Data from: Multiple routes to territory inheritance in Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens).
Data files
Jun 01, 2026 version files 74.61 KB
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README.md
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TerritoryInheritance_df.csv
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Abstract
In many animals, being the dominant owner of a territory is a pre-requisite for reproductive success. Acquisition of territory by inheritance, where at least a portion of the new (breeding) territory is acquired from the natal territory, characterizes many social animals and offers multiple benefits over dispersing away from natal ground. Territory dynamics change rapidly and are difficult to objectively quantify. Additionally, little is known regarding the non-dispersive sex’s potential to inherit.
We spatially analyzed decades of territory maps to identify all instances of natal territory inheritance in first-time breeding Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) and compared initial reproductive success of those that gained breeding status through any form of inheritance versus by other means. Among inheritors, we studied how first-time breeding strategies differed between the sexes.
Between 1982 and 2024, 139 out of 1014 first-time breeders gained significant natal territory through 1) inheriting the entire natal territory upon death of both parents, 2) pairing with an adjacent, widowed neighbor and incorporating some natal ground, or 3) budding off of their natal territory (or some combination of the.
Among all breeders that inherited substantial portions of natal territory, males did so about twice as often as females (97 vs. 42 instances, respectively). Birds that inherited natal territory did not have higher initial reproductive success than those that did not inherit; comparing reproduction among birds who inherited, males and females did not differ either. Proportions of territory gained from the natal territory differed between the sexes. Males gained a significantly higher percentage of their natal territory than females, and inherited territory made up a greater portion of their new territories. Males and females took different routes to inheritance: females showed higher plasticity in their acquisition strategy and more frequently paired with neighboring, experienced widows on large territories, while males more commonly established new, relatively small territories with dispersing, novice females.
Our study demonstrates the value in objectively quantifying field data, as it revealed a previously unidentified trend of opportunistic, female dispersals with beneficial fitness consequences.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.08kprr5gj
Description of the data and file structure
READ.ME of data and code associated with the following manuscript: 10.1111/1365-2656.70268
TITLE
Multiple routes to territory inheritance in Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens).
Authors: Sarah K. Beres1, Tori D. Bakley1, Jeremy Summers2, John W. Fitzpatrick3, Sahas Barve1
Affiliations: Archbold Biological Station1, University of Rochester2, Cornell Lab of Ornithology3
Files and variables
File: TerritoryInheritance_df.csv
Description:
This file contains the outcomes of spatial analyses for the territories of first-time breeding Florida Scrub-Jays at Archbold Biological Station between the years of 1984-2024. Details on data collection can be found within the manuscript. Below are column-by-column descriptions of each variable:
Variables
- Order: Unique identifier for each row (and each first-time breeder)
- AcqDate: Year which a first-time breeder gained a territory.
- ToTerr: 4-letter identifier for the name of the territory a first-time breeder acquired.
- NatalTerr: 4-letter identifier for the name of the territory a first-time breeder dispersed from. For breeders in which this cell was "NA", their natal territory was unknown since they had immigrated from outside of the demography tract.
- Sex: Sex of the first-time breeder. "M" refers to males and "F" refers to females.
- TotalFledge: Total individuals fledged by a first-time breeder in their first year of breeding.
- area_ov: Area (m2) of overlap between a first-time breeder's territory and their natal territory from the prior year. Birds who did not inherit were denoted "NA".
- area_np: Area (m2) of the natal territory from the year prior to dispersal. Birds who did not inherit were denoted "NA".
- area_new: Area (m2) of the first-time breeder's territory. Birds who did not inherit were denoted "NA".
- age: Age (years) of the first-time breeder.
- BrTy: Categorical variable describing the mate to the first-time breeder (NOV = novice, EXP = experience, RES = resident, DISP = disperser).
- PercentNatal: Area of overlap in relation to the natal territory's total area from the year prior. Birds who did not inherit were denoted "NA".
- PercentNew: Area of overlap in relation to to the newly formed territory's total area. Birds who did not inherit were denoted "NA".
- Overlap: Whether or not that individual inherited more than 5% of their natal territory from the prior year. "Y" is yes, "N" is no.
- Succession: Among birds who inherited territory, this column lists whether or not one or both of their parents were still alive and present at the natal territory. Y" is yes, "N" is no, "NA" was listed for birds who did not inherit. For models 3-5, only breeders with "N" listed in this column were evaluted.
Code/software
SOFTWARE
Code was compiled and run in RStudio using R version 4.4.3.
PACKAGES
- dHARMA
- glmmTMB
- performance
- sf
We spatially analyzed territory maps from 1982 to 2024 to identify all nontrivial instances of natal territory inheritance in first-time breeding Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) and compared initial reproductive success of those that gained breeding status through any form of inheritance versus by other means. Among inheritors, we studied how first-time territory acquisition strategies differed between the sexes.