RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Investigating a trade-off between the quality of nest grown feathers and pace of development in an altricial bird
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.04.07.438834
DO 10.1101/2021.04.07.438834
A1 Conor C. Taff
A1 Brianna A. Johnson
A1 Allison T. Anker
A1 Alyssa M. Rodriguez
A1 Jennifer L. Houtz
A1 Jennifer J. Uehling
A1 Maren N. Vitousek
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/04/09/2021.04.07.438834.abstract
AB Life history theory provides a framework for understanding how trade-offs generate negative trait associations. Among nestling birds, developmental rate, risk of predation, and lifespan covary, but some associations are only found within species while others are only observed between species. A recent comparative study suggests that allocation trade-offs may be alleviated by disinvestment in ephemeral traits, such as nest-grown feathers, that are quickly replaced. However, direct resource allocation trade-offs cannot be inferred from inter-specific trait-associations without complementary intra-specific studies. Here, we asked whether there is evidence for a within-species allocation trade-off between feather quality and developmental speed in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Consistent with the idea that ephemeral traits are deprioritized, nest-grown feathers had lower barb density than adult feathers. However, despite substantial variation in fledging age among nestlings, there was no evidence for a negative association between developmental pace and feather quality. Furthermore, accounting for differences in resource availability by considering provisioning rate and a nest predation treatment did not reveal a trade-off that was masked by variation in resources. Our results are most consistent with the idea that the inter-specific association between development and feather quality arises from adaptive specialization, rather than from a direct allocation trade-off.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.