Abstract
Seasonal breeding is a common feature in the life history of marsupials and has been correlated with temperature, resource availability, and photoperiod. Didelphis aurita is a Neotropical marsupial that reproduces seasonally, with up to two litters per season who will be weaned approximately 100 days after birth. Environmental conditions faced by first- and second-cohort individuals differ at weaning and during the juvenile phase, allowing for variation in survival and reproduction among individuals from different cohorts. In this study, we evaluated the differential survival of D. aurita individuals born in the first and second reproductive events over 21 years. Apparent survival and recapture rates were estimated using the Cormack–Jolly–Seber model implemented in program MARK. Sixteen models that included sex, cohort, and maternal body mass were compared. Overall, 1082 pouch youngs were marked, totaling 160 litters. Survival varied between sex and cohorts, with higher survival rates for females and for the first cohort (males and females) and was positively affected by maternal body mass. Results corroborate the hypothesis of differential survival between cohorts and sex. First-cohort opossums are weaned in a period with great resource abundance and low population density (beginning of the rainy season), favoring their survival. Thus, individuals weaned under good conditions outperformed those weaned under poorer conditions. Overall, cohort variation in survival rates as a consequence of environmental conditions and maternal effects may have substantial effects on population dynamics by affecting population regulation in the following non-breeding season.
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Acknowledgements
We thank students of the Laboratório de Vertebrados for assistance in the field work and ICMBio/PARNASO for field research support. We also thank Camila dos Santos de Barros, Natalie Olifiers, the Associate Editor, and two anonymous referees for providing helpful and constructive comments to improve the manuscript. Nélio Barros (In memoriam), Angela Marcondes, Reginaldo Honorato, Caroline Spitz, Marcelle Pacheco, and Rosana Juazeiro provided vital support in the laboratory. The following agencies provided financial support: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Pesquisas Ecológicas de Longa Duração (PELD-MCF/CNPq), Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação Científica (PIBIC/CNPq), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), and Projeto Nacional de Ações Integradas Público-Privadas para Biodiversidade (PROBIO II/MCT/MMA/GEF). MSF was also supported by CNPq (Process No. 151999/2022-8).
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RC designed the long-term monitoring study of small mammals, MVV and RC secured funding, MSF developed the concept of this study, MSF and RCS collected part of the field data, RCS and MSF analyzed data and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors discussed the results, commented on the final version, and approved the manuscript.
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da Silva, R.C., Vieira, M.V., Cerqueira, R. et al. Timing of birth determines lifetime survival in a Neotropical marsupial. Mamm Biol 103, 255–264 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-023-00352-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-023-00352-9