DOI: 10.5061/dryad.bq8n45v
title: Data from: Actuarial senescence in a dimorphic bird: different rates of aging in morphs with discrete reproductive strategies

description: It is often hypothesized that intra-sexual competition accelerates
 actuarial senescence, or the increase in mortality rates with age.
 However, an alternative hypothesis is that parental investment is more
 important to determining senescence rates. We used a unique model system,
 the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), to study variation in
 actuarial senescence. In this species, genetically-determined morphs
 display discrete mating strategies and disassortative pairing, providing
 an excellent opportunity to test the predictions of the above hypotheses.
 Compared to tan-striped males, white-striped males are more polygynous and
 aggressive, and less parental. Tan-striped females receive less parental
 support, and invest more into parental care than white-striped females,
 which are also more aggressive. Thus, higher senescence rates in males and
 white-striped birds would support the intra-sexual competition hypothesis,
 whereas higher senescence rates in females and tan-striped birds would
 support the parental investment hypothesis. White-striped males showed the
 lowest rate of actuarial senescence. Tan-striped females had the highest
 senescence rate, and tan-striped males and white-striped females showed
 intermediate, relatively equal rates. Thus, results were inconsistent with
 sexual selection and competitive strategies increasing senescence rates.
 Rather, results suggest that senescence may be accelerated by
 female-biased parental care, and lessened by sharing of parental duties.
description: White-throated sparrow
 birth and death yearsThis data package
 contains the datasets used to examine rates of actuarial senescence in the
 four morph-sex classes of the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia
 albicollis) in R package BaSTA. Three files total are required: (1) A
 birth-death year file, containing the birth and death years (unknown
 entered as 0) for all individuals included in the data set, (2) A survival
 matrix, with a line entered for each time an individual was re-sighted,
 (3) A covariate matrix, listing the sex and morph of each individual. This
 is the birth-death year file.WTSP Birth Death
 Years.xlsxWhite-throated sparrow
 survivorship dataThis file contains the
 datasets used to examine rates of actuarial senescence in the four
 morph-sex classes of the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
 in R package BaSTA. Three files total are required: (1) A birth-death year
 file, containing the birth and death years (unknown entered as 0) for all
 individuals included in the data set, (2) A survival file, with a line
 entered for each year in which an individual was re-sighted, (3) A
 covariate matrix, listing the sex and morph of each individual. This is
 the survivorship data.WTSP Survivorship
 Data.csvWTSP
 CovariatesThis file contains the
 datasets used to examine rates of actuarial senescence in the four
 morph-sex classes of the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
 in R package BaSTA. Three files total are required: (1) A birth-death year
 file, containing the birth and death years (unknown entered as 0) for all
 individuals included in the data set, (2) A survival matrix, with a line
 entered for each time an individual was re-sighted, (3) A covariate
 matrix, listing the sex and morph of each individual. This is the
 covariate file.