Natural selection on body size traits in a long-lived bird, the snow petrel Pagodroma nivea

Abstract

Abstract I consider the possibility of selection favouring large body size in a population of snow petrels (Pagodroma nivea), a long-lived seabird species. I measured natural selection on body size traits in a population from 1987 to 1998. There was evidence of selection on body size associated with fecundity and survival. Directional selection on bill length and stabilizing selection on tarsus length associated with reproductive success were detected among males. Selection associated with survival favoured males with longer bills. However, selection was weak in all cases. No evidence of selection acting on female body size traits was detected. Offspring–parents regression suggested that bill length and tarsus length were heritable. Although I was able to identify the targets of selection in this population, I could not demonstrate the ecological implications of both tarsus length and bill length variation. The selection on male, but not on female, body size traits suggests factors such as intrasexual competition for nests and/or mates rather than factors such as feeding efficiency as mechanisms of selection on bill size.