TY - JOUR
T1 - Corticosterone manipulation reveals differences in hierarchical organization of multidimensional reproductive trade-offs in r-strategist and K-strategist females
AU - Lancaster, L. T.
AU - Hazard, L. C.
AU - Clobert, J.
AU - Sinervo, B. R.
PY - 2008/3/1
Y1 - 2008/3/1
N2 - Life history trade-offs are often hierarchical with decisions at one level affecting lower level trade-offs. We investigated trade-off structure in female side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana), which exhibit two evolved strategies: yellow-throated females are K-strategists and orange-throated are r-strategists. Corticosterone treatment was predicted to differentially organize these females' reproductive decisions. Corticosterone-treated yellow females suppressed reproduction but survived well, and augmented egg mass without decreasing clutch size. Conversely, corticosterone enhanced mortality and reproductive rates in orange females, and increased egg mass only after lengthy exposure. Corticosterone did not affect post-laying condition, suggesting that corticosterone increased egg mass through enhanced energy acquisition (income breeding). Corticosterone enhanced survival of lightweight females, but decreased survival of heavy females, introducing a foraging vs. predation trade-off. We conclude that rather than being a direct, functional relationship, observed trade-offs between offspring size and number represent evolved differences in hierarchical organization of multidimensional trade-offs, particularly in response to stress.
AB - Life history trade-offs are often hierarchical with decisions at one level affecting lower level trade-offs. We investigated trade-off structure in female side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana), which exhibit two evolved strategies: yellow-throated females are K-strategists and orange-throated are r-strategists. Corticosterone treatment was predicted to differentially organize these females' reproductive decisions. Corticosterone-treated yellow females suppressed reproduction but survived well, and augmented egg mass without decreasing clutch size. Conversely, corticosterone enhanced mortality and reproductive rates in orange females, and increased egg mass only after lengthy exposure. Corticosterone did not affect post-laying condition, suggesting that corticosterone increased egg mass through enhanced energy acquisition (income breeding). Corticosterone enhanced survival of lightweight females, but decreased survival of heavy females, introducing a foraging vs. predation trade-off. We conclude that rather than being a direct, functional relationship, observed trade-offs between offspring size and number represent evolved differences in hierarchical organization of multidimensional trade-offs, particularly in response to stress.
KW - Endocrine hormones
KW - Income vs. capital breeding
KW - Life history strategy
KW - Offspring quantity vs. quality
KW - Polymorphism
KW - Predation vs. foraging
KW - R- vs. K-selection
KW - Reptile
KW - Stress
KW - Survival vs. reproduction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=38849096593&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01478.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01478.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 18179517
AN - SCOPUS:38849096593
SN - 1010-061X
VL - 21
SP - 556
EP - 565
JO - Journal of Evolutionary Biology
JF - Journal of Evolutionary Biology
IS - 2
ER -