Sexual Differences in Antipredator Behavior of Breeding American Avocets and Black-Necked Stilts

Sordahl, Tex A.

doi:10.2307/1368255

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“… a References: 1, Hamilton (1975); 2, Sordahl (1990); 3, Reynolds and Székely (1997); 4, Nethersole‐Thompson (1986); 5, Hehgy and Sasvari (1998); 6, Johnsgard (1981); 7, Gaston and Jones (1998); 8, Székely (1996); 9, Creelman and Storey (1991); 10, Brunton (1988); 11, Fraser et al. (2002); 12, Pierce (1997); 13, Gibson (1971); 14, Lind (1961); 15, Székely and Lessens (1993); 16, Cramp and Simmons (1983); 17, Lenington (1984); 18, Brunton (1990); 19, Howe (1982); 20, Yasué and Dearden (2007); 21, Currie et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex‐biased aggression and male‐only care at sea in Brünnich’s GuillemotsUria lomviaand RazorbillsAlca torda

Paredes

Insley

2009

Ibis

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In several groups in the order Charadriformes, biparental care is followed by a period of male-only care. Several hypotheses attempting to explain extended male parental care in shorebirds do not fit the Alcini. In a previous study of Brünnich's Guillemots Uria lomvia and Razorbills Alca torda, we did not find support for female-biased parental effort at the breeding site that would lead to males being in better condition to care for chicks at sea. However, in both species, males spent more off-duty time at the breeding site than females, suggesting greater involvement in the defence of egg or chick, breeding site and mate. We predicted that there would be a male bias in size and aggressive behaviour associated with parental roles. To test this, body size and aggression of attending male and female Brünnich's Guillemots and Razorbills were measured during incubation and brooding on the Gannet Islands, Labrador. Parental aggression was measured using natural observations of all agonistic interactions and, in Razorbills only, in situ responses to presentations of a predator model. In both species, males were significantly larger than females in culmen and gape length. Guillemot males initiated agonistic interactions more frequently than females during incubation. In contrast, female Guillemots were subjected to aggression more frequently than males and as a result were involved in more fights. In addition, the few chicks that were seen to die were being attended by single females. During the brooding period, Razorbill males responded aggressively to intruders more frequently than females, made more aggressive responses than females, and responded aggressively more frequently and more intensely than females to a predator model. In both species there was a similar male bias in morphology and behaviour that is consistent with male parents being more capable of protecting their chick, a probable advantage to chick survival during the uniparental care phase of some Charadriformes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex‐biased aggression and male‐only care at sea in Brünnich’s GuillemotsUria lomviaand RazorbillsAlca torda

Paredes

Insley

2009

Ibis

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“…The number of artificial nests inside a 40 m radius was used as random factor, in order to control for the possible effect that artificial nests could have in attracting predators. A 40 m radius circle was selected because this is the distance that typically Recurvirostrids perform distraction displays to predators (Sordahl ). The number of black‐winged stilt and artificial nests (with at least one egg) were counted inside the 40 m radius of each stilt's nest, as the mean number of nests per day, during the period that the center nest was active.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, piping plovers Charadrius melodus nesting within colonies of mobbing least terns Sterna antillarum were more successful than plovers nesting outside colonies (Burger , Powell ). In saltpans, American avocets Recurvirostra americana and black‐winged stilts Himantopus himantopus usually nest colonially and defend their nests aggressively against terrestrial and avian predators (Sordahl , Mayer and Ryan ). In southern Europe, black‐winged stilts breed mainly in active or abandoned saltpans (Rufino and Neves , Tinarelli ), nesting colonially or semi‐colonially (Cramp and Simmons ) and mob terrestrial and avian predators near their nesting sites (Godchfeld ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal saltpans are a good alternative breeding habitat for Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus when umbrella species are present

Rocha

Fonseca

Masero

et al. 2016

Journal of Avian Biology

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Th e loss and degradation of natural habitats in coastal areas worldwide has adversely aff ected many waterbird species, changing their breeding distribution and reducing their productivity. Anthropogenic habitats such as saltpans can provide alternative or complementary habitats for waterbirds and mitigate the increasing human impact on natural coastal habitats. Unvegetated linear paths between salt ponds are used by ground-nesting waterbird species to breed but their linear structure may facilitate the detection of nests by predators. Th is negative eff ect may, however, be counterbalanced by the advantages of breeding in mixed colonies. To evaluate the importance and the risks of breeding in saltpans we used the Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus breeding in coastal saltpans of southern Portugal as a model species. Specifi cally, we assessed the role of nest-site characteristics, predation and nesting proximity to species with aggressive antipredator behaviour (black-winged stilt Himantopus himantopus ) on their breeding success. Kentish plovers selected nest-sites on the edges of paths, with about 20% of water around the nest, and a mean visibility of more than 72%; however nest-site characteristics were not correlated with nesting success. Predation was the main cause of nest loss in saltpans (42%); carrion crows Corvus corone were responsible for most daylight nest predation (58%) and red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ; 73%) for night predation. An 8-yr monitoring plan of a Kentish plover population showed a linear increase in their breeding success as their breeding season increasingly overlapped with that of the black-winged stilt. An experiment with artifi cial nests showed a signifi cant increase in the number of exposure days (7 to 12) when these nests were within close distance of black-winged stilt nests. Overall, our results showed that saltpans are an important alternative breeding habitat for the Kentish plover, especially for the maintenance of mixed species colonies.

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“…Males and females may have differential parental capabilities and remating opportunities in other shorebirds as well. Male parents approach predators closer than do females in the American Avocet Recurvirostra americanu, Black-necked Stilt Himantopus himantopus mexicanus, Killdeer and Golden Plover (Byrkjedal 1987, Brunton 1990, Sordahl 1990). Reviews of the anecdotal evidence are also consistent with the tendency that predator distraction behaviour of males is more intensive (Gochfeld 1984: table XIVa).…”

Section: Evolution Of Polyandrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Brood desertion in Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus: an experimental test of parental quality and remating opportunities

Székely

1996

Ibis

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Uniparental male care combined with polyandry is rare in birds, and the best known examples are in shorebirds Charadrii. There are two current hypotheses explaining why males care for the brood, whereas females desert and remate: either males are more capable than females at providing uniparental care (“parental quality hypothesis”) or females gain a greater increase in reproductive success by deserting than do males (“remating opportunity hypothesis”). I experimentally tested both hypotheses in Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus, one of the few avian species in which either parent may desert the brood. By experimentally removing one parent when the chicks hatched, I found that male‐tended broods had better survival than female‐tended ones, particularly up to 6 days after hatching. It is unlikely that differential brood mortality was caused by chilling of the chicks, since the brooding behaviour of males and females was not different. The results of this study are consistent with the explanation that male‐tended broods survived better because males were better able to protect the brood from attacks by conspecifics and predators. The remating opportunity hypothesis was also corroborated because single females acquired new mates faster than did single males. The results of this study suggest that both the better parental capability of males and the greater remating opportunities of females predispose Kentish Plovers for uniparental male care, desertion by the female parent and sequential polyandry.

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Sexual Differences in Antipredator Behavior of Breeding American Avocets and Black-Necked Stilts

Abstract: White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicol-WINGRELD, J. C. 1985. Short-term changes in plasma lis (Gmelin). Evolution 29:6 11-621. levels of hormones during establishment and de-THORPE, W. H. 196 1. Bird song. Cambridge Univ. fense of a breeding territory in male Song Spar-Press, London.

Cited by 15 publications

References 8 publications

Sex‐biased aggression and male‐only care at sea in Brünnich’s GuillemotsUria lomviaand RazorbillsAlca torda

Sex‐biased aggression and male‐only care at sea in Brünnich’s GuillemotsUria lomviaand RazorbillsAlca torda

Coastal saltpans are a good alternative breeding habitat for Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus when umbrella species are present

Brood desertion in Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus: an experimental test of parental quality and remating opportunities

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