Brood sex ratios in Merlins reflect characteristics of the associated breeding male and population density

Population-level estimates of offspring sex ratios in birds typically approximate parity whereas biased ratios within nests are not uncommon. In sexually dimorphic raptors, the costs and relative fitness benefits of rearing male and female progeny vary with changing environmental circumstances. This may lead to substantial deviations from balanced investment in offspring of a particular sex by individual parents. Based on a 13-year dataset for breeding Merlins Falco columbarius in Saskatoon, Canada, we used a model selection approach to assess the influence of parents, nest-mates and nesting area on brood sex ratio during the nestling phase. The best model for predicting brood sex ratio included age of the breeding male and brood size for each nest (n = 127); nests with older male breeders and smaller brood sizes had more female young. The population-level annualized average proportion of male offspring was 0.472 +/- 0.017 (mean +/- standard error), but tended towards greater production of female young during an initial period of population growth (8 years, 10-21 pairs; proportion male 0.435 +/- 0.031) versus a period when the population fluctuated around a presumed carrying capacity (11 years, 24-33 pairs; proportion male 0.500 +/- 0.017). Energetics appears to be a finely tuned mechanism driving sex ratio allocation in Merlins at both brood and population levels. Provisioning food for young in the nest represents the male's ability to successfully capture prey, reflecting his age and/or experience, as well as the availability of prey to the male. Confounding this mechanism to determine sex ratio allocation are the pressures created by population dynamics that dictate competition for resources both within the nest (brood size) and external to the nest (population density).

Automated summary

Population-level estimates of offspring sex ratios in birds are typically close to parity, but there can be significant deviations from balanced ratios within nests. In the case of breeding Merlins in Saskatoon, the age of the breeding male and the brood size were found to influence the brood sex ratios. The population-level sex ratios of the offspring tended to be lower during a period of population growth and closer to parity during a period of population stability.