The effects of different temperatures and diets experienced during distinct life stages are not necessarily similar. The silver-spoon hypothesis predicts that developing under favorable conditions will always lead to better performing adults under all adult conditions. The environment-matching hypothesis suggests that a match between developmental and adult conditions will lead to the best perf...

Asexual reproduction, including parthenogenesis in which embryos develop within a female without fertilization, is assumed to confer advantages over sexual reproduction, which includes a "cost of males." Sexual reproduction largely predominates in animals, however, indicating that this cost is outweighed by the genetic and/or ecological benefits of sexuality, including the acquisition of advant...

Abstract Sociality is known to be capable of slowing individual senescence, but it unclear whether the effect differs for reproduction versus survival in a sex‐specific manner. Here we predict that social benefits are directed toward (1) somatic maintenance harsh environments where high prospects adults over young intensify trade‐off between current and future reproduction, (2) females invest m...

Sexual reproduction in nature requires two sexes, which raises the question why the reproductive scheme did not evolve to have three or more sexes. Here we construct a constrained optimization model based on the communication theory to analyze trade-offs among reproductive schemes with arbitrary number of sexes. More sexes on one hand lead to higher reproductive diversity, but on the other hand...

Assisted reproduction techniques (ARTs), such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer are well established and have been used in a wide range of species. To date, the economic impact of these ARTs in horses has rapidly increased. While many studies have attempted to improve the efficiency of ARTs, overall success remains relatively restricted due principally to a limited knowledge of the...

Sexual reproduction in Nature requires two sexes, which raises the question why the reproductive scheme did not evolve to have three or more sexes. Here we construct a constrained optimization model based on the communication theory to analyze trade-offs among reproductive schemes with arbitrary number of sexes. More sexes on one hand lead to higher reproductive diversity, but on the other hand...

Plant reproduction yields immediate fitness benefits but can be costly in terms of survival, growth, and future fecundity. Life-history theory posits that reproductive strategies are shaped by trade-offs between current and future fitness that result from these direct costs of reproduction. Plant reproduction may also incur indirect ecological costs if it increases susceptibility to herbivores....