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Oxidative stress physiology in relation to life history traits of a free-living vertebrate: the spotted snow skink, Niveoscincus ocellatus
Citation
Isaksson, C and While, GM and Olsson, M and Komdeur, J and Wapstra, E, Oxidative stress physiology in relation to life history traits of a free-living vertebrate: the spotted snow skink, Niveoscincus ocellatus, Integrative Zoology, 6, (2) pp. 140-149. ISSN 1749-4877 (2011) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
The definitive published version is available online at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
Official URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
DOI: doi:10.1111/j.1749-4877.2011.00237.x
Abstract
Recent research suggests that oxidative stress, via its links to metabolism and senescence, is a key mechanism
linking life history traits such as fecundity and growth with survival; however, this has rarely been put under
empirical scrutiny within free-living populations. Using a wild population of live-bearing skinks, we explored how
plasma antioxidant activity (OXY), reactive oxidative metabolites (ROM), and the estimated oxidative stress index
are associated with female and male life history. We found that male skinks have a significantly higher ROM and
estimated oxidative stress index than female skinks, but this was not accompanied by a sex difference in mortality.
Both sexes showed a non-linear association between OXY and age, indicating that the oldest and youngest indi-
viduals had the lowest OXY. Interestingly, female skinks with high OXY showed a decreased probability of sur-
vival to the following season. However, we found no significant associations between female reproductive invest-
ment (litter size or litter mass) or parturition date (i.e. metabolism) and oxidative status. Combined, our results
offer mixed support for a role of oxidative stress in mediating life history traits and suggest that future studies need
to explore oxidative stress during vitellogenesis in addition to using an intra-individual approach to understand the
cost of reproduction and patterns of aging.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | antioxidants, ectotherm, Egernia whitii, oxidative stress, personality. |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Zoology |
| Research Field: | Animal physiology - systems |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments |
| Objective Field: | Assessment and management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems |
| UTAS Author: | While, GM (Associate Professor Geoff While) |
| UTAS Author: | Wapstra, E (Professor Erik Wapstra) |
| ID Code: | 70821 |
| Year Published: | 2011 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 26 |
| Deposited By: | Zoology |
| Deposited On: | 2011-07-04 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-10-31 |
| Downloads: | 1 View Download Statistics |
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