Lifetime Reproductive Success of Female Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus Tyrannus): Influence of Lifespan, Nest Predation, and Body Size

Abstract

AbstractI report on the lifetime reproductive success (LRS) of female Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) in central New York. I investigated the major correlates of LRS and specifically tested the hypothesis that small body size yields reproductive benefits. Lifetime reproductive success varied widely: 15–20% of females failed to fledge young over their life, whereas 50% of young were fledged by 20% of females. Female lifespan varied between one and eight years, and females that died after one breeding season tended to be smaller-bodied than long-lived females (≥2 seasons). I therefore conducted analyses of LRS for the entire sample and for longer-lived females separately. As in other species, lifespan was the strongest predictor of LRS, followed by the proportion of eggs laid that resulted in fledged young (P). Lifetime reproductive success varied positively with clutch size and, as predicted, inversely with body size (i.e., tarsus length) of females. However, variance partitioning indicated that most variation in LRS was attributable to the effects of lifespan and P, but that a substantial negative covariance existed between lifespan and P. The latter result was consistent with experimental evidence of a cost of reproduction in Eastern Kingbirds. Analysis of the correlates of lifespan, P, and clutch size showed that over a female's lifetime, (1) the longest-lived birds fledged an intermediate proportion of the eggs that they laid, (2) the most productive birds were of intermediate wing length, and (3) females with small tarsi produced the largest clutches and lost the fewest nests to predators. Hence, although lifespan was the dominant influence on LRS, negative effects of large female size appeared to be expressed through the influence of body size on other demographic parameters that contribute to LRS.Éxito Reproductivo Completo de Vida de Hembras de Tyrannus tyrannus: Influencia de la Duración de la Vida, la Depredación de Nidos y el Tamaño Corporal