Variation in Clutch Size of the Common Eider: A Study Based on 41 Breeding Seasons on Coquet Island, Northumberland, England

Waterbirds ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Coulson
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Common Eider ◽  
The Common ◽  
Breeding Seasons

Clutch-Size Determination in Precocial Birds: A Study of the Common Eider

The Auk ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 623-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjell Einar Erikstad ◽  
Jan Ove Bustnes ◽  
Truls Moum
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Common Eider ◽  
Size Determination ◽  
The Common ◽  
Precocial Birds

scholarly journals Condition dependent strategies of egg size variation in the Common Eider Somateria mollissima

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kjær Christensen ◽  
Thorsten Johannes Skovbjerg Balsby
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Common Eider ◽  
Somateria Mollissima ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Laying Sequence ◽  
The Common ◽  
Using Data

AbstractWe analysed intraclutch egg-size variation in relation to clutch size and to female body condition in the Common Eider Somateria mollissima during an 8-year period. The aim was to assess if eiders adaptively adjusted egg size within the laying sequence in response to different clutch sizes, which potentially could optimise reproductive success through a size advantage in hatchlings. The analyses were performed on both population and individual level using data from recaptured females that changed clutch size between seasons. Based on 1,099 clutches from 812 individual females, population clutch size averaged 4.13 eggs (range: 1-6), with marked annual variation in the dominance of 4- and 5-egg clutches, which constituted c.70% of all clutches. Clutch size was positively related to female pre-laying body condition at both the population and individual level. Egg size varied significantly within and between clutch sizes and changes were significantly related to the laying sequence. First eggs were significantly larger in 4-egg clutches and second eggs smaller (marginally insignificant) than in 5-egg clutches, a pattern also found among individual females changing clutch size between seasons. The relationship between female pre-laying body condition, clutch size and the intraclutch egg-size pattern indicates that both clutch size and egg size is actively adapted to the pre-breeding body condition of the female. We suggest that the observed pattern of intraclutch egg-size variation reflects a finely tuned conditional dependent mechanisms that enable females in a suboptimal condition to optimize reproductive output.

Indeterminate laying and flexible clutch size in a capital breeder, the common eider

Oecologia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 165 (3) ◽  
pp. 707-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Waldeck ◽  
Sveinn Are Hanssen ◽  
Malte Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Common Eider ◽  
Capital Breeder ◽  
The Common

Environmental, ontogenetic, and genetic variation in egg size of Pied Flycatchers

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1534-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Potti
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Relative Volume ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Territory Quality ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Female Condition ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Breeding Seasons

Ontogenetic, genetic, and environmental variation in egg length, breadth, and volume were investigated in the Pied Flycatcher across four breeding seasons in central Spain. Egg length and breadth were poorly correlated and did not vary with laying date. There was an indication of decreasing egg breadth with increasing clutch size that may indicate a trade-off between both variables. Egg size increased with female condition and, independently, with territory quality. Mean egg size decreased with advancing female age, which is perhaps related to the increase of clutch size with age in this species. There were high, significant repeatabilities of almost all egg dimensions, including relative volumes of first and last eggs, among females, both within and between years. Also, nest boxes were repeatable in the relative volume of the last eggs of (different) females laying in them, suggesting an influence of territory quality on relative egg size. Territory quality also had positive influences on some egg measurements that were independent of female condition. Heritability, estimated by mother–daughter regression, was significant only for egg length. These results are discussed in relation to proximate constraints on egg formation, predictions from the brood-survival hypothesis, and a possible trade-off between clutch and egg sizes.

scholarly journals Differential investment and costs during avian incubation determined by individual quality: an experimental study of the common eider (Somateria mollissima)

2003 ◽  
Vol 270 (1514) ◽  
pp. 531-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sveinn Are Hanssen ◽  
Kjell Einar Erikstad ◽  
Vigdis Johnsen ◽  
Ove Bustnes Jan
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Common Eider ◽  
Somateria Mollissima ◽  
Individual Quality ◽  
Avian Incubation ◽  
The Common

Female sociality in the common eider duck during brood rearing

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (12) ◽  
pp. 3326-3331 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Schmutz ◽  
R. J. Robertson ◽  
F. Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Care ◽  
Adaptive Significance ◽  
Common Eider ◽  
Somateria Mollissima ◽  
Brood Rearing ◽  
The Common ◽  
Nutrient Reserves ◽  
Prolactin Hormone

This study investigates the potential adaptive significance of the behavior of female common eider ducks (Somateria mollissima) which have no young of their own ("aunts") but accompany other females and young. "Aunts" exhibited ambivalent aggression and protection toward ducklings. There was no evidence that the presence of "aunts" enhanced the survival of the ducklings they accompanied. Both females which had their clutch removed and females which had not laid eggs behaved as "aunts." The level of circulating prolactin hormone in "aunts" was lower than in incubating females and similar to the basal level of males. We therefore rejected the hypothesis that maternal care was misdirected during hormonal adjustment from breeding to nonbreeding. We suggest that "aunts" which have lost a clutch or brood, spend some time feeding away from the colony, and then return to the nesting grounds after replenishing their nutrient reserves. Upon returning, "aunts" may select sites for nesting in future years. During this time, they are temporarily attracted to broods. We propose that "aunts" flock and fend off predators during an attack in an attempt to seek safety in a flock rather than to protect ducklings of other females.

scholarly journals Frequency, Timing and Costs of Intraspecific Nest Parasitism in the Common Eider

The Condor ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 871-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory J. Robertson ◽  
Michelle D. Watson ◽  
Fred Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Common Eider ◽  
Nest Parasitism ◽  
The Common ◽  
Intraspecific Nest Parasitism

Managing hunted populations through sex-specific season lengths: a case of the Common Eider in the Baltic-Wadden Sea flyway population

2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 717-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kjær Christensen ◽  
Jens Peder Hounisen
Keyword(s):  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Common Eider ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Baltic
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