title: Life span and reproductive cost explain interspecific variation in the optimal onset of reproduction.
abstract: Fitness can be profoundly influenced by the age at first reproduction (AFR), but to date the AFR-fitness relationship only has been investigated intraspecifically. Here, we investigated the relationship between AFR and average lifetime reproductive success (LRS) across 34 bird species. We assessed differences in the deviation of the Optimal AFR (i.e., the species-specific AFR associated with the highest LRS) from the age at sexual maturity, considering potential effects of life history as well as social and ecological factors. Most individuals adopted the species-specific Optimal AFR and both the mean and Optimal AFR of species correlated positively with life span. Interspecific deviations of the Optimal AFR were associated with indices reflecting a change in LRS or survival as a function of AFR: a delayed AFR was beneficial in species where early AFR was associated with a decrease in subsequent survival or reproductive output. Overall, our results suggest that a delayed onset of reproduction beyond maturity is an optimal strategy explained by a long life span and costs of early reproduction. By providing the first empirical confirmations of key predictions of life-history theory across species, this study contributes to a better understanding of life-history evolution.
authors.affiliation: Anthropological Institute & Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zürich, Switzerland. emeline.mourocq@uzh.ch.
authors.forename: Emeline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mourocq
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bize
authors.affiliation: Institute of Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland,", An der Vogelwarte 21, D-26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.|Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bouwhuis
authors.affiliation: Point Blue Conservation Science, 3820 Cypress Drive #11, Petaluma, 94954, California.
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS UMR 5175, 1919, route de Mende, F-34293, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Charmantier
authors.affiliation: Biology & Ethology Research Group, University of Extremadura, Avenida de Elvas, E-06071 Badajoz, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de la Cruz
authors.affiliation: Anthropological Institute & Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Szymon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Drobniak
authors.affiliation: Technical Resource Branch, Saskatchewan Environment, 5th Floor, 3211 Albert Street, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 5W6, Canada.
authors.forename: Richard H M
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Espie
authors.affiliation: Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Behavioral Ecology Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c., H-1117 Budapest, Hungary.|Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Szent István University, Páter Károly utca 1., H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary.
authors.forename: Márton
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herényi
authors.affiliation: Michael-Otto-Institute within NABU, Goosstroot 1, D-24861Bergenhusen, Germany.
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hötker
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Behavior, Bielefeld University, Morgenbreede 45, D-33615 Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Krüger
authors.affiliation: College of the Environment, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, 4000 15th Avenue NE, Seattle, Washington, 98195.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marzluff
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie, Systématique & Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS UMR 8079, 362 Rue du Doyen André Guinier, F-91405 Orsay, France.
authors.forename: Anders P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Møller
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, 340 Great King Street, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.|Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Radford
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roulin
authors.affiliation: Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Behavioral Ecology Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c., H-1117 Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: János
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Török
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Cátedra Recursos Cinegéticos, Campus de Rabanales, University of Córdoba, E-14071 Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Valencia
authors.affiliation: Evolution, Ecology & Genetics, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia.|Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, NL-6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martijn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van de Pol
authors.affiliation: Environmental Science Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador A2H 6P9, Canada.
authors.forename: Ian G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Warkentin
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Isabel S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Winney
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: Anthropological Institute & Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Griesser
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics*; D012741:Sexual Maturation / Q000235:genetics
keywords: Age at first reproduction; comparative method; cost of reproduction; family formation theory; life-history theory