The effect of body condition on the cost of reproduction in female Collared Flycatchers Ficedula albicollis

Abstract

Survival of females in relation to their body condition was investigated in the Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis on Gotland, Sweden. The brood size was manipulated by enlarging or reducing the number of nestlings by one or two chicks. We found a positive relationship between experimental treatment and the condition of the female in the year of the experiment. Among females which disappeared (had apparently died) between years, the relationship was negative but not significant. When the effect of brood manipulation on the probability of survival was analysed separately for females in poor and good body condition, a negative relationship between experimental treatment and probability of survival among females in poor condition was found. This result indicates the existence of a cost of reproduction in terms of survival in low quality females. There was no effect of brood manipulation on the survival of females in good body condition. Our analyses suggest that individuals have different costs of reproduction, depending on their conditional state.