Data from: Lifetime reproductive success, selection on lifespan and multiple sexual ornaments in male European barn swallows

Natural and sexual selection arise when individual fitness varies
according to focal traits. Extra-pair paternities (EPPs) can affect the
intensity of selection by influencing variance in fitness among
individuals. Studies of selection require that individual fitness is
estimated using proxies of lifetime reproductive success (LRS). However,
estimating LRS is difficult in large, open populations where EPPs cause
reallocation of biological paternity. Here we used extensive field
sampling to estimate LRS in a population of barn swallows (Hirundo
rustica) to estimate selection on lifespan and ornamental traits of males.
We found selection on lifespan mediated both by within- and extra-pair
fertilization success and selection on tail length mediated by within- but
not extra-pair fertilization success. In addition, we found selection on
tail white spots via extra-pair fertilization success after controlling
for selection on other traits. These results were not confounded by
factors that hamper studies of LRS, including non-exhaustive sampling of
offspring and biased sampling of males. Hence, natural and sexual
selection mediated by LRS operates on lifespan, tail length and size of
the tail white spots in barn swallows.