Data from: Relative contributions of fixed and dynamic heterogeneity to variation in lifetime reproductive success in kestrels (Falco tinnunculus)

Abstract

These data contain information about the survival and reproduction of Common kestrels in the Haarlemmermeer, The Netherlands. This dataset was used by Broekman et al. (2020) to fit a capture-mark-recapture multistate model, which was subsequently used to analyse relative contributions of fixed and dynamic heterogeneity to variation in lifetime reproductive success.

The Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a small raptor that is widespread in Europe and is the most common bird of prey in the Netherlands. It is a short-lived species and can start breeding in their second calendar year (Village 1990). We studied a kestrel population in the Haarlemmermeer (185 km2), which contains Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. This area has on average 56 breeding pairs per year (varying between 36 and 73 breeding pairs per year, see table S1 in Broekman et al. 2020), with clutch sizes ranging from 1 to 8 eggs. The Life-time Reproductive Success (LRS) in this population ranges between 0-42 for females and 0-38 for males, with the majority of the offspring produced by a small fraction of the population (4% of the kestrels produce around 30% of the offspring).

Data on this population were collected by Bert Jan Bol between 1993-2015 and entailed capturing and individually marking of birds, as well as observing the success of all nests (mainly in nest boxes) in the study area (Bol 1997). In addition, breeding biology data were gathered, which included, among others, the location, the number of fledglings and the identity and age of the parents. The identity of the mother was known for 81% of the nests and the identity of the father was known for 29% of the nests (N = 1194). Furthermore, in a previous study on this population we determined the amount of extra-pair paternities in 109 different nests from 2011-2014, including years with both low and high prey abundance and did not find any extra-pair paternities (Broekman 2016). We can therefore assume that the identified father of a nest is the father off all offspring from that nest.

Description of each of the variables in the dataset:

ID

Unique ID of the individual

sex

Male or Female. The sex of some individuals is unknown because it is difficult to determine the sex of young individuals

age

Age of the individual. Individuals are 0 years old when they are captured in the year they were born or when they are captured in the first three months of the following year (the same applies to 1, 2, 3 years old individuals, etc.). It is therefore possible that age and year do not increase in concert along the observations on an individual. Some individuals have an unknown age, but it is at least known they are older than 1 year. The age of these individuals is >1 (or >2 if its age was >1 the previous year)

year

Year in which the individual was captured, found dead, or identified (retrospectively) as the father through DNA analysis of offspring

nOffspring

Number of fledglings an individual produced. If it is NA the individual was not found breeding, which could either mean the individual was not breeding or it was breeding but has not been detected while breeding

closeToSchiphol

Indicates whether the individual was captured within 3 km from the closest runway from Schiphol (= Yes) or further away (= No)

insideHaarlemmermeer

Indicates whether the individual was captured within the Haarlemmermeerpolder, the study area (= Yes) or outside the Haarlemmermeerpolder (= No). Some individuals are captured both inside or outside the Haarlemmermeerpolder in the same year. In these cases, both observations of the individuals are retained in the dataset, indicating that the individual migrated into or away from the study area

dead

Indicates whether the individual was captured alive (= No) or found dead (Yes)