State-dependent incubation behaviour in the high arctic barnacle geese

Abstract

Energetic trade-offs between time spent on incubation and times spent on foraging for nesting birds give individuals in good body condition the possibility to incubate more continuously. In the present paper, the incubation behaviour of female barnacle geese Branta leucopsis was quantified in a colony in Svalbard. Females were weighted in early incubation and feeding recess lengths and frequencies were recorded. The feeding behaviour during the course of incubation was significantly correlated to by body mass, and heavy females had both fewer and shorter feeding recesses than lighter females. Moreover, there was an increase in the number of feeding recesses and the total feeding time as the incubation period progressed. Neither clutch size nor egg laying date had an effect on incubation behaviour. However, clutch size was positively related to female body mass suggesting that highquality females produce large clutches but also allocate more body reserves to incubation. Females left the nest to feed at all times of the day, but more frequently during day time. This was not related to their body mass. Females presumably leave their nest at the time of day when the costs to reheat eggs are at a minimum. The diurnal rhythm may also be adjusted to the activity by egg predators. Overall the results support the state-dependent hypothesis for incubation behaviour, suggesting that body condition at the start of incubation is an important factor for incubation behaviour in barnacle geese.

Effects of fleas on nest success of Arctic barnacle geese: experimentally testing the mechanism

“…Eichhorn and Karagicheva (2008) observed 42 barnacle goose nests in Arctic Russia during bouts of 6-48 h in all periods of the day and incubation stages and found a daily recess time of 157 min. Thus, our measurement falls within the measurement of Eichhorn and Karagicheva (2008) but not within the measurement of Tombre et al (2012). This is possible due to differences in methodology, measurement period and/or year differences.…”

“…Based on our data, we calculated that the time a goose was absent was on average 157.1 min (SE = 15.9) per nest per day. Tombre et al (2012) studied incubation behaviour in the same population and observed, during four 24-h cycles of 18 nests, an average recess length of 19.8 (SE = 1.2) min and a daily average number of recesses of 4.9 (SE = 0.5), which would on average give a daily recess time of 97.02 min. Eichhorn and Karagicheva (2008) observed 42 barnacle goose nests in Arctic Russia during bouts of 6-48 h in all periods of the day and incubation stages and found a daily recess time of 157 min.…”

Effects of industrial and investigator disturbance on Arctic‐nesting geese

“…Incubation breaks occurring independent of observer nest visits were most common during the warmest period of the day, and the probability of a non‐observer break was higher on days with warmer temperatures. Such patterns are frequently observed among nesting waterfowl, and may be attributed to minimizing the cooling of eggs or reducing exposure of unattended nests to predators (Thompson and Raveling , Flint and Grand , Tombre et al ). Photographs of foxes at nests were relatively more common during low‐light hours associated with the coolest portions of the day and highest rates of nest attentiveness, whereas peaks in the frequency of avian predators corresponded with the warmest period of the day and peak timing of incubation breaks.…”

“…Solid lines depict year-specific average ambient temperature during the nesting period (7 Jun-13 Jul). Raveling 1987, Flint and Grand 1999, Tombre et al 2012). Photographs of foxes at nests were relatively more common during low-light hours associated with the coolest portions of the day and highest rates of nest attentiveness, whereas peaks in the frequency of avian predators corresponded with the warmest period of the day and peak timing of incubation breaks.…”

Age‐related prenatal maternal effects and postnatal breeding experience have different influences on nestling development in an altricial passerine

“…Indeed, age‐related improvements in foraging and breeding skills are also associated with greater nestling performance. For example, older birds often breed on higher quality sites than younger ones (Greenwood and Harvey ), Greenwood and Harvey a large contributing factor to reproductive success (Pärt ), and nestling survival can be influenced by age‐related and condition‐dependent incubation patterns (Bogdanova et al , Tombre et al ).…”