Dietary protein influences the life-history characteristics across generations in the African striped XXXX Rhabdomys.

@entity19 @entity1131 @entity2101
UNASSIGNED: The level of dietary protein determines the onset of reproduction, affects offspring growth and maturation, and hence influences life-history traits and fitness. However, to date, the long-term life-history consequences of @entity1131 are not well understood. We studied the transgenerational effects of different levels of dietary protein on the life-history and level of maternal behavior of the striped @entity19 Rhabdomys dilectus chakae in captivity. Breeding pairs were assigned to three treatments based on the percentage of dietary protein: baseline (BP; 19%); @entity2101 ( @entity2101 ; 24%); and low protein (LP; 10%). Reproductive output and offspring ontogeny was diminished in the LP treatment compared to the other treatments. Transgenerational effects were studied by breeding F2 females raised on the LP or @entity2101 diets on the same ( @entity2101 , LP-LP) or altered diets ( @entity1131 , LP- @entity2101 ). The LP-LP treatment had no reproductive success, while reproductive capacity in the remaining treatments was determined mainly by the diet of mothers at breeding. Pups from protein-restricted females (LP, @entity1131 ) showed post-weaning compensatory growth. Timing of sexual maturity was age-dependent in female and mass-dependent in male offspring. Females fed low protein diets during breeding (LP, @entity1131 ) displayed lower levels of maternal behavior than females from the other treatments. This study demonstrates that the level of dietary protein influences the life-history of R. d. chakae in predictable ways. The taxon responds to changes in dietary protein at breeding, largely regardless of its nutrition during rearing. Such phenotypic flexibility in life-history parameters allows Rhabdomys to adaptively respond to unpredictable environmental changes. J. Exp. Zool. 323A: 97-108, 2015.    2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
