Data from: Brood size affects future reproduction in a long-lived bird with precocial young ...

• Main Authors: Leach, Alan, Sedinger, James, Riecke, Thomas, Dellen, Amanda Van, Ward, David, Boyd, Sean
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2018
• Subjects: Reproduction investment; Trade offs; Branta bernicla nigricans; Reproduction costs; Branta bernicla
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.96bk480; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.96bk480

Estimation of trade-offs between current reproduction and future survival and fecundity of long-lived vertebrates is essential to understanding factors that shape optimal reproductive investment. Black brant geese (Branta bernicla nigricans) are able fledge more goslings, on average, when their broods are experimentally enlarged to be greater than the most common clutch size of four eggs. Thus, we hypothesized that the lesser frequency of brant clutches exceeding four eggs results, at least partially, from a future reduction in survival, breeding probability, or clutch size for females tending larger broods. We used an eight-year mark-recapture dataset (Barker robust design) with five years of clutch and brood manipulations to estimate long-term consequences of reproductive decisions in brant. We did not find evidence of a trade-off between reproductive effort and true survival or future clutch size. Rather, future breeding probability was maximized (0.92 ± 0.03 [se]) for manipulated females tending broods ... : cs_initiation_dateThis file contains data used to estimate the effects of clutch and brood size manipulations on clutch size and initiation date of female black brant in year t+1. Variable descriptions are as follows: "METAL" is the unique number on a female's steel leg band; "CSM1" is the laid clutch size of a female in year t -1; "CS" is the laid clutch size of a female in year t. "IDM1" is the initiation date, in Julian days, of the female's nest in year t - 1; "ID" is the initiation date, in Julian days, of a female's nest in year t; "MCSM1" is the manipulated clutch size of a female in year t - 1, this variable was z-standardized with mean = 0 and sd =1 to enable replacement of missing values with 0; "GLNM1" is the manipulated initial brood size of the female in year t - 1; "YEAR" represents breeding season t; "RELID" is the relative initiation date (Julian initiation date - median initiation date) of a female's nest in year t; "RELIDM1" is the relative initiation date of a female's nest in year t - ...