Breeding-site infidelity in greater snow geese: a consequence of constraints on laying date?

We studied annual variation in the distribution of greater snow goose (Chen caerulescens atlantica) nests and colonies at a High Arctic breeding site (Bylot Island, Northwest Territories, Canada) from 1988 to 1994. Annual distribution and size of colonies within the study area were highly variable. The distance between colony centres in successive years ranged from 2.9 to 6.9 km [Formula: see text], with no overlap of the areas occupied. Timing of snowmelt and nest-site availability were also very variable. In some years, the area was snow-free at the time the geese arrived, whereas in others, snow persisted for up to 3 weeks after their arrival. However, even in the 3 years of earliest snowmelt (1988, 1993, and 1994), geese used markedly different nesting areas, in both lowland and upland areas. Geese nested in association with snowy owls (Nyctea scandiaca) in the 2 years that owls nested and their nesting success was markedly improved, probably because of the deterrent effect of owls on arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus), the main nest predator. This suggests that protection from nest predators is an important determinant of nest-site selection. The lack of fidelity to a specific nesting location is unusual in geese. We suggest that large annual variability in timing of snowmelt, predation pressure, and availability of feeding areas during the prenesting period, combined with the need to lay at an optimal date because of the short arctic nesting season, probably explain the low nest-site fidelity in this population.

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Survival of Young Greater Snow Geese (Chen Caerulescens Atlantica) During Fall Migration

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/122.2.479 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 122 (2) ◽

pp. 479-496 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Stéphane Menu ◽

Gilles Gauthier ◽

Austin Reed

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

High Arctic ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Chen Caerulescens ◽

Migratory Flight ◽

Snow Geese ◽

Before And After ◽

Chen Caerulescens Atlantica ◽

Similar Survival

Abstract The many hazards that await birds along their migratory routes may negatively affect their survival, especially among newly fledged young. We estimated survival of young Greater Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens atlantica) during fall migration from the High Arctic to temperate areas and examined factors affecting their survival over a five-year period, using two approaches. First, each year (1993–1997), we banded fledglings and adults in mid-August, just before their departure from Bylot Island in the High Arctic (Nunavut, Canada), and again at an important staging area 3,000 km to the south at the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area (Québec, Canada) in October; recovery data from those two banding periods allowed estimation of survival during fall migration. Second, we visually determined brood size of neck-banded females before and after the main portion of the migratory flight, to estimate survival of young. The two approaches yielded similar survival estimates and showed the same interannual variation, thus suggesting that estimates were reliable. Mortality of young shortly after fledging and during the fall migration was high, compared with that of adults (monthly survival 0.662 in young vs. 0.989 in adults). However, mortality of young after migration was similar to that of adults (monthly survival 0.969 in young vs. 0.972 in adults). Migration survival of young varied considerably among annual cohorts (range of 0.119–0.707 over five years), and most of the mortality appeared to be natural. Survival was especially low in years when (1) temperatures at time of fledging and start of migration were low (i.e. near or below freezing), (2) mean body mass of goslings near fledging was low, or (3) mean fledging date was late. Our results suggest that migration survival of young is affected by a combination of several factors (climatic conditions, body mass, and fledging date) and that survival is reduced when one of those factors intervenes.

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Gosling Growth and Survival in Relation to Brood Movements in Greater Snow Geese (Chen Caerulescens Atlantica)

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/123.4.1077 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 123 (4) ◽

pp. 1077-1089 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Julien Mainguy ◽

Gilles Gauthier ◽

Jean-François Giroux ◽

Joël Bêty

Keyword(s):

Selective Advantage ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

High Quality ◽

Growth And Survival ◽

Chen Caerulescens ◽

Brood Rearing ◽

Snow Geese ◽

Movement Distance ◽

Chen Caerulescens Atlantica ◽

Precocial Birds

Abstract Post-hatch brood movements to high-quality foraging sites are common in precocial birds but may entail costs for young. We assessed effects of overland movements of broods between the nesting and rearing areas in Greater Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens atlantica) breeding on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada, to determine whether these movements affected gosling survival and growth. We monitored 51 radiomarked females over five years to quantify movement distance, movement duration, and gosling survival. Gosling growth was compared over four years using a sample of web-tagged broods recaptured shortly before fledging among adults that (1) nested and reared their young in a dense colony, (2) left the colony and moved ≈30 km to reach the main brood-rearing area, or (3) nested and reared their young in the main brood-rearing area. Brood movements by radio-marked birds were highly variable (2.6-52.5 km, depending on rearing areas used) and fairly rapid (≤6 days after hatch for 72% of the females). Gosling survival was not related to distance moved between nesting and brood-rearing areas. However, gosling growth was influenced by areas used and whether or not they had to move to reach their brood-rearing area. Geese nesting at the main brood-rearing area generally reared heavier and larger goslings than those that moved ≈30 km from the main nesting colony to rear their brood at the main brood-rearing area. On the other hand, goslings leaving the nesting colony after hatch were heavier and larger than those that stayed there throughout brood rearing in one of two years. Although brood movements allow goslings access to high-quality habitats, they entail some costs. Thus, minimizing such movements through nest-site selection should provide a selective advantage by allowing goslings to maximize their growth. Croissance et Survie des Oisons en Relation avec les Déplacements des Familles chez Chen caerulescens atlantica

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Marbled salamanders (Ambystoma opacum) choose low elevation nest sites when cover availability is controlled

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/156853806778190123 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 359-364 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

David Scott ◽

Dean Croshaw

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Success ◽

Reproductive Behavior ◽

Site Selection ◽

Nest Site ◽

Local Environment ◽

Breeding Site ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

Growth And Survival ◽

Nest Sites ◽

Selective Forces

AbstractNest site selection is an important part of adult reproductive behavior because growth and survival of young are often affected by the local environment. In terrestrially nesting marbled salamanders, nest elevation is likely important to reproductive success because it is directly related to the time of hatching. We tested the hypothesis that females choose nest sites based on elevation and its correlates by controlling the availability of nesting cover, a potentially important factor in nest site selection which often covaries with elevation. Breeding adults were confined to field enclosures in which natural nesting cover had been removed and replaced with equal proportions of artificial cover in each of three elevation zones. In four enclosures that spanned from lowest to highest areas of a wetland breeding site, females used artificial nesting cover most frequently at low elevations. These results contrast with other studies in which intermediate elevations had highest nest densities, but are consistent with a conceptual model in which opposing selective forces result in locally adapted nest site selection.

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Depredation of Common Eider, Somateria mollissima, Nests on a Central Beaufort Sea Barrier Island: A Case Where No One Wins

The Canadian Field-Naturalist ◽

10.22621/cfn.v121i3.480 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 121 (3) ◽

pp. 308

Author(s):

John A. Reed ◽

Deborah L. Lacroix ◽

Paul L. Flint

Keyword(s):

Nest Site ◽

Beaufort Sea ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

Somateria Mollissima ◽

Fitness Advantage ◽

Avian Predators ◽

Arctic Foxes ◽

Common Eiders ◽

Mammalian Predators ◽

Nest Site Choice

Along the central Beaufort Sea, Pacific Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigra) nest on unvegetated, barrier islands; often near nesting Glaucous Gulls (Larus hyperboreus). Nest-site choice likely reflects a strategy of predator avoidance: nesting on islands to avoid mammalian predators and near territorial gulls to avoid other avian predators. We observed a nesting colony of Common Eiders from first nest initiation through nesting termination on Egg Island near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (2002 – 2003). Resident gulls depredated many eider nests, mostly during initiation. All nests failed when an Arctic Fox (Alopex lagopus) visited the island and flushed hens from their nests, exposing the eggs to depredation by the fox and gulls (resident and non-resident). Common Eiders actively defended nests from gulls, but not from foxes. Likely all three species (i.e., eiders, gulls, and foxes) ultimately achieved negligible benefit from their nest-site selection or predatory activity: (a) island nesting provided no safety from mammalian predators for eiders or gulls, (b) for Common Eiders, nesting near gulls increased egg loss, (c) for Glaucous Gulls, nesting near colonial eiders may have reduced nest success by attracting the fox, and (d) for Arctic Foxes, the depredation was of questionable value, as most eggs were cached and probably not recoverable (due to damage from fall storms). Thus, the predator-prey interactions we observed appear to be a case where little or no fitness advantage was realized by any of the species involved.

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The Thermal Regime of Eggs During Laying and Incubation in Greater Snow Geese

The Condor ◽

10.1093/condor/102.2.292 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 102 (2) ◽

pp. 292-300 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Catherine Poussart ◽

Jacques Larochelle ◽

Gilles Gauthier

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Laying Date ◽

Instantaneous Rate ◽

Chen Caerulescens ◽

Nest Attentiveness ◽

A Value ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Snow Geese ◽

High Solar Radiation ◽

Chen Caerulescens Atlantica

AbstractDummy eggs were added to naturally incubated clutches of Greater Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens atlantica), an arctic-nesting species, in order to evaluate egg temperature during laying and incubation, and factors influencing egg cooling rate during female recesses. As laying progressed, both nest attentiveness by females and egg temperature progressively increased. Although the time spent at nest after laying the penultimate egg was relatively high (69% vs. 91% during incubation), mean egg temperature was still 5.7°C lower than during the early incubation period. This suggests that little embryonic development began before clutch completion. Thereafter, egg temperature averaged 37.1 ± 0.1°C during periods where females were present, a value that decreased only slightly when incubation recesses are included (36.8°C). This is a high temperature in comparison to other arctic-nesting geese. A modest increase (1.7°C) in mean egg temperature was observed as incubation progressed, but egg temperature was not influenced by clutch size or by the laying date of the first egg. During recesses lasting 24.7 ± 1.3 min on average, egg temperature dropped by 2.8 ± 0.3°C, at an instantaneous rate of 0.23 ± 0.02°C hr−1 °C−1. Cooling rates increased under windy conditions and decreased with high solar radiation, but were little affected by air temperature.

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Determinants of nest success in the marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z89-320 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 67 (9) ◽

pp. 2277-2281 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Mary E. Jackson ◽

David E. Scott ◽

Ruth A. Estes

Keyword(s):

South Carolina ◽

Nest Site ◽

Nest Success ◽

Breeding Site ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

Vegetative Cover ◽

Free Swimming ◽

Nest Distribution ◽

Ambystoma Opacum ◽

Marbled Salamander

Nest distribution and nest success (i.e., the proportion of a clutch that successfully hatched to the free-swimming larval stage) of the terrestrial-breeding marbled salamander, Ambystoma opacum, was examined at a breeding site in South Carolina, U.S.A. Females placed nests in areas of high total vegetative cover, and tended to concentrate nests in the lowest portion of the breeding site. Nests placed at high and medium elevations exhibited a nonrandom aggregated pattern, whereas nests at low elevations were randomly distributed. Nest success of 85 nests was highest at low elevations, and was positively correlated with the number of days a female remained with (brooded) the nest. Natural selection may favor nest site selection and nest brooding behavior as mechanisms to reduce embryonic mortality.

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Body Temperature and Resting Behavior of Greater Snow Goose Goslings in the High Arctic

The Condor ◽

10.1093/condor/102.1.163 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 102 (1) ◽

pp. 163-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Daniel Fortin ◽

Gilles Gauthier ◽

Jacques Larochelle

Keyword(s):

Body Temperature ◽

Thermal Environment ◽

High Arctic ◽

High Energy ◽

Body Core Temperature ◽

Energy Costs ◽

Snow Goose ◽

Chen Caerulescens ◽

Greater Snow Goose ◽

Chen Caerulescens Atlantica

Abstract We examined the control of body temperature during active and resting behaviors in chicks of a large precocial bird, the Greater Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens atlantica), growing in a cold Arctic environment. Imprinted goslings from 4 to 31 days old maintained their mean (± SD) body core temperature within a narrow range around 40.6 ± 0.2°C (range: 38.7–42.2°C), independently of changes in their thermal environment. Average body temperature increased <0.4°C between 4 and 31 days of age. Hypothermia, potentially an energy-saving mechanism, was not used by active goslings. The potential for heat loss to the environment influenced the length of resting bouts in wild goslings. As environmental temperature increased, wild goslings remained sitting alone for longer periods, whereas when it decreased, brooding behavior was prolonged. The time spent huddling increased with the number of goslings involved. Body temperature during huddling bouts measured in imprinted chicks was significantly lower than during periods of activity, showing a rapid decrease averaging 0.8°C at the onset of huddling, followed by a slow recovery before activity was resumed. Thus, huddling behavior was not used as a rewarming mechanism. Greater Snow Goose goslings appear to prioritize metabolic activity by maintaining a high body temperature, despite the high energy costs that may be involved. Social thermoregulation is used to reduce the energy costs entailed by the strict maintenance of homeothermy.

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Combining social information use and comfort-seeking for nest site selection in a cavity-nesting raptor

10.32942/osf.io/xfhu6 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer Morinay ◽

Federico De Pascalis ◽

Davide M. Dominoni ◽

Michelangelo Morganti ◽

Francesco Pezzo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nest Site ◽

Social Information ◽

Information Use ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

Laying Date ◽

Peat Moss ◽

Nest Material ◽

Information Hypothesis ◽

Cavity Nesting ◽

Social Information Use

When selecting a breeding site, individuals can use social information to reduce the uncertainty regarding habitat quality. In particular, individuals from several bird species tend to reuse nests previously occupied by competitors. Re-occupying nests previously used by conspecifics or heterospecifics could result from exploiting social information by copying competitors’ choice (the ‘social information’ hypothesis). Alternatively, it could allow fulfilling the needs for a comfortable nest substrate (e.g. by improving thermal insulation or reducing egg breakage risks) at low costs, regardless of previous occupancy (the ‘comfort’ hypothesis). Here, we aimed to determine which of these two mechanisms triggered the preference for old conspecific nest material in a secondary cavity-nesting raptor which does not add lining materials to its nest, the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni). Using an experimental design forcing settling lesser kestrels to choose between two adjacent nestboxes containing different substrates, we detected a strong preference for comfortable substrates (peat moss, or conspecific or European roller old nest material) over uncomfortable mineral substrate, especially when the comfortable substrate also provided social information about previous nest use by a competitor. Despite the apparent absence of preference when directly comparing settlement patterns in comfortable substrates with and without social information, early-settling individuals favoured the substrate with social information, while late-settling ones favoured the substrate without social information. This could reflect intraspecific competition avoidance by late arriving individuals that may be competitively inferior compared to early arriving ones. This hypothesis is supported by a later laying date of young (up to two years old) breeders compared to older ones in our population. Our findings suggest that both comfort seeking and social information use explain preference for previously used nest cavities, and that nest site choices may depend on individual competitive abilities and experience.

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