Consequences of experimental clutch enlargement in a High Arctic single-egg layer, the Little Auk (Alle alle)

2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. 681-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Jakubas ◽  
K. Wojczulanis-Jakubas
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Little Auk ◽  
Prolonged Incubation ◽  
Alle Alle ◽  
Parental Fitness ◽  
Rearing Conditions ◽  
Similar Body

Initial reproductive investments in birds are energy-demanding. Amount of energy allocated to egg production and incubation may have an important role in determining parental fitness and evolution of clutch size. Here, we investigated whether the Little Auk (Alle alle (L., 1758)), a small alcid with one-egg clutch but two brood patches (probably remnant of the original two-egg clutch), is capable of incubating two eggs and rearing two chicks. We performed an experiment with removing the egg from 20 nests and transferring it to 20 experimental nests (EN). In 25% of EN, both eggs failed to hatch; in 75% of EN, only one egg hatched successfully. Hatching success in EN was 2.5 times lower than in control nests (CN). In EN, chicks hatched only from eggs warmed during >90% of inspections. Owing to the prolonged incubation, the chicks in EN hatched 2 days later than in CN. However, due to the shorter period spent in the nest in EN, fledging dates in both types of nests were similar. The similar body mass and survival of chicks from EN and CN suggest that these traits were influenced mainly by the rearing conditions. Our study emphasize the importance of the incubation phase as a constraint on clutch size.

Can stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) measurements of little auk (Alle alle) adults and chicks be used to track changes in high-Arctic marine foodwebs?

Polar Biology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 725-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann M. A. Harding ◽  
Keith A. Hobson ◽  
Wojciech Walkusz ◽  
Kasia Dmoch ◽  
Nina J. Karnovsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Little Auk ◽  
Δ13c And Δ15n ◽  
Alle Alle

scholarly journals Glucocorticoids, state-dependent reproductive investment and success in the face of danger in a long-lived bird

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Noreikienė ◽  
Kim Jaatinen ◽  
Benjamin B. Steele ◽  
Markus Öst
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Nest Predation ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Reproductive Investment ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Relative Telomere Length ◽  
Future Reproduction

AbstractGlucocorticoid hormones may mediate trade-offs between current and future reproduction. However, understanding their role is complicated by predation risk, which simultaneously affects the value of the current reproductive investment and elevates glucocorticoid levels. Here, we shed light on these issues in long-lived female Eiders (Somateria mollissima) by investigating how current reproductive investment (clutch size) and hatching success relate to faecal glucocorticoid metabolite [fGCM] level and residual reproductive value (minimum years of breeding experience, body condition, relative telomere length) under spatially variable predation risk. Our results showed a positive relationship between colony-specific predation risk and mean colony-specific fGCM levels. Clutch size and female fGCM were negatively correlated only under high nest predation and in females in good body condition, previously shown to have a longer life expectancy. We also found that younger females with longer telomeres had smaller clutches. The drop in hatching success with increasing fGCM levels was least pronounced under high nest predation risk, suggesting that elevated fGCM levels may allow females to ensure some reproductive success under such conditions. Hatching success was positively associated with female body condition, with relative telomere length, particularly in younger females, and with female minimum age, particularly under low predation risk, showing the utility of these metrics as indicators of individual quality. In line with a trade-off between current and future reproduction, our results show that high potential for future breeding prospects and increased predation risk shift the balance toward investment in future reproduction, with glucocorticoids playing a role in the resolution of this trade-off.

scholarly journals Variation in faecal corticosterone metabolites in an Arctic seabird, the Little Auk (Alle alle) during the nesting period

Polar Biology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 641-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorota Kidawa ◽  
Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas ◽  
Dariusz Jakubas ◽  
Rupert Palme ◽  
Lech Stempniewicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Little Auk ◽  
Alle Alle ◽  
Faecal Corticosterone Metabolites ◽  
Corticosterone Metabolites

scholarly journals Nutrient Reserves and Clutch-Size Regulation of Northern Shovelers in Alaska

The Auk ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 971-979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret C. MacCluskie ◽  
James S. Sedinger
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Prairie Pothole Region ◽  
Prairie Pothole ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Brood Rearing ◽  
Nutrient Reserve ◽  
Anas Clypeata ◽  
Nutrient Reserves ◽  
Nest Initiation

Abstract We determined patterns of nutrient-reserve use by female Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata) nesting at Minto Flats, Alaska, and compared them with those of female shovelers nesting in the Prairie Pothole Region of Manitoba, Canada. Individual variation in somatic lipid was best explained by nest initiation date; females that initiated nests early had larger lipid reserves than females that delayed nest initiation. These results contrast with those from Manitoba, which showed that females used lipid reserves and stored protein during egg production. Incubating females from Alaska did not use protein or mineral reserves, but lipid reserves decreased significantly throughout incubation. Females in Alaska and Manitoba used lipid reserves similarly during incubation. We conclude that endogenous nutrient availability does not proximately limit clutch size during laying for this population of shovelers, possibly due to the high productivity of wetlands in interior Alaska and/or the long photoperiod that allow females to forage extensively. Successful completion of incubation or brood rearing may be an ultimate factor that controls clutch size for this population of shovelers.

Effects of Experience and Body Weight on Incubation Behavior of Canada Geese

The Auk ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 670-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Aldrich ◽  
Dennis G. Raveling
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Canada Geese ◽  
Critical Weight ◽  
Incubation Behavior ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
First Time ◽  
Foraging Time

Abstract During 1979 and 1980, we studied the incubation behavior and body-weight dynamics of captive Canada Geese (Branta canadensis moffitti) with known breeding histories. Females were attentive to their nests for 97.5% of the incubation period and lost 27% of their initial body weight. Heavier females were more attentive to their nests and lost more weight during incubation than did lighter females. Variation in body weight among females was greatest at the onset of incubation and least at hatch, which suggests that females invested maximum reserves in incubation. Recess frequency and duration increased throughout incubation, resulting in more foraging time for the female. Once a lower critical weight of about 3,200 g was reached, the amount of recess time taken increased dramatically, probably because lipid reserves were depleted. Females nesting for the first time began incubation at a lighter body weight and were less attentive than experienced females. All inexperienced females were either 4 or 5 yr old, but their egg production (4 eggs) was that of 2- or 3-yr-old wild females. This indicated that experience rather than age was the important variable affecting acquisition of reserves. Inattentiveness to a nest by a female prolongs the duration of incubation and exposes the nest to a greater risk of predation. The inability of inexperienced females to gain enough reserves to provide for both maximum clutch size and attentiveness during incubation may be a major explanation for the lower hatching success of geese nesting for the first time.

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