Robben, Ramon (2019) Survival & Reproduction versus the environment: a trade-off analysis - A comparison between the pace of life hypothesis and the silver spoon hypothesis. Master's Research Project 1, Ecology and Evolution.
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Abstract
The trade-off between survival and reproduction is central in life-history, and susceptible to environmental effects. Both survival and reproduction require resources which can be limited, thus forcing individuals to expend more energy into one than the other. For example, in passerine birds, the combination of harder developmental conditions (increased brood size) and increased foraging effort (less food availability) was found to reduce individuals’ survival and lifespan. Due to there being a trade-off between survival and reproduction, this decrease in survival should affect reproduction. According to literature, there are currently two hypotheses that predict the effect of environmentally induced developmental factors on reproduction: the pace of life hypothesis, which argues reproductive success will increase, and the silver spoon hypothesis, which argues reproductive success will decrease. The extra foraging effort, on the other hand, is predicted to limit expendable energy, which could also influence survival or reproduction. In this paper we further analysed the survival versus reproduction trade-off to review which hypothesis fits the trade-off best. This was done by conducting two separate, yet interlinked studies on the passerine zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) focussing on both survival and reproduction separately. Although not entirely according to expectations, we generally found that individuals from a hard development and hard foraging treatment had a decreased survival and decreased reproductive output. These findings fit the silver spoon hypothesis much better and thus made us conclude that individuals of lesser quality have a lower reproductive success and are under the effect of the silver spoon hypothesis.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master's Research Project 1) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Verhulst, S. and Driessen, M.M.G. and Gerritsma, Y.H. |
| Degree programme: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Thesis type: | Master's Research Project 1 |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Aug 2019 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Mar 2023 08:51 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/20536 |
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