Sex-specific growth of nestlings of the Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida, a species with sexual size dimorphism and female brood desertion

Banach, Agata; Neubauer, Grzegorz; Flis, Adam; Ledwoń, Mateusz

doi:10.1007/s10336-021-01911-y

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 53 publications

(87 reference statements)

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“…Strategies for nest success linked to nest attendance include the direct care of chicks, nest defense against predators (Harmon et al 2021) and supplying food as chicks rely entirely on their parents while in the nest (Li et al 2019). The availability of food for hatchlings has a significant impact on their development (Owen and Pierce 2014), while the ability of parents to feed their offspring depends on both their physical conditions and experience (Banach et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brood care behavior of the painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) in Peninsular Malaysia

et al. 2022

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Abstract. Zakaria MA, Daud UNS, Mansor MS, Md. Nor S. 2022. Brood care behavior of the painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) in Peninsular Malaysia. Biodiversitas 23: 5406-5411. Waterbirds can serve as bio-indicators for their surrounding environments, indicating issues such as habitat degradation and climate change. One factor that contributes to successful reproduction for many bird species is parental behavior during the brood care stage. The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a waterbird species that provide biparental care throughout the breeding season. Although many studies have focused on populations of this species, information about their behavior, particularly during nestling rearing, remains lacking. Hence, this study was conducted to examine the parental behavior of painted storks between the early and late stages of brood care in two different colonies located in Peninsular Malaysia: Tasik Shah Alam (TSA) in Selangor and Upper Bisa Putrajaya Wetland (UBPW) in Putrajaya from May to September 2016. Three pairs of painted storks were monitored in every site, and seven behaviors were identified: roosting, preening, nest repair, wing opening, flying, feeding and brooding. Of all the behaviors recorded, flying, roosting and wing-opening behavior were the most frequently observed behaviors in both study areas during the early stage of brood care. However, painted storks were found to spend most of their time flying when the chicks had grown up by the late stage. This may be due to the food demand for the parents and their chicks. As the nestlings grow bigger, more food is required before the nestling can fledge independently. This is supported by increased feeding frequency observed from the early to late stages. Males were found to have a higher frequency of all behaviors than females. This data facilitates a greater understanding of painted stork behavior, which can help in their conservation and management processes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brood care behavior of the painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) in Peninsular Malaysia

et al. 2022

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Female and male body condition in the Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida, a species with female offspring desertion: a test of the differential parental capacity hypothesis

Ledwoń,

Neubauer,

Flis

et al. 2023

J Ornithol

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Offspring desertion by a single parent, mainly the female, occurs in many charadriiform birds. According to the differential parental capacity hypothesis (DPCH), females are more likely to desert, since they may be in poorer body condition than males as a consequence of egg-laying costs. This study investigated the body condition of 122 male and 118 female Whiskered Terns. In this species half of females desert during the chick-rearing period, the remainder during the post-fledging period. Body condition was investigated during the late incubation and early chick-rearing phases during the biparental care period in: (1) females that deserted during the chick-rearing period, (2) females that did not desert during this time, (3) males deserted by females, and (4) males not deserted by females. Among females that stayed, body condition during the pre-hatching period did not vary with relative catching date (clutch/brood age), whereas females that later deserted showed a very poor body condition when caught around seven days prior to hatching. After hatching, body condition was lower in both deserting and non-deserting females caught later. Among males whose females stayed, body condition remained nearly stable, whereas the body condition of males whose females deserted was lower the later they were caught. These results tally only partially with the DPCH: the pattern of parental body condition changes during breeding is apparently more complex than assumed by the DPCH and the cost of egg laying may be lower than suggested. Desertion by Whiskered Tern females is better explained by the sex role differences in parental care. The male’s ability to compensate for the missing female may be playing a role in the evolution of desertion.

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Sex ratio and sex-specific chick mortality in a species with moderate sexual size dimorphism and female brood desertion

Banach,

Flis,

Kusal

et al. 2024

J Ornithol

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An equal sex ratio at the population level is the usual, evolutionarily stable condition. However, at the individual level, it may be adaptive for parents to manipulate the sex of their offspring, especially in species with sexual size dimorphism (SSD) when the costs and benefits of producing sons and daughters can vary. In this study, we investigated the hatching sex ratio (HSR) and fledging sex ratio (FSR) in the Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida). Despite the fact that SSD exists in Whiskered Terns already at the chick stage, HSR and FSR did not deviate from parity at the population level. We tested the dependence of HSR, FSR and the survival probability of males and females on the individual hatching date, average egg volume (in a clutch) and the number of nestlings. None of these factors influenced HSR. Survival probability was negatively correlated with the number of hatchlings. The proportion of females among the fledglings was positively correlated with the average egg volume per clutch. To better explore the effect of egg volume on the sex ratio, we tested the relationship between exact egg volume and hatchling sex or hatching success at the individual level; but despite the quite large sample size, our analyses failed to reveal any relationship. The sex ratio was equal among chicks that were found dead in a nest, mostly due to starvation, but more female than male chicks disappeared from nests (mostly due to predation), primarily in the first week of life. This indicates that females may be easier to predate, very likely by frogs hunting small chicks.

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Sex-specific growth of nestlings of the Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida, a species with sexual size dimorphism and female brood desertion

Cited by 5 publications

References 53 publications

Brood care behavior of the painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) in Peninsular Malaysia

Brood care behavior of the painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) in Peninsular Malaysia

Female and male body condition in the Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida, a species with female offspring desertion: a test of the differential parental capacity hypothesis

Sex ratio and sex-specific chick mortality in a species with moderate sexual size dimorphism and female brood desertion

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