Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Patterns of Energy Output During Reproduction in Carnivores

  • Chapter
Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution

Abstract

Reproduction is energetically expensive (Harvey 1986; Loudon and Racey 1987; Gittleman and Thompson 1988). The pregnant female requires energy and nutrients for the synthesis of fetal, placental, uterine, and mammary tissues. Lactation involves an even greater drain of nutrients and energy. During reproduction energy expenditure may also rise as a consequence of increases in metabolic rate and activity level (Thompson and Nicoll 1986). To support the energetic costs of late pregnancy and lactation, maternal food intake must increase and/or the energy accumulated prior to reproduction or during early pregnancy must be mobilized (Loveridge 1986; Gittleman and Thompson 1988). Thus female reproduction involves substantial commitment of nutritional resources: for example, the energy required by a female ungulate to rear a single offspring from conception to weaning is similar to maintenance energy needs for approximately 100–150 days (Oftedal 1985).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Adolph, E. F., and Heggeness, F. W. 1971. Age changes in body water and fat in fetal and infant animals. Growth 35:55–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agricultural Research Council. 1980. The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Farnham Royal, Eng.: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calder, W. A. III. 1984. Size, Function, and Life History. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dierenfeld, E. S., Hintz, H. F., Robertson, J. B., Van Soest, P. J., and Oftedal, O. T. 1982. Utilization of bamboo by the giant panda. J. Nutr. 112:636–641.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, J. F. 1981. The Mammalian Radiations. Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewer, R. F. 1973. The Carnivores. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Univ. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gittleman, J. L. 1985. Functions of communal care in mammals. In: P. J. Greenwood, P. H. Harvey & M. Slatkin, eds. Evolution: Essays in honor of John Maynard Smith, pp. 187–205. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gittleman, J. L. 1986a. Carnivore brain size, behavioral ecology, and phylogeny. J. Mamm. 67:23–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gittleman, J. L. 1986b. Carnivore life history patterns: Allometric, ecological and phylogenetic associations. Amer. Nat. 127:744–771.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gittleman, J. L. 1988. The behavioral energetics of lactation in a herbivorous carnivore, the red panda (Ailurus fulgens). Ethology. In press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gittleman, J. L., and Oftedal, O. T. 1987. Comparative growth and lactation energetics in carnivores. Symp. Zool. Soc. London 57:41–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gittleman, J. L., and Thompson, S. D. 1988. Energy allocation in mammalian reproduction. Amer. Zool. 28:863–875.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, P. H. 1986. Energetic costs of reproduction. Nature 321:648–649.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanwell, A., and Peaker, M. 1977. Physiological effects of lactation on the mother. Symp. Zool. Soc. London. 41:297–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heidt, G. A. 1970. The least weasel Mustela nivalis Linnaeus. Developmental biology in comparison with other North American Mustela. Publications of the Museum, Michigan State Univ., Biological Series no. 4:227-282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heidt, G. A., Petersen, M. K., and Kirkland, G. L. 1968. Mating behavior and development of weasels (Mustela nivalis) in captivity. J. Mamm. 49:413–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hemmer, H. 1976. Gestation period and postnatal development in felids. World’s Cats 3:143–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson R. J., and Christopherson, R. J. 1985. Maintenance metabolism. In: R. J. Hudson & R. G. White, eds. The Bioenergetics of Wild Herbivores, pp. 121–142. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleiber, M. 1975. The Fire of Life: An Introduction to Animal Energetics (rev. ed.) New York: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleiman, D. G., and Brady, C. A. 1978. Coyote behavior in the context of recent canid research: Problems and perspectives. In: M. Bekoff, ed. Coyotes, pp. 163–188. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kunz, T. H., and Nagy, K. N. 1987. Methods of energy budget analysis. In: T. H. Kunz, ed. Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lack, D. 1954. The Natural Regulation of Animal Numbers. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linzell, J. L. 1972. Milk yield, energy loss in milk, and mammary gland weight in different species. Dairy Sci. Abstr. 34:351–360.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loudon, A., and Racey, P. A., eds. 1987. The Reproductive Energetics of Mammals. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London no. 57. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loveridge, G. G. 1986. Bodyweight changes and energy intake of cats during gestation and lactation. Anim. Technol. 37:7–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, M. L., Rogers, Q. R., and Morris, J. G. 1984. Nutrition of the domestic cat, a mammalian carnivore. Ann. Rev. Nutr. 4:521–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malcolm, J. R., and Marten, K. 1982. Natural selection and the communal rearing of pups in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 10:1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, R. D. 1984. Scaling effects and adaptive strategies. Symp. Zool. Soc. Lond. 51:87–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattingley, D. K., and McClure, P. A. 1982. Energetics of reproduction in large-littered cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus). Ecology 63:183–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maynard, L. A., Loosli, J. K., Hintz, H. F., and Warner, R. G. 1979. Animal Nutrition (7th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millar, J. S. 1979. Energetics of lactation in Peromyscus maniculatus. Canadian J. Zool. 57:1015–1019.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mundt, von, H.-C., Thomee, A., and Meyer, H. 1981. Zur Energie-und Eiweissversorgung von Säugwelpen über die Muttermilch. Kleintier Praxis 26:353–360.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. 1982. Nutrient Requirements of Mink and Foxes. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. 1985. Nutrient Requirements of Dogs. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. 1986. Nutrient Requirements of Cats. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oftedal, O. T. 1981. Milk, protein and energy intakes of suckling mammalian young: A comparative study. Ph.D. dissert., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oftedal, O. T. 1984a. Body size and reproductive strategy as correlates of milk energy yield in lactating mammals. Acta Zoologica Venn. 171:183–186.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oftedal, O. T. 1984b. Milk composition, milk yield and energy output at peak lactation: A comparative review. Symp. Zool. Soc. Lond. 51:33–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oftedal, O. T. 1985. Pregnancy and lactation. In: R. J. Hudson & R. G. White, eds. The Bioenergetics of Wild Herbivores, pp. 215–238. Boca Raton, Fla: CRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oftedal, O. T. 1988. Body composition of neonatal black bears. Unpublished data.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oftedal, O. T., Boness, D. J., and Tedman, R. A. 1987a The behavior, physiology and anatomy of lactation in the Pinnipedia. Current Mamm. 1:175–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oftedal, O. T., Iverson, S. J., and Bonness, D. J. 1987b. Milk and energy intake of suckling California sea lion (Zalophus californicus) pups in relation to sex, growth, and predicted maintenance requirements. Physiol. Zool. 60:560–575.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramsay, M. A., and Dunbrack, R. L. 1986. Physiological constraints on life history phenomena: The example of small bear cubs at birth. Amer. Nat. 127:735–743.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rattray, P. V., Garrett, W. N., East, N. E., and Hinman, N. 1974 Growth, development and composition of the ovine conceptus and mammary gland during pregnancy. J. Anim. Sci. 38:613–626.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robbins, C. T., and Moen, A. N. 1975. Uterine composition and growth in pregnant white-tailed deer. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 39:684–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sadleir, R. M. F. S. 1969. The Ecology of Reproduction in Wild and Domestic Mammals. London: Methuen.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schaller, G. B., Jinchu, H., Wenshi, P., and Jing, Z. 1985. The Giant Pandas of Wolong. Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, K. 1911. Über die Zusammensetzung von Hund und Katze während der ersten Verdoppelungsperioden des Geburtgewuchtes. Archiv für Anatomie und Physiologie, Physiologischer Abteilung 1:9–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, S.D., and Nicoll, M. E. 1986. Basal metabolic rate and energetics of reproduction in therian mammals. Nature 321:690–693.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Olav T. Oftedal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John L. Gittleman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology and Graduate Programs in Ecology and Ethology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA

    John L. Gittleman

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1989 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Oftedal, O.T., Gittleman, J.L. (1989). Patterns of Energy Output During Reproduction in Carnivores. In: Gittleman, J.L. (eds) Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4716-4_14

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4716-4_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-412-34360-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-4716-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation