MULTIPLE SPATIAL AND CLIMATIC CONDITIONS AFFECT KINGBIRD FLYCATCHERS
CLUTCH AND EGG SIZES
Abstract
Variation in bird clutch and egg sizes across geographical gradients are
issues often debated among ecologists, where latitudinal cline is a
central question in several discussions. It is understood that these
patterns are primarily driven by climatic conditions, where latitude
acts as a proxy. Here, we achieve a robust dataset that covers a large
territorial extent to test the hypothesis clutch and egg size will show
measurable variation based on environmental gradients. We predict that
these traits will: a) increase with increasing latitude, b) be larger in
more seasonal climates (Köppen-Geiger), c) increase in sites
experiencing cooler winters, and d) increase in sites with warmer and
wetter long-term climatic conditions. We considered the geographically
diverse Tyrannus genus (kingbirds) and collected breeding data from 35
scientific egg collections. After several data control processes,
including spatial, temporal and taxonomic checking, we analysed the
relationship between kingbird’s clutch and egg sizes with different
climatic conditions. The analyses of 1358 clutches and 4750 eggs
collected during 158 years (1858-2016) confirmed that Kingbirds’ clutch
and egg sizes increase towards the poles. Both breeding traits varied
according to main climates, regional sub-climates, and local temperature
and precipitation conditions. More seasonal regions had the largest
clutches, but sites with colder winters did not have the largest
clutches. Tyrannus egg size increased in environments with less extreme
dry periods. The significant relationship between larger eggs with sites
with lower temperatures provides insights about the increase of egg size
with latitude. Our findings suggest a robust correlation of residual
variation in breeding traits with climatic conditions at both regional
and local levels. Highly locally adapted species using climatic
conditions as cues should also respond to interannual weather
variations. The insights provided in this work can assist in
understanding how species will cope with future climate scenarios.