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Competition, breeding success and ageing rates in female meerkats

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Competition, breeding success and ageing rates in female meerkats. / Sharp, S. P.; Clutton-Brock, Tim H.
In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Vol. 24, No. 8, 08.2011, p. 1756-1762.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Sharp, SP & Clutton-Brock, TH 2011, 'Competition, breeding success and ageing rates in female meerkats', Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 24, no. 8, pp. 1756-1762. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02304.x

APA

Sharp, S. P., & Clutton-Brock, T. H. (2011). Competition, breeding success and ageing rates in female meerkats. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 24(8), 1756-1762. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02304.x

Vancouver

Sharp SP, Clutton-Brock TH. Competition, breeding success and ageing rates in female meerkats. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 2011 Aug;24(8):1756-1762. doi: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02304.x

Author

Sharp, S. P. ; Clutton-Brock, Tim H. / Competition, breeding success and ageing rates in female meerkats. In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 2011 ; Vol. 24, No. 8. pp. 1756-1762.

Bibtex

@article{759bf575db4340949eb6ef5d1bdbef42,
title = "Competition, breeding success and ageing rates in female meerkats",
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.",
keywords = "sociality, STRESS, dominance, SUBORDINATE REPRODUCTION, LIFE-SPAN, stress, reproductive suppression, SURICATA-SURICATTA, meerkat, ageing, REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS, cooperative breeding, ENVIRONMENTAL-CONDITIONS, intrasexual competition, reproductive success, senescence, SEXUAL SELECTION, INFANTICIDE, INTRASEXUAL COMPETITION, EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY",
author = "Sharp, {S. P.} and Clutton-Brock, {Tim H.}",
year = "2011",
month = aug,
doi = "10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02304.x",
language = "English",
volume = "24",
pages = "1756--1762",
journal = "Journal of Evolutionary Biology",
issn = "1010-061X",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "8",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Competition, breeding success and ageing rates in female meerkats

AU - Sharp, S. P.

AU - Clutton-Brock, Tim H.

PY - 2011/8

Y1 - 2011/8

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - sociality

KW - STRESS

KW - dominance

KW - SUBORDINATE REPRODUCTION

KW - LIFE-SPAN

KW - stress

KW - reproductive suppression

KW - SURICATA-SURICATTA

KW - meerkat

KW - ageing

KW - REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS

KW - cooperative breeding

KW - ENVIRONMENTAL-CONDITIONS

KW - intrasexual competition

KW - reproductive success

KW - senescence

KW - SEXUAL SELECTION

KW - INFANTICIDE

KW - INTRASEXUAL COMPETITION

KW - EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY

U2 - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02304.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02304.x

M3 - Journal article

VL - 24

SP - 1756

EP - 1762

JO - Journal of Evolutionary Biology

JF - Journal of Evolutionary Biology

SN - 1010-061X

IS - 8

ER -