Relative contributions of offspring quality and environmental quality to adult field performance

Determinants of adult performance, such as growth and survival, are influenced by extrinsic, environmental and intrinsic, phenotypic factors. The relative importance of extrinsic and intrinsic factors, while ecologically relevant, is rarely estimated simultaneously. We estimate the relative contributions of offspring size (intrinsic) and various environmental factors (extrinsic) on adult performance in the marine colonial bryozoan Watersipora subtorquata. We used a variance partitioning approach for both new and previously published data, enabling us to examine the performance of over 1000 individuals in the field. We found offspring size to explain relatively little variation in adult performance. Of the environmental factors taken to account, temporal variation and an environmental gradient had the strongest influences.