Latitudinal and elevational variation in the reproductive biology of house wrens, Troglodytes aedon

While cross-species comparisons of birds suggest that as latitude decreases or elevation increases, clutch size decreases and the duration of developmental stages and parental attentiveness increases, studies comparing populations of the same species are rare. We studied populations of house wrens, Troglodytes aedon, at high and low elevations in California and Costa Rica, collecting data on clutch size, the duration of incubation and nestling periods, parental attentiveness, nestling growth rate, and nesting success. Our data support results from cross-species comparisons, but also revealed unanticipated results from low elevation temperate zone house wrens in the southwest. This population had prolonged incubation and nestling periods similar to those found in the tropics. We also found that temperate zone females, especially those at our higher elevation site, spent more of their day incubating than did tropical females. Nest temperature at our high elevation temperate zone site was higher than that at all other tropical sites. Age at fledging did not differ between sites. Total feeding rates per chick and male feedings per chick did not vary between sites. Nest success rates showed the predicted effect of latitude, but not the predicted effects of elevation. Our results extend low elevation house wren research into the southwestern US and contribute the first intraspecific elevational comparison in the Neotropics. Data from our low elevation southwestern site present a unique suite of life history traits that align more with tropical house wrens, although with a larger clutch size, and point to food limitation and/or high predation pressure as being possible drivers of some of these differences. These results highlight the need for additional studies of house wrens and other broadly distributed species at a more diverse array of sites to better understand which forces drive the evolution of different life history strategies across major biogeographical gradients.

Automated summary

Comparisons of different bird species have shown that clutch size decreases and parental attentiveness increases as latitude decreases or elevation increases. However, studies comparing populations of the same species are rare. In this study, populations of house wrens at high and low elevations in California and Costa Rica were examined, and our results supported previous findings but also revealed unexpected differences in low elevation temperate zone house wrens in the southwest.