Lucky Squirrels

Some squirrels have all the luck.

Researchers discovered that squirrels born under lucky circumstances, such as a time of plentiful food and warmer spring weather, held on to their advantage throughout their lifetimes. These squirrels ultimately boasted better fitness, longevity and reproductive success later in life.

"One of the fundamental challenges for ecologists is to determine how resource levels affect the reproductive success of individual animals," said Stan Boutin, a biologist at the University of Alberta in Canada. "Our study shows that some individuals get a real head start on their colleagues simply by being born in a good year. On the other hand, those having the bad luck of being born in a bad year may never get a taste of that silver spoon."

The scientists analyzed 15 years of data from a North American Red Squirrel population, and found that female babies born into fortunate circumstances produced more offspring over the remainder of their lives.

The researchers recently reported their findings in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

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