Costs of reproduction in a lizard species: a comparison ofobservational and experimental data
2001
Olsson, M | Shine, R | Wapstra, E
Life history theory predicts that increasing investments into reproduction compromisessurvival and future reproduction. However, demonstrating such costs is confoundedby positive correlations between life history traits. For example, individualsin good condition may be good at both surviving and reproducing. We studied suchprocesses in a viviparous snow skink lizard (Niveoscincus microlepidotus) from highelevation sites in Tasmania, Australia. Our results show a stark difference in costs ofreproduction between unmanipulated females from the natural population versusexperimentally manipulated females (using follicle stimulating hormones). In theunmanipulated females, females with relatively larger reproductive investments survivedbetter than females with smaller reproductive investments. In the experimentalgroup, however, females forced to ‘over-invest’ into a larger clutch survived less wellthan controls. Thus, our study confirms the potential dangers of non-experimentalestimation of costs of reproduction.
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