Spatiotemporal variation of the chick mass-brood size trade-off in the little owl
Abstract
Resources are limited and cannot be used for multiple functions simultaneously, leading to trade-offs between life-history traits. The detection of such trade-offs depends on resource acquisition (total amount of resources) and allocation (distribution of resources between traits). When among-individual variation in acquisition exceeds that of allocation, trade-offs tend to be masked. The availability of food resources is shaped by environmental conditions, and thus is likely to vary over time and space. Thus, notable differences can arise in the strength but also the detection of trade-offs within a single species. Yet, studies spanning multiple years and assessing trade-offs among several natural populations within an acquisition–allocation framework remain relatively limited. We studied the well-known chick mass–brood size trade-off in more than 2,000 broods in three populations of little owl (Athene noctua) during 11 years, to better understand spatiotemporal changes in life-history trade-offs. We found that the negative correlations between brood size and chick mass were detected in most but not all years in the three populations. The larger the variation in allocation compared to variation in acquisition, the more pronounced the trade-off was, and the pattern was similar for all populations. These results indicate that trade-offs are detectable among individuals across different ecological conditions, and that the detection is strongly influenced by the variance in acquisition. A promising avenue of research would be to include intrinsic factors known to influence chick mass–brood size trade-offs, such as maternal age, breeding experience, or body condition.
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BibTeX
@article{ambielle2026spatiotemporal,
title = {{Spatiotemporal variation of the chick mass-brood size trade-off in the little owl}},
author = {Bérénice Ambielle and Marlène Gamelon and François Criscuolo and Olivier Hameau and Muriel Lecomte and Alexandre Millon and Bertrand Scaar and David Seve and Josefa Bleu},
journal = {Journal of Evolutionary Biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/jeb/voag098},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05780654v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Spatiotemporal variation of the chick mass-brood size trade-off in the little owl
AU - Bérénice Ambielle
AU - Marlène Gamelon
AU - François Criscuolo
AU - Olivier Hameau
AU - Muriel Lecomte
AU - Alexandre Millon
AU - Bertrand Scaar
AU - David Seve
AU - Josefa Bleu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Journal of Evolutionary Biology
DO - 10.1093/jeb/voag098
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05780654v1
AB - Resources are limited and cannot be used for multiple functions simultaneously, leading to trade-offs between life-history traits. The detection of such trade-offs depends on resource acquisition (total amount of resources) and allocation (distribution of resources between traits). When among-individual variation in acquisition exceeds that of allocation, trade-offs tend to be masked. The availability of food resources is shaped by environmental conditions, and thus is likely to vary over time and space. Thus, notable differences can arise in the strength but also the detection of trade-offs within a single species. Yet, studies spanning multiple years and assessing trade-offs among several natural populations within an acquisition–allocation framework remain relatively limited. We studied the well-known chick mass–brood size trade-off in more than 2,000 broods in three populations of little owl (Athene noctua) during 11 years, to better understand spatiotemporal changes in life-history trade-offs. We found that the negative correlations between brood size and chick mass were detected in most but not all years in the three populations. The larger the variation in allocation compared to variation in acquisition, the more pronounced the trade-off was, and the pattern was similar for all populations. These results indicate that trade-offs are detectable among individuals across different ecological conditions, and that the detection is strongly influenced by the variance in acquisition. A promising avenue of research would be to include intrinsic factors known to influence chick mass–brood size trade-offs, such as maternal age, breeding experience, or body condition.
SN - 1010-061X
SN - 1420-9101
ER -