DOI: 10.5061/dryad.fj6q57433
title: Data from: Variation in nuptial colour in relation to sex, individual quality and mating success in the sex-role reversed red phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius)

description: In most bird species, males are more ornamented and compete for females,
 who contribute more to offspring care. In a minority of species this
 pattern is reversed, with more colourful females competing for mates and
 males taking care of parental duties. In such sex-role reversed species,
 the links between colourful ornamentation, individual quality and mating
 success are not well established. The red phalarope (Phalaropus
 fulicarius) is a colourful sex-role reversed migratory shorebird with
 regular social polyandry, in which both sexes show considerable colour
 variation. Here, we describe sex differences in colour and quantify
 associations between colour variation and indicators of quality and mating
 success in both sexes. Using a large sample of photos collected across
 three consecutive years on the Arctic breeding grounds, we scored colour
 variation for four body parts (bill, crown, cheek and breast), and
 analysed scores separately and combined into an overall colour score.
 Females were more colourful and larger than males, and individuals could
 be unambiguously sexed by crown colour. Nevertheless, there was
 substantial variation within sexes and some overlap between males and
 females in bill, cheek, breast, and overall colour scores. Assortative
 mating by colour was only found for the bill. Colour variation did not
 correlate with plasma testosterone levels, except for male cheek colour.
 Females in better body condition had yellower bills and higher overall
 colour scores, while early-arriving birds had higher breast and overall
 scores. Phalaropes that bred locally were heavier than those that did not,
 but they did not have higher colour scores. Female colour variation did
 not predict the probability of local social polyandry nor variation in
 clutch size, and male coloration did not predict the probability of nest
 predation. In conclusion, phalarope colour variation showed modest
 correlations with individual quality and was unrelated to variation in
 local reproductive success. 
description: # Data from: Variation in nuptial colour in relation to sex, individual
 quality and mating success in the sex-role reversed red phalarope
 (*Phalaropus fulicarius*)
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fj6q57433](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fj6q57433) Missing datapoints (empty cells) represent genuine missing values. | **variable name** | **explanation** | | :------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | ID | individual identifier of each phalarope | | year | | | date | capture date | | bill\_score | colour score for the bill (1-3) | | crown\_score | colour score for the crown (1-3) | | cheek\_score | colour score for the cheek (1-3) | | breast\_score | colour score for the breast (1-3) | | overall\_score | sum of bill, crown, cheek and breast scores | | Sex | sex as determined by genetic sexing | | sex\_observed | sex as recorded in the field | | lat | latitude capture site | | lon | longitude capture site | | caught\_time | capture date and time | | tarsus | tarsus length (mm) | | culmen | culmen length (mm) | | total\_head | total head length (mm) | | wing | wing length (mm) | | weight | body mass (g) | | carries\_egg | identifies females carrying an egg ready to be laid (1: carries egg) | | T | plasma testosterone levels (pg/ml) | | nest | nest identifier | | j.ini | Julian nest initiation date (lay date of first egg , 1 = 1 January)  | | clutch\_size | number of eggs laid | | nest\_state\_method | method used to determine nest survival (1: thermal logger, 2: GPS tag) | | days\_survived\_initiation | number of days a nest survived since nest initiation | | j.date | Julian capture date (1 = 1 January) | | pc1.size | first principal component of size variables (tarsus, culmen, total head, wing) | | polyandrous | identifies polyandrous females (1=polyandrous) | | study\_site | identifies whether phalaropes were captured within the intensive study plot (logical) | | nested | identifies whether a phalarope nested in the study area | | nest\_pred | whether a nest was predated or not (1=predated) | ## Code/Software R scripts to run analyses are provided for each section.Note, make sure to update working directory to reflect your folder structure. 1. 1.sexual.dimorphism.R 2. 2.age.analyses.R 3. 3.assortative.mating.analysis.R 4. 4.testosterone.analysis.R 5. 5.condition.size.date.analyses.R 6. 6.local.breeding.analyses.R 7. 7.polyandry.analyses.R 8. 8.nest.survival.analyses.R 9. 9.clutch.size.analyses.R