Environmental conditions, including weather, influence organisms in a variety of ways. Specifically, animal males and females might be affected differently by ambient temperatures that vary in time and space. In this study, we explored the effect of elevation, which strongly determines ambient temperatures, on the speed of moult of the wing’s flight feathers in the Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula). Differences in moult speed may alter the wing’s surface area during the moulting process and hence may influence flight performance, including the ability to escape from predators. Sampling elevations were categorized to locations > 1000 m above mean sea level (AMSL) and locations < 300 m AMSL. We found that birds moulted their primary wing feathers faster at low elevations than at high elevations. In addition, differences in elevation-related moult speed were modulated by bird sex. Males moulted their primary feathers faster than females at high elevations but slower than females at low elevations. Our findings highlight the importance of considering sex-dependent responses to spatial environmental conditions, which may influence key properties of major annual-cycle activities and life-history processes.

环境条件，包括天气，以多种方式影响生物。具体而言，动物雄性和雌性可能会受到随时间和空间不同的环境温度的不同影响。在这项研究中，我们探讨了海拔高度对欧亚黑鸟（Turdus merula）。换羽速度的差异可能会在换羽过程中改变机翼的表面积，从而可能影响飞行性能，包括逃离捕食者的能力。采样高程被分类为高于平均海平面 (AMSL) > 1000 m 的位置和 < 300 m AMSL 的位置。我们发现鸟类在低海拔比在高海拔更快地换羽。此外，与海拔相关的换羽速度的差异受鸟类性别的调节。雄性在高海拔处换羽比雌性快，但在低海拔处比雌性慢。我们的研究结果强调了考虑对空间环境条件的性别依赖性反应的重要性，这可能会影响主要年度周期活动和生命历史过程的关键特性。