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Lifetime Fitness Variation Across the Geographical Range in a Colour Polymorphic Species

Bucciolini, Gian Luigi ; Morosinotto, Chiara LU ; Brommer, Jon ; Vrezec, Al ; Ericsson, Peter ; Nilsson, Lars Ove ; Poprach, Karel ; Øien, Ingar Jostein and Karell, Patrik LU (2025) In Ecology and Evolution 15(4).
Abstract

The maintenance of variation (i.e., different phenotypes) for heritable traits that are under selection, despite expectations of selection eroding variation and favouring only the fittest phenotype, represents an evolutionary paradox. Here, we studied variation in life-history traits in five populations of colour polymorphic tawny owls (Strix aluco) across Europe that have been individually studied for 13 years. Tawny owls show heritable plumage colour variation ranging from less pigmented (grey) to more heavily pigmented (brown-red). The breeding life span (BLS), lifetime egg production (LEP), lifetime reproductive success (LRS) and the number of years skipped between breeding attempts (NYS) varied between the study populations, with... (More)

The maintenance of variation (i.e., different phenotypes) for heritable traits that are under selection, despite expectations of selection eroding variation and favouring only the fittest phenotype, represents an evolutionary paradox. Here, we studied variation in life-history traits in five populations of colour polymorphic tawny owls (Strix aluco) across Europe that have been individually studied for 13 years. Tawny owls show heritable plumage colour variation ranging from less pigmented (grey) to more heavily pigmented (brown-red). The breeding life span (BLS), lifetime egg production (LEP), lifetime reproductive success (LRS) and the number of years skipped between breeding attempts (NYS) varied between the study populations, with LEP and LRS varying across colour morphs in a population-specific fashion. Thus, grey tawny owl females have higher lifetime fledgling and egg production than brown-red females in some populations, but vice versa in others. Hence, our findings demonstrate disruptive selection of tawny owl plumage colourations across their European range, which may be one factor maintaining variation in heritable tawny owl colourations.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
colour polymorphism, fitness, geographical range, life-history traits, reproductive investment
in
Ecology and Evolution
volume
15
issue
4
article number
e71051
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:105003817828
ISSN
2045-7758
DOI
10.1002/ece3.71051
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a08483e1-1157-4ac9-9774-76fc3d2851c2
date added to LUP
2025-08-15 12:48:43
date last changed
2025-08-18 14:26:47
@article{a08483e1-1157-4ac9-9774-76fc3d2851c2,
  abstract     = {{<p>The maintenance of variation (i.e., different phenotypes) for heritable traits that are under selection, despite expectations of selection eroding variation and favouring only the fittest phenotype, represents an evolutionary paradox. Here, we studied variation in life-history traits in five populations of colour polymorphic tawny owls (Strix aluco) across Europe that have been individually studied for 13 years. Tawny owls show heritable plumage colour variation ranging from less pigmented (grey) to more heavily pigmented (brown-red). The breeding life span (BLS), lifetime egg production (LEP), lifetime reproductive success (LRS) and the number of years skipped between breeding attempts (NYS) varied between the study populations, with LEP and LRS varying across colour morphs in a population-specific fashion. Thus, grey tawny owl females have higher lifetime fledgling and egg production than brown-red females in some populations, but vice versa in others. Hence, our findings demonstrate disruptive selection of tawny owl plumage colourations across their European range, which may be one factor maintaining variation in heritable tawny owl colourations.</p>}},
  author       = {{Bucciolini, Gian Luigi and Morosinotto, Chiara and Brommer, Jon and Vrezec, Al and Ericsson, Peter and Nilsson, Lars Ove and Poprach, Karel and Øien, Ingar Jostein and Karell, Patrik}},
  issn         = {{2045-7758}},
  keywords     = {{colour polymorphism; fitness; geographical range; life-history traits; reproductive investment}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Ecology and Evolution}},
  title        = {{Lifetime Fitness Variation Across the Geographical Range in a Colour Polymorphic Species}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71051}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/ece3.71051}},
  volume       = {{15}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}