Double brooding in house wrens is repeatable but constrained by time-of-season.

Abstract

Birds in some species produce 2 broods in a season to maximize reproductive success, but in species such as the northern house wren (Troglodytes aedon), not all individuals produce a second brood even if they have enough time to do so. We investigated whether variation in individual quality, in addition to time-of-season, explains some of the variation in the likelihood of producing a second brood. We examined the effects of individual age, body condition, and territory quality, and estimated the repeatability of producing a second brood using breeding records from a long-term dataset. We also cross-fostered eggs between earlier-nesting females (presumed high quality) and later-nesting females (presumed low quality) to delay or advance the natural nesting date, exposing an effect of quality if present. There was little evidence that the individual traits measured affected the production of a second brood. Cross-fostered, delayed females did not differ from the control in their likelihood of producing a second brood, but advanced females were more likely to produce a second brood compared with the control. However, the production of a second brood was significantly repeatable, and this repeatability was substantially higher after accounting for variation in the timing of the first brood. This suggests that individual characteristics, in addition to time-of-season, have a substantial effect on the likelihood of producing a second brood, but that further studies are needed to identify the specific traits responsible for this effect.