Terminal reproductive effort in a marsupial

Abstract

Life-history theory predicts that as organisms approach the end of their life, they should increase their reproductive effort (RE). However, studies on mammals often find that measures of RE do not vary with maternal age. This might be because offspring have some control over energy transfer which may constrain adaptive variation in RE by mothers, particularly in eutherian mammals where placental function is primarily controlled by offspring. However, in marsupials, energy transfer is primarily by lactation and under maternal control, leaving marsupial mothers free to vary RE. Here, we provide the first analysis, to our knowledge, of age-specific RE in a marsupial, the common brushtail possum. RE, measured as the proportion of maternal mass lost during lactation, was strongly correlated with offspring mass as a yearling. Older females had higher RE, gave birth earlier in the season and were more likely to produce two offspring in a year. Females with high RE in one year were lighter at the beginning of the next breeding season. These results provide the clearest support yet for terminal RE in a mammal.