Abstract
Avian reproductive strategies vary widely, and many studies of life-history variation have focused on the incubation and hatching stages of nesting. Birds make proximate decisions regarding reproductive investment during the laying stage, and these decisions likely constrain and tradeoff with other traits and subsequent behaviors. However, we know relatively little about egg-laying stage behaviors given the difficulty of locating and monitoring nest sites from the onset of laying. We used non-invasive continuous video recording to quantify variation in the egg-laying behaviors of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) along a 1400-km latitudinal gradient in western North America. Burrowing owls laid eggs disproportionately in the morning hours, and that tendency was strongest among first eggs in a clutch. However, selection appeared to act more strongly on laying intervals (the time between laying of consecutive eggs) than on the diel time of laying, and laying intervals varied widely among and within clutches. Laying intervals declined seasonally and with increasing clutch size but increased with increasing burrow temperature and as a function of laying stage nest attentiveness, which may be a strategy to preserve egg viability. Laying interval was positively correlated with the duration of hatching intervals, suggesting that laying interval duration is one mechanism (along with timing of incubation onset) that generates variation in hatching asynchrony. Our results lend support to two general hypotheses to explain laying schedules; selection favors laying eggs in the morning, but other selective pressures may override that pattern. These conclusions indicate that allocation decisions during laying are an important part of avian life-history strategies which are subject to energetic constraints and tradeoffs with other traits.
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The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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J. Belthoff, L. Harmon, and R. Long provided helpful advice throughout the development and implementation of this project. M. Murphy and two anonymous reviewers provided comments that improved the manuscript. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
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CGL was supported by National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship No. DGE-1143953 and the Ehrenreich Family Foundation. The Audubon Society Whittell Fund, Sigma Xi, the Idaho Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Palouse Audubon Society, and Red Rock Audubon Society provided funding.
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CGL and CJC jointly conceived of and designed the study and developed the methodology. CGL collected and analyzed the data and led the writing of the manuscript. CJC contributed critically to data analysis and drafts of the manuscript. Both authors gave final approval for publication.
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Lundblad, C.G., Conway, C.J. Investing in a nest egg: intraspecific variation in the timing of egg laying across a latitudinal gradient. Oecologia 202, 83–96 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05373-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05373-2