title: Sex differentiation in postnatal growth rate: a test in a wild boar population.
abstract: In wild boar individual growth rate is linear between 0.5 and 6 months after birth, based on successive body weight measurements. Contrary to expectation for a dimorphic and polygynous mammal like wild boar, no sexual dimorphism in growth rate could be detected between 0.5 and 6 months. We argue that high total maternal invesment in offspring due to large litter size and/or strong selection for early reproduction in this population with a short generation time could explain this absence of early differentiation in postnatal growth rate according to offspring sex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, P.O. Box 3166, 82071, Laramie, WY, USA.
authors.forename: J -M
authors.initials: J-
authors.lastname: Gaillard
authors.affiliation: URA CNRS 243, Laboratoire de Biométrie, UCB Lyon 1, 43, Bd du 11 novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne cédex, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pontier
authors.affiliation: CNERA Cervidés-Sangliers, Office National de la Chasse 1, Place Exelmans, 55000, Bar-le-Duc, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.affiliation: CNERA Cervidés-Sangliers, Office National de la Chasse 1, Place Exelmans, 55000, Bar-le-Duc, France.
authors.forename: J-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jullien
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Socioécologie et Ecoéthologie, UCB Lyon 1, 86, rue Pasteur, 69007, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Allainé
keywords: Growth rate variability; Polygyny; Sexual dimorphism; Sus scrofa