Linked Life Data

19374507

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/19374507

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
2009-4-30
pubmed:abstractText
Breeding success generally increases with environmental productivity, but little is known about underlying mechanisms, and such relationships are not quantitatively understood. We studied female mice reproducing across an experimental environmental-quality gradient defined by the amount of wheel running required to obtain a food reward. Measuring energy metabolism with doubly labeled water, we quantified how mice made two key decisions: how much food to earn and how to allocate the energy earned between self and offspring. As environmental quality declined, female foraging effort increased, but not sufficiently to compensate for the increase in foraging costs. In absolute terms, energy allocated to both self and offspring was lower in a poor-quality environment. Moreover, the proportion of gained energy that was allocated to offspring declined with decreasing environmental quality. Environmental effects on reproductive output (total litter mass produced) could be fully explained by energy allocated to milk. Thus, the efficiency with which offspring converted milk energy to tissue growth was independent of environmental quality. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to provide a quantitative explanation, via maternal energy allocation, of the link between foraging costs and reproductive output.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
1537-5323
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
173
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
831-40
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2009
pubmed:articleTitle
Maternal energy allocation to offspring increases with environmental quality in house mice.
pubmed:affiliation
Behavioral Biology Group, Center for Behavior and Neurosciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. k.a.schubert@rug.nl
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't