Heritability and evolvability of morphological traits of Savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) breeding in agricultural grasslands

Heritability and evolvability estimates of adult traits from free-living bird populations can be used to gauge the ability of populations to respond to selection, but are rare due to difficulties in gathering detailed pedigree information. The capacity to respond to selection is particularly important for species occupying managed habitats such as agricultural grasslands because of the potential for humans to accidentally influence traits. We calculated heritability and evolvability of six morphological traits in a population of Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) breeding in a large agricultural landscape. We used microsatellite analysis to determine a genetic pedigree, revealing a high level of extra-pair paternity (63%) within a relatively philopatric population. For the entire population, heritabilities varied from low to high (bill width: 0.160±0.182 to tarsus length: 0.651±0.155), while evolvabilities were low across all traits (wing length: 0.035±0.013 to body mass: 0.066±0.106). Our results indicate that any directional selection from agricultural management practices will produce negligible changes in basic morphometrics of Savannah sparrow populations occupying the Champlain Valley of Vermont, USA.