Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Are sexually selected traits affected by a poor environment early in life?

Regina Vega-Trejo, Michael D. Jennions, Megan L. Head
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/045740
Regina Vega-Trejo
1Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: reginavegatrejo@gmail.com
Michael D. Jennions
1Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Megan L. Head
1Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Conditions experienced early in life can affect key life-history traits. Individuals that experience a poor nutritional environment early in life can reduce potential costs by delaying sexual maturation. The direct costs of delaying maturation are well known (i.e. delayed onset of breeding), but individuals can also face additional costs as adults. Some of these ‘hidden costs’ accrue due to cryptic morphological and physiological changes. In mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), males with limited food intake early in life delay maturation to eventually reach a similar adult body size to their well-fed counterparts (‘catch-up growth’). Here we tested whether a poor diet early in life incurs hidden costs due to reduced expression of sexually selected male traits (genital size and ejaculate traits). We found that diet early in life significantly influenced sperm reserves and replenishment rate due to age and development-rate dependent effects. Although catching-up in body size ameliorates some of the costs of a poor start in life for males, our findings suggest that long-term fitness costs might arise because of sexually selection against these males. Our results highlight that fitness costs of a poor start in life can extend into adulthood.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted March 25, 2016.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Are sexually selected traits affected by a poor environment early in life?
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Are sexually selected traits affected by a poor environment early in life?
Regina Vega-Trejo, Michael D. Jennions, Megan L. Head
bioRxiv 045740; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/045740
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Are sexually selected traits affected by a poor environment early in life?
Regina Vega-Trejo, Michael D. Jennions, Megan L. Head
bioRxiv 045740; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/045740

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Evolutionary Biology
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (4383)
  • Biochemistry (9599)
  • Bioengineering (7094)
  • Bioinformatics (24865)
  • Biophysics (12615)
  • Cancer Biology (9958)
  • Cell Biology (14354)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (7950)
  • Ecology (12107)
  • Epidemiology (2067)
  • Evolutionary Biology (15989)
  • Genetics (10926)
  • Genomics (14743)
  • Immunology (9870)
  • Microbiology (23676)
  • Molecular Biology (9485)
  • Neuroscience (50872)
  • Paleontology (369)
  • Pathology (1539)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2683)
  • Physiology (4016)
  • Plant Biology (8657)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1509)
  • Synthetic Biology (2397)
  • Systems Biology (6436)
  • Zoology (1346)