Data from: Direct and indirect genetic and fine-scale location effects on breeding date in song sparrows

Quantifying direct and indirect genetic effects of interacting females and
males on variation in jointly expressed life-history traits is central to
predicting microevolutionary dynamics. However, accurately estimating
sex-specific additive genetic variances in such traits remains difficult
in wild populations, especially if related individuals inhabit similar
fine-scale environments. Breeding date is a key life-history trait that
responds to environmental phenology and mediates individual and population
responses to environmental change. However, no studies have estimated
female (direct) and male (indirect) additive genetic and inbreeding
effects on breeding date, and estimated the cross-sex genetic correlation,
while simultaneously accounting for fine-scale environmental effects of
breeding locations, impeding prediction of microevolutionary dynamics. We
fitted animal models to 38 years of song sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
phenology and pedigree data to estimate sex-specific additive genetic
variances in breeding date, and the cross-sex genetic correlation, thereby
estimating the total additive genetic variance while simultaneously
estimating sex-specific inbreeding depression. We further fitted three
forms of spatial animal model to explicitly estimate variance in breeding
date attributable to breeding location, overlap among breeding locations
and spatial autocorrelation. We thereby quantified fine-scale location
variances in breeding date and quantified the degree to which estimating
such variances affected the estimated additive genetic variances. The
non-spatial animal model estimated nonzero female and male additive
genetic variances in breeding date (sex-specific heritabilities: 0·07 and
0·02, respectively) and a strong, positive cross-sex genetic correlation
(0·99), creating substantial total additive genetic variance (0·18).
Breeding date varied with female, but not male inbreeding coefficient,
revealing direct, but not indirect, inbreeding depression. All three
spatial animal models estimated small location variance in breeding date,
but because relatedness and breeding location were virtually uncorrelated,
modelling location variance did not alter the estimated additive genetic
variances. Our results show that sex-specific additive genetic effects on
breeding date can be strongly positively correlated, which would affect
any predicted rates of microevolutionary change in response to sexually
antagonistic or congruent selection. Further, we show that inbreeding
effects on breeding date can also be sex specific and that genetic effects
can exceed phenotypic variation stemming from fine-scale location-based
variation within a wild population.