Long-term fitness effects of the early-life environment in a wild bird population
Data files
Aug 20, 2025 version files 801.04 KB
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actuarial_final_BF_BO.csv
138.53 KB
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actuarial_final_BF_BO.xlsx
132.40 KB
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ARO_F_240221.csv
29.31 KB
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ARO_F_240221.xlsx
36.31 KB
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ARO_M_240221.csv
37.89 KB
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ARO_M_240221.xlsx
44.89 KB
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BE_Sun_analysis250605.R
36.09 KB
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README.md
7.16 KB
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sys_FecundityByBroodSummary.csv
157.24 KB
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sys_FecundityByBroodSummary.xlsx
181.23 KB
Abstract
Environmental conditions and experiences during development can have long-term fitness consequences, including a reduction of adulthood survival and reproduction. These long-term fitness consequences may play an important role in shaping the evolution of life history. We tested two hypotheses on the long-term fitness effects of the developmental environment – the silver spoon hypothesis and the internal Predictive Adaptive Response (PAR) hypothesis. We compared the change in annual survival and annual reproductive output with age for adult birds hatched and reared in poor (impacted by anthropogenic noise, and/or high sibling competition) and good (not impacted by anthropogenic noise, and/or low sibling competition) environments. We used a 23-year longitudinal fitness dataset from a wild house sparrow (Passer domesticus) population that was unusually precise due to the isolation of the population. We used a cross-fostering setup to disentangle postnatal environmental effects from prenatal effects. We found that adults that experienced more within-brood competition had a stronger increase in early-life annual survival, but also a stronger decrease in late-life annual survival. Females that hatched in a noisy environment produced fewer genetic recruits annually, supporting a sex-specific silver spoon effect. Males reared in a noisy environment had accelerated reproductive schedules, presenting a sex-specific internal PAR. Our results highlight that anthropogenic noise can have long-term fitness consequences in wild animals, altering their life-history strategies, and that there may be sex-specific effects.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.08kprr5dh
Description of the data and file structure
The data was collected during 2000-2012 from a wild house sparrow (Passer domesticus) population on Lundy Island, UK. The population has been systematically monitored for 23 y for breeding activities and survival status for each bird.
Files and variables
Empty cells and NA in all files indicate data not available, usually because we were not able to record this information.
File: sys_FecundityByBroodSummary.xlsx and sys_FecundityByBroodSummary.csv
Description: support data to extract natural history information per brood. The data in the two files are identical, with the .csv version to improve accessibility.
Variables
- BroodRef: a unique number to identify each brood
- BroodName: a unique name to identify each brood
- NestboxRef: the nest box where the brood was
- SocialDadID: the identity of the social father of the brood
- SocialDadCertain: whether the identity of the social father was certain (TRUE/FALSE)
- SocialMumID: the identity of the social mother of the brood
- SocialMumCertain: whether the identity of the social mother was certain (TRUE/FALSE)
- BroodYear: the year when the brood was produced
- Eggs: number of eggs in the brood
- Hatchlings: number of hatchlings in the brood
- FledgeNperOriginalClutch: number of fledglings that were hatched in this brood
- FledgeNperRearingNest: number of fledglings that were reared in this brood
- StartDay: Julian date of the year when the brood started
File: actuarial_final_BF_BO.xlsx and actuarial_final_BF_BO.csv
Description: survival data with variables required for modeling survival senescence. The data in the two files are identical, with the .csv version to improve accessibility.
Variables
- BirdID: a unique number to identify each bird
- SexEstimate: 0 = female, 1 = male
- Cohort: birth year of the bird
- NatalBroodRef: the brood where the egg was laid
- NatalNestboxRef: the nest box where the egg was laid
- NatalNestbox: name the nest box where the egg was laid
- FosterBrood: the brood where the chick was reared
- FosterNestboxRef: the nest box where the chick was reared
- RearingNestbox: name of the nest box where the chick was reared
- DeathStatus: a code for record type in the database (not used in this analysis)
- DeathDate: generated approximate death date, should be in line with the last live record
- LastLiveRecord: time when the bird was last observed
- LastStage: 3 = postfledgling
- BroodSizeHatchling: number of hatchlings in the natal brood
- Year: year of observation
- Age: age of the bird in the given year
- Survival: 0 = dead, 1 = survived
- NatalEnv: natal environment, Q = Quiet, N = Noisy
- RearingEnv: rearing environment, Q = Quiet, N = Noisy
- BroodSizeFledgling: number of fledglings in the rearing brood
- NatalBroodOrder: natal brood order
- FosterBroodOrder: rearing brood order
File: ARO_F_240221.xlsx and ARO_F_240221.csv
Description: female annual reproductive output data with variables required for modeling reproductive senescence. The data in the two files are identical, with the .csv version to improve accessibility.
Variables
- BirdID: a unique number to identify each bird
- SexEstimate: 0 = female
- Cohort: birth year of the bird
- NatalBroodRef: the brood where the egg was laid
- NatalNestboxRef: the nest box where the egg was laid
- NatalNestbox: name the nest box where the egg was laid
- FosterBrood: the brood where the chick was reared
- FosterNestboxRef: the nest box where the chick was reared
- RearingNestbox: name of the nest box where the chick was reared
- DeathStatus: a code for record type in the database (not used in this analysis)
- DeathDate: generated approximate death date, should be in line with the last live record
- LastLiveRecord: time when the bird was last observed
- LastStage: 3 = postfledgling
- BroodSizeHatchling: number of hatchlings in the natal brood
- Year: year of observation
- Age: age of the bird in the given year
- Survival: 0 = dead, 1 = survived
- NatalEnv: natal environment, Q = Quiet, N = Noisy
- RearingEnv: rearing environment, Q = Quiet, N = Noisy
- BroodSizeFledgling: number of fledglings in the rearing brood
- NatalBroodOrder: natal brood order
- FosterBroodOrder: rearing brood order
NumberOfBroods: number of broods the bird produced in the year
- NumberOfEggs: number of eggs the bird produced in the year
- NumberOfFledglings: number of fledglings the bird produced in the year
- NumberOfAnnualRecruit: number of recruits the bird produced in the year
- Reproduced: whether the bird reproduced in the year, 0 = no, 1 = yes
- MeanAge: mean of the age of the bird
- DeltaAge: within-individual centered age
- LastBreedingYear: last breeding year
- LR: last reproduction: 0 = no, 1 = yes
File: ARO_M_240221.xlsx and ARO_M_240221.csv
Description: male annual reproductive output data with variables required for modeling reproductive senescence. The data in the two files are identical, with the .csv version to improve accessibility.
Variables
- BirdID: a unique number to identify each bird
- SexEstimate: 0 = female
- Cohort: birth year of the bird
- NatalBroodRef: the brood where the egg was laid
- NatalNestboxRef: the nest box where the egg was laid
- NatalNestbox: name the nest box where the egg was laid
- FosterBrood: the brood where the chick was reared
- FosterNestboxRef: the nest box where the chick was reared
- RearingNestbox: name of the nest box where the chick was reared
- DeathStatus: a code for record type in the database (not used in this analysis)
- DeathDate: generated approximate death date, should be in line with the last live record
- LastLiveRecord: time when the bird was last observed
- LastStage: 3 = postfledgling
- BroodSizeHatchling: number of hatchlings in the natal brood
- Year: year of observation
- Age: age of the bird in the given year
- Survival: 0 = dead, 1 = survived
- NatalEnv: natal environment, Q = Quiet, N = Noisy
- RearingEnv: rearing environment, Q = Quiet, N = Noisy
- BroodSizeFledgling: number of fledglings in the rearing brood
- NatalBroodOrder: natal brood order
- FosterBroodOrder: rearing brood order
- NumberOfBroods: number of broods the bird produced in the year
- NumberOfEggs: number of eggs the bird produced in the year
- NumberOfFledglings: number of fledglings the bird produced in the year
- NumberOfAnnualRecruit: number of recruits the bird produced in the year
- Reproduced: whether the bird reproduced in the year, 0 = no, 1 = yes
- MeanAge: mean of the age of the bird
- DeltaAge: within-individual centered age
- LastBreedingYear: last breeding year
- LR: last reproduction: 0 = no, 1 = yes
File: BE_Sun_analysis250605.R
Description: R script for the analysis
Code/software
R version 4.3.2
R packages (non-base):
- ggpubr_0.6.0
- ggeffects_2.2.1
- ggplot2_3.5.1
- writexl_1.5.4
- performance_0.13.0
- DHARMa_0.4.7
- glmmTMB_1.1.10
- dplyr_1.1.4
- openxlsx_4.2.8