Climate and body size influence nest survival in a fish with parental care

Journal of Animal Ecology (2007) 76, 730–739

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2007.01242.x

ABSTRACT

• 1. 

  The current study examined the effect of broad-scale climate and individual-specific covariates on nest survival in smallmouth bass over a 20-year period.
• 2. 

  Large-scale climate indices [winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and winter El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)] and body size of parental males were important covariates in nest survival along with nest age and a quadratic trend in survival.
• 3. 

  We did not find an effect due to a habitat covariate (total effective fetch) or a phenology covariate (degree-days at start of nesting) on nest survival.
• 4. 

  Male size in the second half of the nesting season was a more influential covariate on nest success than male size in the first half or throughout the nesting period.
• 5. 

  We present evidence showing that winter NAO/ENSO indices establish limnological conditions the following spring that influence thermal stability of the lake during the nesting period.
• 6. 

  The combined climate and body size covariates point to nest survival as a function of lagged climate-scale influences on limnology and the individual-scale influence of bioenergetics on the duration of parental care and nest success.