Body mass change in breeding Common Terns<i>Sterna hirundo</i>

Wendeln, Helmut; Becker, Peter

doi:10.1080/00063659609460998

Cited by 74 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The decrease in body-mass that we recorded in common tern parents between hatching and fledging of their chicks is similar to that reported by Wendeln and Becker (1996) in common terns between the last week of incubation and the first week of chick rearing. Although Wendeln and Becker attributed this difference to the stress of chick rearing, they gave no specific evidence for this conclusion and aerodynamic, for example, wingloading, considerations may also be a plausible, and not mutually exclusive, explanation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Serum immunoglobulin G levels are positively related to reproductive performance in a long-lived seabird, the common tern (Sterna hirundo)

Apanius

Nisbet²

2005

Oecologia

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The evolution of longevity requires a low risk of mortality from extrinsic factors, relative to intrinsic factors, so that individuals that differentially invest in physiological self-maintenance and minimize their annual reproductive costs will maximize lifetime fitness through a prolonged reproductive lifespan. The trade-off between reproductive effort and self-maintenance, as measured by immune function, has been well documented in short-lived birds, but is difficult to demonstrate in long-lived birds. To assess self-maintenance in a long-lived seabird, we measured serum protein levels, including immunoglobulin G (IgG = IgY), in 30 breeding pairs of common terns (Sterna hirundo) and their first-hatched (A) chicks. Most parents were of known age from banding as hatchlings; our sample was selected to contrast young breeders (6-9 years) with very old birds (17-23 years). Body-mass of the parents declined by 5% during the chick-rearing period, while serum protein levels were stable. Serum IgG levels were higher in parents of offspring with faster growth rates, while IgG levels were lower in parents whose broods were reduced by starvation. A-chicks in broods of two had higher IgG levels than singleton chicks. Albumin levels were not related to reproductive performance. Thus, despite adequate statistical power, we could find no evidence for a trade-off between reproduction and self-maintenance in common terns, even in old age. The results are consistent with life-history predictions for long-lived vertebrates, in which selection favors sustained self-maintenance across the reproductive lifespan. The positive relationships between IgG levels and reproductive performance indicate that IgG can be used as an index of parental "quality."

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Serum immunoglobulin G levels are positively related to reproductive performance in a long-lived seabird, the common tern (Sterna hirundo)

Apanius

Nisbet²

2005

Oecologia

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“…To examine these predictions, common terns (Sterna hirundo) are appropriate because: (1) they show a limited sexual size dimorphism, adult males being about 1-6% larger than females in bill and head measurements (Table 1, Coulter 1986;Wendeln et al 1997;Craik 1999), but similar in mass, though males tend to be slightly heavier (up to 3%) than females (Wendeln and Becker 1996); and (2) there are substantial differences in quality between parents (Wendeln and Becker 1999). In the present study, we used brood size as an indication of differences in parental quality (Table 2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Hatching sex ratio and sex specific chick mortality in common terns Sterna hirundo

et al. 2005

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Bias in sex ratios at hatching and sex specific post hatching mortality in size dimorphic species has been frequently detected, and is usually skewed towards the production and survival of the smaller sex. Since common terns Sterna hirundo show a limited sexual size dimorphism, with males being only about 1-6% larger than females in a few measurements, we would expect to find small or no differences in production and survival of sons and daughters. To test this prediction, we carried out a 2-year observational study on sex ratio variation in common terns at hatching and on sex specific post hatching mortality. Sons and daughters hatched from eggs of similar volume. Post hatching mortality was heavily influenced by hatching sequence. In addition, we detected a sex specific mortality bias towards sons. Overall, hatching sex ratio and sex specific mortality resulted in fledging sex ratios 8% biased towards females. Thus, other reasons than body size may be influencing the costs of rearing sons. Son mortality was not homogeneous between brood sizes, but greater for two-chick broods. Since adults rearing two-chick broods were younger, lighter and bred consistently later than those rearing three-chick broods, it is suggested that lower capacity of two-chick brood parents adversely affected offspring survival of sons. Though not significantly, two-chick broods tended to be female biased at hatching, perhaps to counteract the greater male-biased nestling mortality. Thus, population bias in secondary sex ratio is not limited to strongly size dimorphic species, but species with a slight sexual size dimorphism can also show sex ratio bias through a combination of differential production and mortality of sons and daughters.

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“…Such a limitation in the rate of energy acquisition often results in a decline in parental body mass during the brood-guarding stage (e.g. Wendeln and Becker 1996;Catry et al 2006a). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brood-guarding behaviour in Cory’s Shearwaters Calonectris diomedea

et al. 2008

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Brood-guarding (or the continual attendance at the nest by one parent) has been relatively little studied in altricial birds. Parental investment in brood-guarding is often highly variable within a species, and the study of such variability may contribute to the understanding of the functions and regulation of this behaviour and of the tradeoffs involved in the choice between attending the nest and leaving to forage. In some colonial birds, it has been found that early nesting pairs attend their chick for longer than later nesting counterparts, giving rise to the synchronisation hypothesis that suggests that early pairs prolong broodguarding in order to reduce the probability of nest predation by a dilution effect. In this paper, for the first time we test the prediction that burrow-nesting colonial birds subject to little predation pressure should not display a seasonal decline in brood-guarding duration. The growth assistance hypothesis suggests that brood-guarding may allow the provision of frequent small meals and the efficient use of energy by chicks with poor homeothermic capabilities, resulting in improved early chick-growth. Finally, the chick-protection hypothesis predicts that chicks in more exposed nests should be brood-guarded for longer. Data collected at two Cory's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea colonies situated in contrasting environments supported the synchronisation hypothesis, as there was no seasonal trend in brood-guarding duration. Contrary to the growth assistance hypothesis, chicks brood-guarded for longer periods did not have an improved growth (in one colony there was even a negative effect of brood-guarding on early chick development). Finally, we found no difference in brood-guarding between nests with contrasting levels of exposure to potential predators and weather. Despite confirming the prediction of the synchronisation hypothesis, more research is needed to identify the main factors underlying the variability of brood-guarding observed in this and other studies.

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Body mass change in breeding Common TernsSterna hirundo

Cited by 74 publications

References 21 publications

Serum immunoglobulin G levels are positively related to reproductive performance in a long-lived seabird, the common tern (Sterna hirundo)

Serum immunoglobulin G levels are positively related to reproductive performance in a long-lived seabird, the common tern (Sterna hirundo)

Hatching sex ratio and sex specific chick mortality in common terns Sterna hirundo

Brood-guarding behaviour in Cory’s Shearwaters Calonectris diomedea

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