Measurements of lifetime reproductive success (LRS) of individual wild animals reveal the disparate contributions they make to the next generation. Jensen et al. (2004) estimated LRS of male and female house sparrows in an island population in Norway. They measured LRS of an individual as the total number of “recruits” produced in its lifetime, where a recruit is an offspring that survives to breed one year after birth. Parentage of recruits was determined from blood samples using DNA techniques.

Their results are tabulated as follows:

a. Which sex has the higher mean lifetime reproductive success?

b. Which sex has the higher variance in reproductive success?

c. Computer optional. Make a box plot that shows lifetime reproductive success by sex. Compare the medians of the two groups using the graph. Are the medians very different?

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Lifetime reproductive success 00 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 >8> 8 TotalTotal Females 3030 2525 33 66 88 44 00 44 11 00 8181 Frequency Males 3838 1717 77 66 44 1010 22 00 00 00 8484