J. Avian Biol. 41: 273Á281, 2010 doi: 10.1111/j.1600-048X.2009.04816.x # 2010 The Authors. J. Compilation # 2010 J. Avian Biol. Received 29 January 2009, accepted 10 August 2009 Life history variation between high and low elevation subspecies of horned larks Eremophila spp. Alaine F. Camfield, Scott F. Pearson and Kathy Martin A. F. Camfield (
[email protected]) and K. Martin, Centr. for Appl. Conserv. Res., Fac. of Forestry, Univ. of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6T 1Z4. AFC and KM also at: Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, 351 St. Joseph Blvd., Gatineau, QC K1A 0H3. Á S. F. Pearson, Wildl. Sci. Div., Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildl., 1111 Washington St. SE, Olympia, WA, USA, 98501-1091. Environmental variation along elevational gradients can strongly influence life history strategies in vertebrates. We investigated variation in life history patterns between a horned lark subspecies nesting in high elevation alpine habitat Eremophila alpestris articola and a second subspecies in lower elevation grassland and sandy shoreline habitats E. a. strigata. Given the shorter breeding season and colder climate at the northern alpine site we expected E. a. articola to be larger, have lower fecundity and higher apparent survival than E. a. strigata. As predicted, E. a. articola was larger and the trend was toward higher apparent adult survival for E. a. articola than E. a. strigata (0.69 vs 0.51). Contrary to our predictions, however, there was a trend toward higher fecundity for E. a. articola (1.75 female fledglings/female/year vs 0.91).