Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas

According to life history theory, natural selection has shaped trade-offs for allocating energy among growth, reproduction and maintenance to maximize individual fitness. In social mammals body size and dominance rank are two key variables believed to influence female reproductive success. However,...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Wright, Edward, Galbany i Casals, Jordi, McFarlin, Shannon C., Ndayishimiye, Eric, Stoinski, Tara S., Robbins, Martha M.
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Recursos:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/173722
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/173722
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Goril·la de muntanya
Reproducció
Mountain gorilla
Reproduction
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spelling Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillasWright, EdwardGalbany i Casals, JordiMcFarlin, Shannon C.Ndayishimiye, EricStoinski, Tara S.Robbins, Martha M.Goril·la de muntanyaReproduccióMountain gorillaReproductionAccording to life history theory, natural selection has shaped trade-offs for allocating energy among growth, reproduction and maintenance to maximize individual fitness. In social mammals body size and dominance rank are two key variables believed to influence female reproductive success. However, few studies have examined these variables together, particularly in long-lived species. Previous studies found that female dominance rank correlates with reproductive success in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), which is surprising given they have weak dominance relationships and experience seemingly low levels of feeding competition. It is not currently known whether this relationship is primarily driven by a positive correlation between rank and body size. We used the non-invasive parallel laser method to measure two body size variables (back breadth and body length) of 34 wild adult female mountain gorillas, together with long-term dominance and demography data to investigate the interrelationships among body size, dominance rank and two measures of female reproductive success (inter-birth interval N = 29 and infant mortality N = 64). Using linear mixed models, we found no support for body size to be significantly correlated with dominance rank or female reproductive success. Higher-ranking females had significantly shorter inter-birth intervals than lower-ranking ones, but dominance rank was not significantly correlated with infant mortality. Our results suggest that female dominance rank is primarily determined by factors other than linear body dimensions and that high rank provides benefits even in species with weak dominance relationships and abundant year-round food resources. Future studies should focus on the mechanisms behind heterogeneity in female body size in relation to trade-offs in allocating energy to growth, maintenance and lifetime reproductive success.Public Library of Science (PLoS)2020info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/173722Articles publicats en revistes (Psicologia Clínica i Psicobiologia)reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UBinstname:Universidad de BarcelonaInglésReproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233235PLoS One, 2020, vol. 15, num. 6https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233235cc-by (c) Wright, Edward et al., 2020http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/esinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/1737222026-05-27T06:46:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas
title Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas
spellingShingle Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas
Wright, Edward
Goril·la de muntanya
Reproducció
Mountain gorilla
Reproduction
title_short Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas
title_full Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas
title_fullStr Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas
title_full_unstemmed Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas
title_sort Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Wright, Edward
Galbany i Casals, Jordi
McFarlin, Shannon C.
Ndayishimiye, Eric
Stoinski, Tara S.
Robbins, Martha M.
author Wright, Edward
author_facet Wright, Edward
Galbany i Casals, Jordi
McFarlin, Shannon C.
Ndayishimiye, Eric
Stoinski, Tara S.
Robbins, Martha M.
author_role author
author2 Galbany i Casals, Jordi
McFarlin, Shannon C.
Ndayishimiye, Eric
Stoinski, Tara S.
Robbins, Martha M.
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Goril·la de muntanya
Reproducció
Mountain gorilla
Reproduction
topic Goril·la de muntanya
Reproducció
Mountain gorilla
Reproduction
description According to life history theory, natural selection has shaped trade-offs for allocating energy among growth, reproduction and maintenance to maximize individual fitness. In social mammals body size and dominance rank are two key variables believed to influence female reproductive success. However, few studies have examined these variables together, particularly in long-lived species. Previous studies found that female dominance rank correlates with reproductive success in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), which is surprising given they have weak dominance relationships and experience seemingly low levels of feeding competition. It is not currently known whether this relationship is primarily driven by a positive correlation between rank and body size. We used the non-invasive parallel laser method to measure two body size variables (back breadth and body length) of 34 wild adult female mountain gorillas, together with long-term dominance and demography data to investigate the interrelationships among body size, dominance rank and two measures of female reproductive success (inter-birth interval N = 29 and infant mortality N = 64). Using linear mixed models, we found no support for body size to be significantly correlated with dominance rank or female reproductive success. Higher-ranking females had significantly shorter inter-birth intervals than lower-ranking ones, but dominance rank was not significantly correlated with infant mortality. Our results suggest that female dominance rank is primarily determined by factors other than linear body dimensions and that high rank provides benefits even in species with weak dominance relationships and abundant year-round food resources. Future studies should focus on the mechanisms behind heterogeneity in female body size in relation to trade-offs in allocating energy to growth, maintenance and lifetime reproductive success.
publishDate 2020
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2020
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2445/173722
url https://hdl.handle.net/2445/173722
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Reproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233235
PLoS One, 2020, vol. 15, num. 6
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233235
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv cc-by (c) Wright, Edward et al., 2020
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv cc-by (c) Wright, Edward et al., 2020
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Public Library of Science (PLoS)
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Articles publicats en revistes (Psicologia Clínica i Psicobiologia)
reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
instname:Universidad de Barcelona
instname_str Universidad de Barcelona
reponame_str Dipòsit Digital de la UB
collection Dipòsit Digital de la UB
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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