Table 1 Hypotheses on the effect of maternal age (H1), maternal allocation history (parity) (H2), maternal condition (H3) and differential input allocation (H4-5) and parturition date (H6) and predictions (P1–P6) on maternal reproductive life history traits (milk yield, milk energy density, milk composition and offspring growth) in captive Iberian red deer.
Milk yield | Milk energy density | Milk composition | Offspring growth | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1. Mother age | H1 | H1 | H1 | H1 | P1. Improvement through early life, plateau in prime age, and then suddenly decline |
H2. Parity | H2 | H2 | H2 | H2 | P2. Improvement through early life, plateau in prime age, followed by a maintained gradual decline that is favoured because of reproductive experience, and then a sudden decline |
H3. Mother condition | H3 | H3 | H3 | H3 | P3. A general increase with maternal condition |
H4. Offspring sex | H4 | H4 | H4 | H5 | P4. Milk energy and composition will not differ between offspring sexes, as in captive deer there is very little choice for mothers to select diets that enable them to modify milk composition P5. Mothers will maximise offspring growth of both sexes, consequently, offspring growth will be greater in males and in females of dimorphic species in body mass |
H5. Parturition date | H6 | H6 | H6 | H6 | P6. Early parturition dates generally correspond with mothers in good condition but also with synchronising lactation with vegetation growth, in well fed captive deer the latter effect might have little effect on maternal reproductive input |
