Sammendrag
Behavioural strategies to reduce predation risk can incur costs, which are
often referred to as risk effects. A common strategy to avoid predation is
spatio-temporal avoidance of predators, in which prey typically trade optimal
resources for safety. Analogous with predator–prey theory, risk
effects should also arise in species with sexually selected infanticide (SSI),
in which females with dependent offspring avoid infanticidal males. SSI
can be common in brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations and explains
spatio-temporal segregation among reproductive classes. Here, we show
that in a population with SSI, females with cubs-of-the-year had lower quality
diets than conspecifics during the SSI high-risk period, the mating
season. After the mating season, their diets were of similar quality to diets
of their conspecifics. Our results suggest a nutritive risk effect of SSI, in
which females with cubs-of-the-year alter their resource selection and
trade optimal resources for offspring safety. Such risk effects can add
to female costs of reproduction and may be widespread among species
with SSI.
behaviour, ecology, evolution, brown bear, risk effects, segregation,
sexually selected infanticide
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