Evolutionary design of a flexible, seasonally migratory, avian phenotype: why trade gizzard mass against pectoral muscle mass?

Migratory birds undergo impressive body remodelling over the course of an annual cycle. Prior to long-distance flights, red knots (Calidris canutus islandica) reduce gizzard mass while increasing body mass and pectoral muscle mass. Although body mass and pectoral muscle mass are functionally linked via their joint effects on flight performance, gizzard and pectoral muscle mass are thought to be independently regulated. Current hypotheses for observed negative within-individual covariation between gizzard and pectoral muscle mass in free-living knots are based on a common factor (e.g., migration) simultaneously affecting both traits, and/or protein limitation forcing allocation decisions. We used diet manipulations to generate within-individual variation in gizzard mass and test for independence between gizzard and pectoral muscle mass within-individuals outside the period of migration and under conditions of high protein availability. Contrary to our prediction, we observed a negative w...