Meeting Abstract
Every physical activity relies on a complex assortment of anatomical, physiological, motor and behavioural traits. Identifying how such traits combine to determine success is central to the study of adaptation. The concept of individual quality is often used in studies of ecology and evolution to describe those phenotypic traits that are correlated with fitness, but such a metric of quality is usually based on only a narrow range of possible underlying traits. In our study we used the world’s largest semelparous mammal – the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) – to explore how morphology and performance relate to an individual’s overall estimated general quality, which was based on a composite measure of 8 different metrics of performance. The northern quoll is a medium-sized (approx. 1 kg) predatory marsupial previously common across the entire top-end of Australia. The mating period of this species is highly synchronous, males live for only one year, and males undergo total die-offs soon after the mating season. Such population-wide male die-offs are most likely due to the physiological stress of procuring copulations and the intense fighting among males. Given the importance of procuring mates in such a short period (approx. 2 weeks), the ability for males to win fights and cover long distances to find reproductively mature females is presumably of critical importance. We assessed the running acceleration, sprint speed, jumping power, biting force, manoeuvrability, motor control, gripping strength and endurance for 63 individual quolls. In this poster, we will discuss how morphology and performance relates to an individuals overall measure of quality.
