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Dynamic heterogeneity and life history variability in the kittiwake
Article first published online: 20 JAN 2010
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2009.01653.x
© 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 British Ecological Society
Additional Information
How to Cite
Steiner, U. K., Tuljapurkar, S. and Orzack, S. H. (2010), Dynamic heterogeneity and life history variability in the kittiwake. Journal of Animal Ecology, 79: 436–444. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2009.01653.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 5 FEB 2010
- Article first published online: 20 JAN 2010
- Received 27 July 2009; accepted 5 December 2009 Handling Editor: Tim Benton
Keywords:
- fixed heterogeneity;
- life history evolution;
- stage-structured demography;
- lifetime reproductive success;
- multi-stage matrix model
Summary
1. Understanding the evolution of life histories requires an assessment of the process that generates variation in life histories. Within-population heterogeneity of life histories can be dynamically generated by stochastic variation of reproduction and survival or be generated by individual differences that are fixed at birth.
2. We show for the kittiwake that dynamic heterogeneity is a sufficient explanation of observed variation of life histories.
3. The total heterogeneity in life histories has a small contribution from reproductive stage dynamics and a large contribution from survival differences. We quantify the diversity in life histories by metrics computed from the generating stochastic process.
4. We show how dynamic heterogeneity can be used as a null model and also how it can lead to positive associations between reproduction and survival across the life span.
5. We believe our approach to identifying the nature of among-individual heterogeneity yields important insights into the forces that generate within-population variation of life-history traits. It provides an alternative to claims that fixed individual differences are a major determinant of heterogeneity in life histories.