DOI: 10.5061/dryad.zcrjdfnq7
title: Data from: Postnatal dispersal and drivers of successful recruitment in resident Poecile gambeli(Mountain Chickadee)

description: Many animals disperse from their natal sites as juveniles to settle in new
 locations where they may eventually breed. Estimating distances of such
 postnatal dispersal within and across populations, as well as identifying
 factors affecting recruitment success, is important for understanding
 evolutionary consequences of dispersal. We investigated patterns of
 postnatal dispersal and identified predictors of successful recruitment in
 highly resident Mountain Chickadees (Poecile gambeli) using data on 326
 recruits of 5,226 total fledglings detected at winter feeders (recruitment
 into winter flocks) and nest boxes (recruitment into the breeding
 population) over 12 years at two elevational sites in the northern Sierra
 Nevada, USA. Like most Parids, chickadees dispersed close to their natal
 sites (median distance 644m). Dispersal distance was not associated with
 fledgling mass, but females dispersed significantly longer distances than
 males. When only considering dispersal distances based on recaptures at
 nest boxes, birds that fledged earlier dispersed significantly shorter
 distances. Successful recruitment both into winter flocks and into the
 breeding population was associated with higher fledgling mass and earlier
 fledging. Over the study period, only 13 birds were detected dispersing
 from one elevational site to the other, and 12 of these birds hatched at
 low elevation and dispersed to the high elevation site. Our results
 suggest that earlier fledging timing and higher fledgling mass are both
 critical for successful recruitment in Mountain Chickadees. Chickadees
 that fledge earlier tend to disperse and breed closer to their natal
 sites. Our results confirm that fledgling mass is a key measure of
 individual quality in which even small differences in mass (~2-3%) may
 have important implications for recruitment, and therefore fitness.
description: # Postnatal dispersal and drivers of successful recruitment in resident
 Poecile gambeli (Mountain Chickadee)
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zcrjdfnq7](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zcrjdfnq7) ## Description of the data and file structure Data presented here were collected as part of a long-term study on Mountain Chickadee reproduction and behavior. We maintained ~350 nest boxes split between two elevational sites in the Sagehen Experimental Forest, California, USA. We recorded first egg date, clutch size, brood size (number of nestlings that survived to day 16), and nestling mass on day 16. All nestlings hatched in boxes were banded with an aluminum band from the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory. Birds were recaptured as adults either at nest boxes during breeding or at bird feeders during autumn or winter. We collected GPS coordinates of all of our boxes and feeders to calculate dispersal distances. Birds recaptured at feeders were considered recruits into winter flocks and birds recaptured at nest boxes were considered recruits into the breeding population. The data used for this project include nestling banding records, adult banding records, breeding data from nest boxes, a database of individual ages of birds and when they were detected, and calculated dispersal distances for each bird recaptured at a known location. Please note that some data files have blank values in cells. These values are equivalent to "NA" - meaning the data were not collected for various reasons and are therefore missing. For example, if a bird has not had a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag replaced, the OLD.RFID cell will appear blank. ### Files and variables #### File: dispersaldistances.csv **Description:** File with all information used to calculate the dispersal distances for each bird, and dispersal distance in meters. ##### Variables * BirdID: Unique identifying number for individual birds * Date: Date of recapture, format is month/day/year * Elevation: Elevational site where bird was captured ("H" = high elevation, "L" = low elevation) * LEFT: Bands on left leg; silver band is indicated by "S()" * RIGHT: Bands on right leg; silver band is indicated by "S()" * SilverBand: Aluminum band numeric code * RFID: Passive integrated transponder tag ID * OLD.RFID: If tag has been replaced, this is the old tag ID * Mass..g.: Nestling mass in g (not all masses are in this file) * Wing.Length: Wing length in mm of adult bird, wing is flattened during measurement  * Blood.Sample: ID of blood sample if taken * Sex: Sex of bird, if known * Maturity.at.TOIC: Age at recapture, juv = juvenile or adult * Nest_ID: Unique identifying number for nest of origin  * Known.history: Notes taken during recapture on origin of bird (e.x., nestling from box 1) * Notes: Additional notes * Location: Recapture location. Either a feeder or nest box. * Latitude.x: Latitude of nest box where bird hatched * Longitude.x: Longitude of nest box where bird hatched * Nest: Nest box ID * N.elevation: Elevation of origin ("H" = high elevation, "L" = low elevation) * Latitude.y: Latitude of recapture point * Longitude.y: Longitude of recapture point  * DispDist: Dispersal distance in m #### File: MOCH\_ages\_by\_year\_103123.csv **Description:** Database of status of individual birds across years, including their age, breeding status, and whether they were alive. ##### Variables * BirdID: Unique identifying number for individual birds * Elevation: Elevational site where bird was captured ("H" = high elevation, "L" = low elevation) * First.record.date: Date bird was first banded and recorded in the database * First.record.age: Age of bird at first capture ("adult", "juv" = juvenile, "nestling", or "unk" = unknown) * Season: Equivalent to year, but seasons run from August 1st to July 31st (e.g., 14_15 refers to the Aug 1, 2024 - July 31, 2015 season) * Active: Was the bird seen, captured, detected, tested, etc. in that season? ("Y" = yes, "N" = no) * Alive: Was the bird alive in that season - all yes * Age: Age (in years) in the corresponding season * Age.confidence: Whether we know the bird's exact age (exact or min). If "exact" then the bird was banded during its first year of life. * Active_fallwinter: Was a bird active in the fall/winter period of that season? Extends from 08/01 to 04/30 * Active_breeding: Was a bird active in the breeding period of that season? Extends from 5/01 to 7/31 #### File: MOCH\_NestlingRaw\.13\_23\_101923.csv **Description:** Nestling banding data from banding young on day 16. ##### Variables * Year: Year of banding * Date: Date the nestling was banded * Elevation: Elevational site where nestling was banded ("H" = high elevation, "L" = low elevation) * Nest: Nest box ID * NEST.TYPE: "INITIAL" = first nesting attempt; "RENEST" = renest attempt if first nest failed; "SECOND" = second nesting attempt (after initial); "LATE" = nest was abnormally late but unsure if it was initial nest, renest, or second nest * NEST.ID: Unique identifying number for nest of origin  * ID: Aluminum band numeric code * Blood.ID: ID of blood sample if taken * Mass..g.: Nestling mass in g * AS.Right..mm.: Fluctuating asymmetry measurement for the right outer tail feather * AS.Left..mm.: Fluctuating asymmetry measurement for the left outer tail feather * Notes: Additional notes #### File: mochhigh.csv **Description:** Breeding data from 2013-2024 at our high elevation site. Each row corresponds to one nest within one year. ##### Variables * YEAR: Year of observation * SEASON: Equivalent to year, but seasons run from August 1st to July 31st (e.g., 14_15 refers to the Aug 1, 2024 - July 31, 2015 season) * BOX: Nest box ID * ELEVATION: Elevational site where nestling was banded ("H" = high elevation, "L" = low elevation) * NEST.TYPE: "INITIAL" = first nesting attempt; "RENEST" = renest attempt if first nest failed; "SECOND" = second nesting attempt (after initial); "LATE" = nest was abnormally late but unsure if it was initial nest, renest, or second nest * NEST.ID: Unique identifying number for nest of origin  * M.RFID: Passive integrated transponder tag ID of the male social partner * M.ID: Unique identifying number for male social partner * M.TOIC: Date of initial capture of the male social partner * F.RFID: Passive integrated transponder tag ID of the female * F.ID: Unique identifying number for female * F.TOIC: Date of initial capture of the female * FIRST.EGG: Date of first egg laid * J.FIRST.EGG: Julian date of first egg laid * CLUTCH: Clutch size * BROOD: Brood size (number of young surviving to day 16) * MEANMASS: Mean mass of nestlings within a nest in g * CV: Coefficient of variation in nestling mass within a nest * NOTES: Additional notes #### File: mochlow\.csv **Description:** Breeding data from 2013-2024 at our low elevation site. Each row corresponds to one nest within one year. ##### Variables * YEAR: Year of observation * SEASON: Equivalent to year, but seasons run from August 1st to July 31st (e.g., 14_15 refers to the Aug 1, 2024 - July 31, 2015 season) * BOX: Nest box ID * ELEVATION: Elevational site where nestling was banded ("H" = high elevation, "L" = low elevation) * NEST.TYPE: "INITIAL" = first nesting attempt; "RENEST" = renest attempt if first nest failed; "SECOND" = second nesting attempt (after initial); "LATE" = nest was abnormally late but unsure if it was initial nest, renest, or second nest * NEST.ID: Unique identifying number for nest of origin  * M.RFID: Passive integrated transponder tag ID of the male social partner * M.ID: Unique identifying number for male social partner * M.TOIC: Date of initial capture of the male social partner * F.RFID: Passive integrated transponder tag ID of the female * F.ID: Unique identifying number for female * F.TOIC: Date of initial capture of the female * FIRST.EGG: Date of first egg laid * J.FIRST.EGG: Julian date of first egg laid * CLUTCH: Clutch size * BROOD: Brood size (number of young surviving to day 16) * MEANMASS: Mean mass of nestlings within a nest in g * CV: Coefficient of variation in nestling mass within a nest * NOTES: Additional notes #### File: SagehenBandingData\_052124.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * BirdID: Unique identifying number for individual birds * Date: Date the bird was banded * Elevation: Elevational site where nestling was banded ("H" = high elevation, "L" = low elevation) * LEFT: Bands on left leg; silver band is indicated by "S()" * RIGHT: Bands on right leg; silver band is indicated by "S()" * SilverBand: Aluminum band numeric code * RFID: Passive integrated transponder tag ID * OLD.RFID: If tag has been replaced, this is the old tag ID * Mass..g.: Nestling mass in g (not all masses are in this file) * Wing.Length: Wing length in mm, wing is flattened during measurement  * Blood.Sample: ID of blood sample if taken * Location: Banding location. Either a feeder or nest box. * Sex: Sex of bird, if known * Maturity.at.TOIC: Age at recapture, juv = juvenile or adult * Nest_ID: Unique identifying number for nest of origin  * Known.history: Notes taken during recapture on origin of bird (e.x., nestling from box 1) * Notes: Additional notes ## Code/software #### File: MOCH\_Dispersal\_Recruits.R **Description:** This is the script used for data analysis and creation of figures. Includes estimates of dispersal kernel and linear modeling. Data were analyzed in R version 4.3.3.