Common goldeneyes adjust maternal effort in relation to prior brood success and not current brood size

Pöysä, Hannu; Virtanen, Juha; Milonoff, Markku

doi:10.1007/s002650050321

Cited by 48 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…For example, in common goldeneyes, Bucephala clangula, maternal effort was related to the mortality already experienced by the brood rather than brood size per se (Pöysä et al 1997). Our results are in line with the brood success hypothesis, because clutch desertion was related not only to the number of eggs that remained in the nest, but also to the original clutch size, suggesting that the relative change in clutch size was important.…”

Section: Clutch Size Before and After The Manipulationsupporting

confidence: 83%

Nest desertion: a trade-off between current and future reproduction

Verboven

Tinbergen

2002

Animal Behaviour

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Life history theory predicts that parents should desert a reproductive attempt if the costs of rearing this brood exceed the expected benefits. Thus, if the value of the current breeding attempt is reduced, for example through an unexpected reduction in size, parents are expected to reconsider whether it is worth continuing investing in their brood. With regard to nest desertion behaviour two predictions can be made: individuals are (1) more likely to desert if the reduction in clutch size is large and (2) less likely to desert if the reduction is at a late stage of breeding. We investigated the threshold at which nest desertion takes place by experimentally reducing great tit, Parus major, clutches to different sizes and at different stages of the incubation period. The results were in accordance with the predictions: clutch desertion rates were negatively related to the number of eggs that remained in the nest, and nest desertion was less likely nearer the end of the incubation period. In addition, we estimated the fitness consequences of nest desertion behaviour. For this purpose we made one group of birds desert in favour of a replacement clutch and another group rear a reduced brood. The latter were more likely to produce a second clutch after the first-brood fledglings had left the nest. As a consequence, the number of fledglings produced over the entire breeding season did not differ between the two experimental groups. We also counted the number of recruits and breeding adults in the following breeding season and found that the experimental groups did not differ in local recruitment and adult survival. Therefore, the results did not indicate that parents improved their fitness by deserting a reduced clutch.

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Section: Clutch Size Before and After The Manipulationsupporting

confidence: 83%

Nest desertion: a trade-off between current and future reproduction

Verboven

Tinbergen

2002

Animal Behaviour

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“…One is that we designed the study (isolated lakes surrounded by forest, nonlocal wing-clipped adult birds) to minimize the probability of ducks changing lakes and of females abandoning their brood (cf. data on other duck species like the common goldeneye; Pöysä et al 1997). Deserted broods were never seen and consequently we do not consider brood abandonment to be important in our study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Why are there so many empty lakes? Food limits survival of mallard ducklings

Gunnarsson¹,

Elmberg²,

Sjöberg³

et al. 2004

Can. J. Zool.

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Abstract:Food is an important factor affecting survival in many bird species, but this relationship has rarely been explored experimentally with respect to reproductive output of precocial birds. In a field experiment we tested the hypothesis that food abundance limits reproductive output in breeding dabbling ducks. Onto 10 oligotrophic lakes in northern Sweden we introduced one wing-clipped female mallard (Anas platyrhynchos L., 1758) and a brood of 10 newly hatched ducklings, and survival was monitored for 24 days. Food was added ad libitum at five of the lakes, but not at the other five. Duckling survival was best modelled to include a treatment effect, with higher survival on lakes with food added, and a negative effect of harsh weather. As expected, duckling survival increased nonlinearly with age. Only one female remained on control lakes after 24 days, whereas four remained on lakes with food added. This is the first experimental demonstration that food may limit survival and reproductive output in breeding precocial birds. We argue that food limitation may be one reason why duckling mortality is high and why many lakes throughout the Holarctic have no breeding dabbling ducks.Résumé : La nourriture est un facteur important pour la survie de plusieurs espèces d'oiseaux, mais sa relation avec le rendement reproductif des oiseaux nidifuges n'a que rarement été explorée expérimentalement. Une expérience sur le terrain nous a permis de vérifier l'hypothèse selon laquelle l'abondance de la nourriture contrôle le rendement reproductif chez les canards barboteurs en période de reproduction. Nous avons introduit une femelle à ailes écourtées du canard colvert (Anas platyrhynchos L., 1758) ainsi qu'une couvée fraîchement éclose de 10 canetons dans 10 lacs oligotrophes du nord de la Suède et nous avons noté leur survie pendant 24 jours. Nous avons ajouté de la nourriture à volonté dans cinq des lacs, mais pas dans les cinq autres. Notre modélisation optimale de la survie des canetons inclut un effet du traitement expérimental avec une survie accrue dans les lacs approvisionnés et un effet négatif des conditions climatiques rigoureuses. Comme prévu, la survie des canetons augmente de façon non linéaire avec l'âge. Au bout de 24 jours, il ne restait qu'une seule femelle sur les lacs témoins, alors qu'il y en avait quatre sur les lacs approvisionnés. C'est une première démonstration expérimentale que la nourriture peut contrôler la survie et le rendement reproductif chez les oiseaux nidifuges en période de reproduction. Nous croyons que la carence de nourriture peut être l'une des causes de la forte mortalité des canetons et de l'absence de reproduction de canards barboteurs dans de nombreux lacs de la région holarctique.[Traduit par la Rédaction] Gunnarsson et al. 1703

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“…1991; Wayland & McNicol 1994; Milonoff et al . 1995, Pöysä et al . 1997b), a high recovery rate should mean a high survival rate at least up to the age of 1 month.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive performance of Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula females in relation to age and lifespan

Milonoff¹,

Pöysä²,

Runko³

2002

Ibis

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We studied the effects of female age and length of lifespan on reproductive performance in the Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula, a precocial species with self‐feeding chicks. Dependent variables studied were the occurrence of failed nesting attempts and non‐breeding years, clutch size, nesting and hatching success, female condition and recovery rate of offspring. To avoid misinterpretations resulting from age‐dependent quality changes in the cohorts, individuals with different lifespans were separated in the analyses. There was no evidence that females of different lifespan differed in reproductive strategy. The data revealed no significant differences in nest losses, occurrence of non‐breeding years, timing of nesting or clutch size, but the physiological condition of short‐lived females was poorer than that of longer living females. This accords with the prediction that poor‐quality females invest proportionally more in reproduction than high‐quality females and consequently die earlier. The most productive individuals were those that lived longest. The only indication of senescence was the low recovery rate of offspring produced by old females. The last breeding attempt did not differ in any observable respect from the penultimate attempt, implying that the last investment in reproduction was no heavier than the previous one.

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Common goldeneyes adjust maternal effort in relation to prior brood success and not current brood size

Cited by 48 publications

References 31 publications

Nest desertion: a trade-off between current and future reproduction

Nest desertion: a trade-off between current and future reproduction

Why are there so many empty lakes? Food limits survival of mallard ducklings

Reproductive performance of Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula females in relation to age and lifespan

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