Exploring causal components of plasticity in grey seal birthdates: Effects of intrinsic traits, demography, and climate.

ABSTRACT: Change in breeding phenology is often a response to environmental forcing, but less is known of the mechanism underlying such changes and their fitness consequences. Here, we report on changes in the breeding phenology from a 27-year longitudinal study (1991-2017) of individually marked, known-aged grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. We used generalized linear mixed models and a 3-step process to develop a model that includes interactions between intrinsic and extrinsic covariates and to test hypotheses about the influence of fixed factors (maternal age, parity, previous reproductive success, pup sex, colony density, Atlantic Multidecal Oscillation (AMO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and Sea Surface Temperature) and a random factor (female iden

SUBMITTER: Bowen WD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7593198 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature