Multidimensional environmental predictors of variation in avian forest and city life histories

Optimal life-history decisions are shaped by prevailing environmental conditions. In the context of urbanization, environmental differences between urban and rural areas are known to vary across a multitude of axes. The relative roles of specific axes and whether they explain variation in avian life histories between forest and city populations have not often been studied empirically. This study comprehensively views urbanization from a multidimensional environmental perspective. For each of 13 nest box plots of a common passerine bird (the great tit Parus major), we quantified temperature, humidity, light, and noise, and subsequently assessed direct versus indirect effects of each environmental axis on components of annual reproductive success by applying a path analytical framework. All quantified environmental axes, and life-history traits, showed substantial repeatable variation between the plots. Forest and city plots differed tremendously in temperature, humidity, and light. We we...

最优生活史决策由主导性环境条件所塑造。在城市化背景下，城乡间的环境差异已被证实存在多维度的分化。特定环境维度的相对作用，以及这些维度能否解释森林与城市种群间鸟类生活史的差异，目前尚缺乏充足的实证研究。本研究从多维度环境视角全面审视城市化议题。本研究针对13处巢箱样地中的常见雀形目鸟类——大山雀（Parus major），量化了温度、湿度、光照与噪声四项环境因子，随后通过通径分析框架，评估了各环境维度对年度繁殖成功率组分的直接与间接效应。所有量化的环境维度与生活史性状，在各巢箱样地间均表现出显著的可重复差异。森林与城市样地在温度、湿度与光照方面差异显著。我们...