Data from: Sex-dependent integration of ornamentation, personality, morphology and life history

Resumen

Phenotypic integration can be defined as the patterns and strength of the covariance between traits in an organism. The pace of life syndrome (POLS) hypothesis provides a testable case of phenotypic integration as it predicts that traits that mediate the trade-off between current and future reproduction, should have coevolved with the slow-fast life-history continuum, and may thus covary across individuals of a population. Although the POLS hypothesis has received increasing attention over the last decade, there is still a need for investigating whether POLS are sex-specific or if ornamental traits can be included within the POLS framework. We used nine years of data to describe the integration patterns of ornamental coloration, personality, morphology and life history in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and whether they differed between males and females. With that aim, we fitted multivariate mixed models separating the among- from the within-individual covariances. We found that the overall integration between the studied traits was weak, but our results suggested some sex-specific covariances at the among- and within-individual levels. Besides, we found several covariances between the ornamental colors and personality in males but not in females. Finally, using structural equation models, we tested for the presence of trait modules (i.e. covariances between traits involved in the same biological function). Our results support the presence of a morphological module, not of ornamental or behavioral modules in males or females. Also, our results do not align with the POLS hypothesis, however they highlight the importance of considering sex when studying phenotypic integration.