 Solution

Yes. The bootstrap confidence interval for the age coefficient, $(0.057060,0.193584)$, excludes zero and supports the same positive association. A well-implemented parametric bootstrap can give better finite-sample calibration than the asymptotic likelihood-ratio test, especially with only eleven year groups and estimated variance components. Its advantage depends on simulating the full fitted Gaussian linear mixed model and refitting correctly; resampling individual records as if they were independent would discard the grouping. A bootstrap confidence interval is also not literally the same procedure as a bootstrap-calibrated test.

The bird-level standard deviation is appreciable, with interval $(0.436,0.720)$ hatchlings, whereas the year-level estimate is much less precise, with interval $(0.0195,0.333)$. The residual standard deviation is approximately $0.381$–$0.493$. Boundary fits in 23 of the 1000 replicates indicate that at least one fitted variance component sometimes reaches zero; the convergence warning should also be investigated before trusting the reported intervals. Neither the asymptotic test nor a model-based bootstrap repairs incorrect response-distribution or mean-structure assumptions.