991 The two sexes showed different relationships between age of first reproduction and rate of senescent decline the earlier males recruited the faster they experienced senescence in brood size and breeding success whereas in females recruiting age was unrelated to agespecific patterns of reproductive performance Effects of recruiting age on lifespan number of reproductive events and LRS were cohort and/or sexspecific Laterecruiting males of the 1989 cohort lived longer but performed as well over the lifetime as early recruits suggesting the existence of a tradeoff between early recruitment and long lifespan In males of the 1991 cohort and females of both cohorts recruiting age was apparently unrelated to lifespan but early recruits reproduced more frequently and fledged more chicks over their lifetime than late recruits Male boobies may be more likely than females to incur longterm costs of early reproduction such as early reproductive senescence and diminished lifespan because they probably invest more heavily than females In the 1991 cohort which faced the severe environmental challenge of an El Niño event in the first year of life lifehistory tradeoffs of males may have been masked by effects of individual qualityWe thank P Monaghan and N Metcalfe for very helpful comments on an earlier manuscript J Stamps for references and discussion and C Rodríguez J L Osorno and numerous volunteers and students for dedicated work in the field and on the database Annual fieldwork on Isla Isabel depended on the generous support of many fishermen the Mexican Secretaría del Medioambiente y Recursos Naturales and the Mexican navy Finance was provided by the Mexican Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología 4722N9407 C0147599 D112903581 PCCNCNA031528 the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México IN211491 the National Geographic Society 306585 453591 and the Conservation and Research Foundation SY Kim was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship of the UNAM and by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología CGL200610357C0201/BOS and the Xunta de Galicia Isidro Parga Pondal fellowship The field procedures we performed did not involve any licensed procedures and complied with the current laws of Mexico

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