DOI: 10.5061/dryad.dv41ns285
title: Data from: Sex-specific performances, trade-offs and trait repeatability across the lifetime of the world's largest semelparous mammal (Dasyurus hallucatus)

description: The activities that define survival and reproductive success in animals
 depend on their physical performances. However, performance is a complex
 trait, and organisms must balance competing demands of multiple underlying
 factors every time they undertake an activity. For example, the morphology
 that increases bite force (i.e., increased head size)—improving fighting
 ability—should constrain sprinting performance by adding mass to the body.
 Consequently, trade-offs between fighting and escape performance might be
 sex-specific where sexual dimorphism is present, or pronounced in animals
 with extreme breeding strategies. Northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus)
 are a sexually dimorphic marsupial, with sex-specific life history
 strategies; males die after a single synchronous breeding season, while
 females live and breed for 2–3 years. We investigated the effects of sex
 and life histories on whole-animal performance and assessed whether sprint
 speed and bite force trade off among- or within-individual male and female
 quolls. We used a repeated measures dataset spanning three years. We
 identified significant sex differences in morphology and performance,
 notably after breeding, where male sprint speed decreases but female bite
 force increases. Both body size and body condition were strong predictors
 of performance. However, we found no trade-off between sprint speed and
 bite force, suggesting that ecologically relevant tasks for survival and
 reproduction—fighting capacity and escape ability—may evolve independently
 in both male and female northern quolls. Finally, we assessed the
 repeatability of morphological and performance traits and demonstrated the
 importance of study design when quantifying variance in animal
 performance, especially for animals with complex life histories.
description: # Quoll Performance
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dv41ns285](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dv41ns285) ## Description of the data and file structure This dataset was collected as part of a three-year longitudinal study (2012–2014) on northern quolls (*Dasyurus hallucatus*), conducted on Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, Australia. The study investigated sex-specific differences in performance traits, focusing on sprint speed and bite force, and how these traits are influenced by differences in size, shape, condition, and life-history strategies. Northern quolls were live-captured using cage traps and individually marked for identification. Morphological measurements (e.g., body size and condition) were recorded, and performance tests were conducted under controlled conditions: 1. **Sprint Speed**: six measures of sprint speed were captured using a linear racetrack equipped with motion-capture cameras. 2. **Bite Force**: three measures of bite force were captured using a calibrated force transducer. Data were collected across key reproductive phases (pre-breeding, breeding, and post-breeding) to assess seasonal and lifetime changes in performance. Repeatability analyses were performed to quantify temporal variation and consistency in traits. All procedures were approved by the University of Queensland Ethics Committee and conducted under appropriate permits. ### Files and variables #### File: Performance\_Full\_Data\_2012-2014.csv **Description:** dataset containing all repeated measures of performance traits and morphological traits for each quoll throughout the entire study period. NAs are present where quolls were recaptured and had only morphological measurements taken, for example, instead of the full suite of performance test.  ##### Variables * Date: Date (dd/mm/yyyy) of capture/test * Julian Day: Days since January 1st, 2012 * Year: Year of study * Name: identity of quoll, unique name for each * BreedingStatus: Stage of capture, pre-breeding, breeding, post-breeding * Sex: male/female * AgeClass: females, 1, 2, or 3 years of age. No males survived beyond 1 year of age. * Mass: mass of animal in grams * Visit: order of visit to the lab for testing * BodyLength: tailor's tape; nuchal crest to base of tail, mm * TailLength: tailor's tape; base to tip of tail, mm * TailDiameter: digital callipers (Whitworth, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; ±0.01 mm); maximum tail width, mm * Footlength: digital callipers (Whitworth, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; ±0.01 mm); heel to claw base, mm * HindlimbLength: digital callipers (Whitworth, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; ±0.01 mm); tibia-fibula, mm * ForeLimbLength: digital callipers (Whitworth, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; ±0.01 mm); radius-ulna, mm * HeadWidth: digital callipers (Whitworth, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; ±0.01 mm); widest point of jaw, mm * HeadLength: digital callipers (Whitworth, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; ±0.01 mm); from nuchal crest to tip of snout, mm * bite1-3: repeated measures of maximum bite force * MaxBite: maximum of the three repeated measures * sprint1-6: repeated measures of sprint speed * MaxSprint: maximum of the six repeated measures #### File: bite.repro.csv **Description:** A subset of the full dataset, containing only bite force for individuals that were captured and measured in each of the pre-breeding, breeding, and post-breeding stages consecutively. ##### Variables: * Same as full dataset. #### File: sprint.repro.csv **Description:** A subset of the full dataset, containing only sprint speed for individuals that were captured and measured in each of the pre-breeding, breeding, and post-breeding stages consecutively. ##### Variables: * Same as full dataset. ## Code/software **Software Requirements and Workflow** The data can be accessed and analysed using a combination of free/open-source and licensed software. ASReml-R requires a license. Below is a description of the required tools, their versions, and associated workflows: ### Required Software 1. **R**: * Version: 4.3.0 or higher * Website: [https://cran.r-project.org](https://cran.r-project.org/) * Packages used: * `lme4` (for mixed-effects models) * `ASReml-R` (version 4; for variance component analysis - requires license) * `nadiv` (for profile likelihood calculations) * `ggplot2` (for data visualisation) * `dplyr` and `tidyr` (for data wrangling) * `multcomp` (for hypothesis testing in linear models) 2. **Tracker**: * An open-source physics video analysis and modelling tool used to process sprint speed videos. * Version: 6.0.10 or higher * Website: [https://physlets.org/tracker/](https://physlets.org/tracker/) ### Workflow Overview 1. **Morphological and Performance Data**: * Data were collected in the field and manually entered into a structured CSV file for analysis. 2. **Sprint Speed Analysis**: * Videos were recorded during performance trials and analysed using Tracker software to extract speed metrics. Processed speed data were integrated with other datasets for statistical analysis. 3. **Statistical Analysis**: * Conducted in R using scripts to: * Fit mixed-effects models (`lme4`, `ASReml-R`) * Partition variance components (`ASReml-R`, `nadiv`) * Test hypotheses (`multcomp`) * Create visualisations (`ggplot2`) * Perform data wrangling (`dplyr`, `tidyr`) 4. **Repeatability Analysis**: * Repeatability measures were calculated across time scales using custom R scripts with inputs from the processed datasets.