Abstract
AbstractOptimal reproductive strategies evolve from the interplay between an individual’s intrinsic state and extrinsic environment, both factors that are rarely fixed over its lifetime. Conditional breeding tactics might be one evolutionary trajectory allowing individuals to maximize fitness. We apply multi-state capture-mark-recapture analysis to a detailed 8-year data set of free-ranging house mice in a growing population to discern causes and fitness consequences of two alternative reproductive tactics in females, communal and solitary breeding. This allows us to integrate natural variation in life-history traits when analysing the expression of two alternative reproductive tactics in females. We find that communal breeding reduces average population fitness, but nevertheless increases over our 8-year study period. The tactic proves to be expressed conditionally dependent on both population density and female body mass – allowing females to breed under subpar conditions, i.e. at high density or when of low body mass. Our results contradict previous laboratory studies and emphasize the importance of studying cooperation under natural conditions, including natural variation in state-dependent survival and breeding probabilities.
Funder
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
The long term data collection was further supported by: Claraz Stiftung Foundation for Research in Science and the Humanities at the University of Zurich Julius-Klaus Stiftung
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,Medicine (miscellaneous)
Cited by
5 articles.
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