Nonlinear and population-specific offspring sex ratios in relation to high variation in prey abundance
International audience Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus ), a specialist raptor in western France, faces huge variations in the abundance of its main prey, the common vole (Microtus arvalis ). This simple predator/prey system provides fine-tuned data for investigating patterns of sex allocatio...
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ftunivnantes:oai:HAL:hal-00188245v1 2023-05-15T15:56:37+02:00 Nonlinear and population-specific offspring sex ratios in relation to high variation in prey abundance Millon, Alexandre Bretagnolle, Vincent Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 2005 https://hal.science/hal-00188245 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13440.x en eng HAL CCSD Nordic Ecological Society info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13440.x hal-00188245 https://hal.science/hal-00188245 doi:10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13440.x ISSN: 0030-1299 EISSN: 1600-0706 Oikos https://hal.science/hal-00188245 Oikos, 2005, 108, pp.535-543. ⟨10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13440.x⟩ [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2005 ftunivnantes https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13440.x 2023-02-08T08:21:24Z International audience Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus ), a specialist raptor in western France, faces huge variations in the abundance of its main prey, the common vole (Microtus arvalis ). This simple predator/prey system provides fine-tuned data for investigating patterns of sex allocation under environmental variability. We analysed variations in brood sex ratio at fledging (1364 chicks from 451 broods) in two adjacent harrier populations for respectively 16- and 8-year surveys of both the predator and its prey. Overall sex ratio (number of males/total number of offspring) was close to parity (0.513) but this apparent equilibrium resulted in fact from opposite skews in the two populations which differed by almost 10% (0.561 vs 0.464). Brood reduction only is unlikely to produce such a difference in average brood sex ratios. Brood sex ratio of the predator was affected by prey abundance. Contrary to expectations and whatever the population, relatively more offspring of the smaller sex were produced during peak years of the vole cycle but also during poor years, thus providing the first evidence for a nonlinear influence of environmental quality (prey abundance) on sex ratio. Assuming that observed sex ratios in both populations are the result of an adaptive strategy that maximizes harrier reproductive output, we discuss possible origins of the bias and why nonlinearity may be involved in sex ratio adjustment. These results further point out that sex ratio analyses should take into account population characteristics, and more generally, environmental variations both in space and time. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common vole Microtus arvalis Université de Nantes: HAL-UNIV-NANTES Oikos 108 3 535 543 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Université de Nantes: HAL-UNIV-NANTES |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnantes |
language |
English |
topic |
[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society |
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[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society Millon, Alexandre Bretagnolle, Vincent Nonlinear and population-specific offspring sex ratios in relation to high variation in prey abundance |
topic_facet |
[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society |
description |
International audience Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus ), a specialist raptor in western France, faces huge variations in the abundance of its main prey, the common vole (Microtus arvalis ). This simple predator/prey system provides fine-tuned data for investigating patterns of sex allocation under environmental variability. We analysed variations in brood sex ratio at fledging (1364 chicks from 451 broods) in two adjacent harrier populations for respectively 16- and 8-year surveys of both the predator and its prey. Overall sex ratio (number of males/total number of offspring) was close to parity (0.513) but this apparent equilibrium resulted in fact from opposite skews in the two populations which differed by almost 10% (0.561 vs 0.464). Brood reduction only is unlikely to produce such a difference in average brood sex ratios. Brood sex ratio of the predator was affected by prey abundance. Contrary to expectations and whatever the population, relatively more offspring of the smaller sex were produced during peak years of the vole cycle but also during poor years, thus providing the first evidence for a nonlinear influence of environmental quality (prey abundance) on sex ratio. Assuming that observed sex ratios in both populations are the result of an adaptive strategy that maximizes harrier reproductive output, we discuss possible origins of the bias and why nonlinearity may be involved in sex ratio adjustment. These results further point out that sex ratio analyses should take into account population characteristics, and more generally, environmental variations both in space and time. |
author2 |
Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Millon, Alexandre Bretagnolle, Vincent |
author_facet |
Millon, Alexandre Bretagnolle, Vincent |
author_sort |
Millon, Alexandre |
title |
Nonlinear and population-specific offspring sex ratios in relation to high variation in prey abundance |
title_short |
Nonlinear and population-specific offspring sex ratios in relation to high variation in prey abundance |
title_full |
Nonlinear and population-specific offspring sex ratios in relation to high variation in prey abundance |
title_fullStr |
Nonlinear and population-specific offspring sex ratios in relation to high variation in prey abundance |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nonlinear and population-specific offspring sex ratios in relation to high variation in prey abundance |
title_sort |
nonlinear and population-specific offspring sex ratios in relation to high variation in prey abundance |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-00188245 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13440.x |
genre |
Common vole Microtus arvalis |
genre_facet |
Common vole Microtus arvalis |
op_source |
ISSN: 0030-1299 EISSN: 1600-0706 Oikos https://hal.science/hal-00188245 Oikos, 2005, 108, pp.535-543. ⟨10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13440.x⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13440.x hal-00188245 https://hal.science/hal-00188245 doi:10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13440.x |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13440.x |
container_title |
Oikos |
container_volume |
108 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
535 |
op_container_end_page |
543 |
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1766392012583469056 |