Journal
POLAR BIOLOGY
Volume 35, Issue 7, Pages 985-992Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00300-011-1145-4
Keywords
Barnacle geese; Incubation; Feeding recesses; Female body mass; Svalbard; Trade-offs
Categories
Funding
- Research Council of Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
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 high-quality 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.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available