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Incubation scheduling by Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) in the Canadian High Arctic

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Abstract

Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) are a ubiquitous seabird of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans that breed in colonies surrounded by markedly different marine environmental conditions. I have studied the incubation behavior of fulmars at a remote colony in the Canadian High Arctic, where the birds had to cross 200 km of sea-ice during the early incubation period to reach feeding areas. These fulmars completed incubation in fewer shifts and had a longer mean incubation shift duration (5.3 days) than their counterparts breeding in the Boreal oceanographic zone. In particular, the mean duration of the first incubation shift by males in successful pairs (10.3 days) was 2 days longer than that for males in unsuccessful pairs and was longer than that reported at any other colony. This exceptionally long shift by the male may be required at this site to give females enough time to recoup energetic reserves after egg-laying, at a time when marine productivity in the Arctic is still seasonably low.

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Acknowledgments

I thank the many students and colleagues who made the Cape Vera project possible, and particularly J. Akearok, S. Chisholm, D. Edwards, C. Mallory, A. Moenting, and T. Utting for incubation studies. All work was conducted with the appropriate permits and approved by the Canadian Council on Animal Care Guidelines. Financial and logistic support was provided by Environment Canada (NCD and NEI), Natural Resources Canada (PCSP), the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, and Carleton University. Thanks also to two anonymous referees and P. Becker for comments on the manuscript, and to M. Forbes, T. Gaston and G. Gilchrist for collaborations on fulmar research between 2001 and 2005.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Canadian Wildlife Service, Box 1714, Iqaluit, NU, Canada, X0A 0H0

    Mark L. Mallory

  2. Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1S 5B6

    Mark L. Mallory

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  1. Mark L. Mallory
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Correspondence to Mark L. Mallory.

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Communicated by P.H. Becker.

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Mallory, M.L. Incubation scheduling by Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) in the Canadian High Arctic. J Ornithol 150, 175–181 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-008-0332-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-008-0332-8

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