Double brooding in house wrens is repeatable but constrained by time-of-season

Birds in some species produce two broods in a season to maximize reproductive success, but in species such as the northern house wren (Troglodytes aedon), not all individuals produce a second brood even if they have enough time to do so. We investigated whether variation in individual quality, in addition to time-of-season, explains some of the variation in the likelihood of producing a second brood. We examined the effects of individual age, body condition, and territory quality, and estimated the repeatability of producing a second brood using breeding records from a long-term dataset. We also cross-fostered eggs between earlier-nesting females (presumed high quality) and later-nesting females (presumed low quality) to delay or advance the natural nesting date, exposing an effect of quality if present. There was little evidence that the individual traits measured affected the production of a second brood. Cross-fostered, delayed females did not differ from the control in their likelih..., , ## GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Paper Citation
Lauren Leischner, Scott K. Sakaluk, Charles F. Thompson, Pirmin Nietlisbach (2025): Double brooding in house wrens is repeatable but constrained by time-of-season. Behavioral Ecology.
2. Brief abstract
Birds in some species produce two broods in a season to maximize reproductive success, but in species such as the northern house wren (Troglodytes aedon), not all individuals produce a second brood even if they have enough time to do so. We investigated whether variation in individual quality, in addition to time-of-season, explains some of the variation in the likelihood of producing a second brood. We examined the effects of individual age, body condition, and territory quality, and estimated the repeatability of producing a second brood using breeding records from a long-term dataset. We also cross-fostered eggs between earlier-nesting females (presumed high quality) and later-nesting females (presumed low quality) to delay or advance the...,

部分鸟类物种会在一个繁殖季内产出两窝雏鸟以最大化繁殖成功率，但诸如北屋鹪鹩（Troglodytes aedon）这类物种中，即便个体拥有足够的繁殖时间，也并非所有个体都会繁殖第二窝。本研究旨在探究除繁殖季时间节点外，个体质量差异是否能够解释繁殖第二窝概率的变异。我们考察了个体年龄、身体状况以及领地质量的影响，并利用长期繁殖记录数据集估算了繁殖第二窝行为的重复性。此外，我们还将早期筑巢雌鸟（推测为高质量个体）与晚期筑巢雌鸟（推测为低质量个体）的卵进行交叉寄养，以推迟或提前其自然筑巢日期，借此检验质量效应是否存在。现有数据几乎未发现所测量的个体性状对第二窝繁殖有显著影响。经交叉寄养的延迟筑巢雌鸟与对照组在繁殖概率上并无差异……, , ## 通用信息

1. 论文引用
Lauren Leischner、Scott K. Sakaluk、Charles F. Thompson、Pirmin Nietlisbach（2025）：《屋鹪鹩的双窝繁殖具有重复性但受繁殖季时间约束》，《行为生态学（Behavioral Ecology）》。
2. 简短摘要
部分鸟类物种会在一个繁殖季内产下两窝雏鸟以最大化繁殖成功率，但以北屋鹪鹩（Troglodytes aedon）为例的物种中，即便拥有足够的繁殖时间，也并非所有个体都会进行第二次繁殖。本研究旨在探究除繁殖季时间节点外，个体质量差异是否能够解释繁殖第二窝概率的变异。我们考察了个体年龄、身体状况与领地质量的影响，并利用长期繁殖记录数据集估算了繁殖第二窝行为的重复性。此外，我们还将早期筑巢雌鸟（推测为高质量个体）与晚期筑巢雌鸟（推测为低质量个体）的卵进行交叉寄养，以推迟或提前……