TY - JOUR
T1 - Pre- to post-fledging carryover effects and the adaptive significance of variation in wing development for juvenile songbirds
AU - Jones, Todd M.
AU - Ward, Michael P.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded through Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (project W-154-R), and research grants from the Illinois Ornithological Society, Association of Field Ornithologists, Wilson Ornithological Society, American Ornithological Society, The North American Bluebird Society and Inland Bird Banding Association. This work was also supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project ILLU-875-963. This work would not be possible without the dedicated efforts of Alex Di Giovanni, Nicole Suckow, Kara Winter, Abby Riggs, Nisarg Shah, Mia Larrieu, Michael Miller, Evalynn Trumbo and Ryan Leeson. We are grateful to Kennekuk Cove County Park for access to our study site and help in the field and to the Middlefork Audubon Society for access to nest boxes. Animal care and use were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, protocol no. 18221. All capture and banding practices were covered under Master Bander Permit #23875, Todd M. Jones.
PY - 2020/10/1
Y1 - 2020/10/1
N2 - Evolutionary ecologists have long been interested in the adaptive significance of morphological traits across stages of animal life. In some cases, traits that are not adaptive in one life stage may be adaptive in a subsequent stage. As such, morphological traits may generate important carryover effects, whereby conditions experienced during one life-history stage influence fitness during subsequent stages. Carryover effects are particularly relevant in young animals, as early life stages are thought to be critical with respect to animal life-history evolution and population dynamics. In songbirds, pre- to post-fledging carryover effects operating within species may be critical for survival and shape life histories among species, but remain poorly understood. Among potential songbird traits, wing development and its associated flight ability may be the most important for post-fledging survival. Thus, to assess the adaptive significance of wing development for juvenile songbirds under Arnold's (Integrative and Comparative Biology, 23, 1983, 347) classic performance–morphology–fitness paradigm, we tested for pre- to post-fledging carryover effects among 20 coexisting species (nine focal species) of an avian community in east-central Illinois, USA. We found evidence for pre- to post-fledging carryover effects of wing development in all species, by which individuals with less developed wings exhibited poorer flight ability and experienced higher rates of mortality after fledging. Furthermore, our findings suggest that carryover effects operating at the species level ultimately help shape patterns of life-history variation among species. Specifically, we found that species with higher rates of nest predation had shorter nestling periods, fledged young with less developed wings and exhibited higher rates of post-fledging mortality. Our results highlight the adaptive significance of wing development as a key factor generating pre- to post-fledging carryover effects among songbirds, and demonstrate how morphological traits, locomotor performance, and age-specific survival may trade-off and interact across juvenile life stages to shape animal life histories.
AB - Evolutionary ecologists have long been interested in the adaptive significance of morphological traits across stages of animal life. In some cases, traits that are not adaptive in one life stage may be adaptive in a subsequent stage. As such, morphological traits may generate important carryover effects, whereby conditions experienced during one life-history stage influence fitness during subsequent stages. Carryover effects are particularly relevant in young animals, as early life stages are thought to be critical with respect to animal life-history evolution and population dynamics. In songbirds, pre- to post-fledging carryover effects operating within species may be critical for survival and shape life histories among species, but remain poorly understood. Among potential songbird traits, wing development and its associated flight ability may be the most important for post-fledging survival. Thus, to assess the adaptive significance of wing development for juvenile songbirds under Arnold's (Integrative and Comparative Biology, 23, 1983, 347) classic performance–morphology–fitness paradigm, we tested for pre- to post-fledging carryover effects among 20 coexisting species (nine focal species) of an avian community in east-central Illinois, USA. We found evidence for pre- to post-fledging carryover effects of wing development in all species, by which individuals with less developed wings exhibited poorer flight ability and experienced higher rates of mortality after fledging. Furthermore, our findings suggest that carryover effects operating at the species level ultimately help shape patterns of life-history variation among species. Specifically, we found that species with higher rates of nest predation had shorter nestling periods, fledged young with less developed wings and exhibited higher rates of post-fledging mortality. Our results highlight the adaptive significance of wing development as a key factor generating pre- to post-fledging carryover effects among songbirds, and demonstrate how morphological traits, locomotor performance, and age-specific survival may trade-off and interact across juvenile life stages to shape animal life histories.
KW - adaptive significance
KW - carryover effects
KW - life history
KW - morphological traits
KW - performance
KW - post-fledging
KW - songbirds
KW - wing development
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U2 - 10.1111/1365-2656.13285
DO - 10.1111/1365-2656.13285
M3 - Article
C2 - 32596836
AN - SCOPUS:85087654692
SN - 0021-8790
VL - 89
SP - 2235
EP - 2245
JO - Journal of Animal Ecology
JF - Journal of Animal Ecology
IS - 10
ER -