Testing secondary sex ratio bias hypotheses in white‐tailed deer in Mississippi, USA
Abstract Natural selection favors individuals with the highest inclusive fitness (i.e., total number of descendants). In cases where one sex is more productive, one or both parents may maximize their inclusive fitness by investing in the offspring of the more prolific sex. Such preferential producti...
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Wiley
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70296 |
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| author | Jane E. Dentinger Lacy A. Dolan Todt Emma A. Schultz James N. Helferich Stephen Demarais Randy W. DeYoung William T. McKinley Bronson K. Strickland Melanie R. Boudreau |
| author_facet | Jane E. Dentinger Lacy A. Dolan Todt Emma A. Schultz James N. Helferich Stephen Demarais Randy W. DeYoung William T. McKinley Bronson K. Strickland Melanie R. Boudreau |
| author_sort | Jane E. Dentinger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Natural selection favors individuals with the highest inclusive fitness (i.e., total number of descendants). In cases where one sex is more productive, one or both parents may maximize their inclusive fitness by investing in the offspring of the more prolific sex. Such preferential production can lead to skewed sex ratios at various life history stages, including at birth, resulting in secondary sex ratio bias. Several competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain observed variation in secondary sex ratios including Fisher's frequency dependence and two hypotheses related to maternal condition: Trivers–Willard and the local resource hypotheses. Although it has been shown that maternal condition can influence the number of offspring produced in white‐tailed deer, there is no consensus as to which of the hypotheses drives sex ratio bias in wild populations. Using a spatiotemporally extensive dataset of pregnant white‐tailed deer from Mississippi, USA, we examined fetal sex ratio in relation to the Fisherian frequency‐dependence hypothesis and hypotheses related to maternal condition. While there was a male‐sex ratio bias in pregnant females that reduced in intensity with the number of offspring, there was no support for condition‐related hypotheses. Instead, secondary sex ratios for white‐tailed deer in Mississippi were nearly consistent with Fisherian frequency dependence. Our findings add to the body of literature on secondary sex biases in white‐tailed deer and help inform sex bias ratios for a southern population of a cervid of management importance in the US. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-af44c7391bfb479f9208f24cacf49de4 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-af44c7391bfb479f9208f24cacf49de42025-08-20T02:32:14ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582024-10-011410n/an/a10.1002/ece3.70296Testing secondary sex ratio bias hypotheses in white‐tailed deer in Mississippi, USAJane E. Dentinger0Lacy A. Dolan Todt1Emma A. Schultz2James N. Helferich3Stephen Demarais4Randy W. DeYoung5William T. McKinley6Bronson K. Strickland7Melanie R. Boudreau8Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture Mississippi State University Mississippi State Mississippi USADepartment of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture Mississippi State University Mississippi State Mississippi USADepartment of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture Mississippi State University Mississippi State Mississippi USADepartment of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture Mississippi State University Mississippi State Mississippi USADepartment of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture Mississippi State University Mississippi State Mississippi USACaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University‐Kingsville Kingsville Texas USAMississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks Jackson Mississippi USADepartment of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture Mississippi State University Mississippi State Mississippi USADepartment of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture Mississippi State University Mississippi State Mississippi USAAbstract Natural selection favors individuals with the highest inclusive fitness (i.e., total number of descendants). In cases where one sex is more productive, one or both parents may maximize their inclusive fitness by investing in the offspring of the more prolific sex. Such preferential production can lead to skewed sex ratios at various life history stages, including at birth, resulting in secondary sex ratio bias. Several competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain observed variation in secondary sex ratios including Fisher's frequency dependence and two hypotheses related to maternal condition: Trivers–Willard and the local resource hypotheses. Although it has been shown that maternal condition can influence the number of offspring produced in white‐tailed deer, there is no consensus as to which of the hypotheses drives sex ratio bias in wild populations. Using a spatiotemporally extensive dataset of pregnant white‐tailed deer from Mississippi, USA, we examined fetal sex ratio in relation to the Fisherian frequency‐dependence hypothesis and hypotheses related to maternal condition. While there was a male‐sex ratio bias in pregnant females that reduced in intensity with the number of offspring, there was no support for condition‐related hypotheses. Instead, secondary sex ratios for white‐tailed deer in Mississippi were nearly consistent with Fisherian frequency dependence. Our findings add to the body of literature on secondary sex biases in white‐tailed deer and help inform sex bias ratios for a southern population of a cervid of management importance in the US.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70296Fisherian frequency dependencelocal resource competition hypothesisOdocoileus virginianusTrivers–Willard hypothesis |
| spellingShingle | Jane E. Dentinger Lacy A. Dolan Todt Emma A. Schultz James N. Helferich Stephen Demarais Randy W. DeYoung William T. McKinley Bronson K. Strickland Melanie R. Boudreau Testing secondary sex ratio bias hypotheses in white‐tailed deer in Mississippi, USA Ecology and Evolution Fisherian frequency dependence local resource competition hypothesis Odocoileus virginianus Trivers–Willard hypothesis |
| title | Testing secondary sex ratio bias hypotheses in white‐tailed deer in Mississippi, USA |
| title_full | Testing secondary sex ratio bias hypotheses in white‐tailed deer in Mississippi, USA |
| title_fullStr | Testing secondary sex ratio bias hypotheses in white‐tailed deer in Mississippi, USA |
| title_full_unstemmed | Testing secondary sex ratio bias hypotheses in white‐tailed deer in Mississippi, USA |
| title_short | Testing secondary sex ratio bias hypotheses in white‐tailed deer in Mississippi, USA |
| title_sort | testing secondary sex ratio bias hypotheses in white tailed deer in mississippi usa |
| topic | Fisherian frequency dependence local resource competition hypothesis Odocoileus virginianus Trivers–Willard hypothesis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70296 |
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