Sex-Specific Heterogeneity in Fixed Morphological Traits Influences Individual Fitness in a Monogamous Bird Population

Plard, Floriane; Schindler, Susanne; Arlettaz, Raphaël; Schaub, Schaub (2018). Sex-Specific Heterogeneity in Fixed Morphological Traits Influences Individual Fitness in a Monogamous Bird Population. The American naturalist, 191(1), pp. 106-119. University of Chicago Press 10.1086/694823

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Theoretical work has emphasized the important role of individual traits on population dynamics, but empirical models are of- ten based on average or stage-dependent demographic rates. In this study on a monogamous bird, the Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops), we show how the interactions between male and female fixed and dynamic heterogeneity influence demographic rates and population dynamics. We built an integral projection model including individual sex, age, condition (reflecting dynamic heterogeneity), and fixed morphology (reflecting fixed heterogeneity). Fixed morphology was derived from a principal component analysis of six morphological traits. Our results revealed that reproductive success and survival were linked to fixed het- erogeneity, whereas dynamic heterogeneity influenced mainly the tim- ing of reproduction. Fixed heterogeneity had major consequences for the population growth rate, but interestingly, its effect on population dynamics differed between the sexes. Female fixed morphology was di- rectly linked to annual reproductive success, whereas male fixed mor- phology also influenced annual survival, being twice higher in large than in small males. Even in a monogamous bird with shared parental care, large males can reach 10% higher fitness than females. Including the dynamics of male and female individual traits in population mod- els refines our understanding of the individual mechanisms that influ- ence demographic rates and population dynamics and can help in iden- tifying differences in sex-specific strategies.

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