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Offspring size and timing of hatching determine survival and reproductive output in a lizard

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Abstract

Selection on offspring size and timing of birth or hatching could have important consequences for maternal investment strategies. Here we show consistent viability selection on hatchling body length across 2 consecutive years in a lizard that lays several clutches per season. There was no effect of hatching date on survival to maturity. However, both early hatching and large hatchling size increased adult size, which has a positive effect on total reproductive output. Earlier hatching also led to an earlier onset of reproduction. Overall, increased survival probability for large hatchlings and a positive effect of clutch size on recruitment suggest consistent directional selection on both egg size and clutch size within and across years. Because offspring size and timing of hatching are strongly affected by environmental and maternal effects, there should be potential for strong transgenerational effects on reproductive output in this species. We briefly discuss the implications of these results for the evolutionary ecology of maternal investment and population fluctuations in short-lived lizards.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for constructive comments by Barry Sinervo and one anonymous reviewer. Ernie Snaith, Gerry Swan, Chris Coombes and Glen Murray assisted in the field. T. U. was supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundations and the Australian Research Council. M. O. was supported by the Australian Research Council. This study was approved by and conducted in compliance with Wollongong University animal ethics protocols; AE 04/03, AE 04, AE 05, AE 06. A scientific licence was also issued under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NSW, Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK

    Tobias Uller

  2. School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Tobias Uller & Mats Olsson

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  1. Tobias Uller
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  2. Mats Olsson
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Correspondence to Tobias Uller.

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Communicated by Mark Chappell.

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Uller, T., Olsson, M. Offspring size and timing of hatching determine survival and reproductive output in a lizard. Oecologia 162, 663–671 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1503-x

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