title: Early life expenditure in sexual competition is associated with increased reproductive senescence in male red deer.
abstract: The evolutionary theories of senescence predict that investment in reproduction in early life should come at the cost of reduced somatic maintenance, and thus earlier or more rapid senescence. There is now growing support for such trade-offs in wild vertebrates, but these exclusively come from females. Here, we test this prediction in male red deer (Cervus elaphus) using detailed longitudinal data collected over a 40-year field study. We show that males which had larger harems and thereby allocated more resources to reproduction during early adulthood experienced higher rates of senescence in both harem size and rut duration. Males that carried antlers with more points during early life did not show more pronounced declines in reproductive traits in later life. Overall, we demonstrate that sexual competition shapes male reproductive senescence in wild red deer populations and provide rare empirical support for the disposable soma theory of ageing in males of polygynous vertebrate species.
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, F-69000, Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS, UMR5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France jean-francois.lemaitre@univ-lyon1.fr.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lemaître
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, F-69000, Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS, UMR5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gaillard
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK.
authors.forename: Josephine M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pemberton
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
authors.forename: Tim H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Clutton-Brock
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK.
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Nussey
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003670:Deer / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Cervus elaphus; ageing; disposable soma theory; life history; reproduction; sexual selection