Abstract
In colonial seabirds, differences in the nesting or fledging success have been associated with differences in nest position within the breeding aggregation (subcolony): less successful nests are located on the periphery, with more successful nests closer to the center. For Pygoscelid penguins, central nests tend to be larger, with nest size being an indicator of individual quality because stones must be gathered singly, so more stones reflect more individual effort. Competition for nest materials, including the collection of materials from another’s nest, has also frequently been described in penguins and other colonial seabirds. We used the data collected during the incubation stage from a total of 20 subcolonies at two separate breeding colonies of Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) on Ross Island (Antarctica) to test the influence of nest position on breeding success. We also investigated how competition for nest stones could occur at different intensities depending on size of the subcolony, nest position, and quality within a subcolony. We found that peripheral nests experienced lower breeding success and higher number of individuals attempting to remove stones with higher removal success rates than from nests toward the center. The higher costs associated with maintaining and defending nests that incur higher removal pressure could be an additional factor involved in the lower breeding success of peripheral nests.
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source nest from our best-mixed effects logistic regression model including the nest position in the subcolony for Adélie penguins at capes Royds and Crozier, Ross Island, Antarctica, during 2017–2018 breeding season
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Acknowledgements
Logistical support was provided by the US Antarctic Program through Antarctic Support Contractors. Previous versions of this manuscript were greatly improved by David Ainley’s comments. We would like to express our thanks to the field team members that helped collect the data: Dennis Jongsomjit, Suzanne Winquist and Megan Elrod. We would like to thank Dr. Dee Boersma for her suggestions, as a reviewer, which improved the previous version of this manuscript.
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Funding was provided by NSF Grant PLR 1543459 and 1543498.
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VM conceived and designed research. All authors conducted fieldwork. KMD and VM analyzed data. All authors wrote the manuscript, and read and approved the manuscript.
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Fieldwork was conducted under Antarctic Conservation Act permit ACA 2017-005, and Assurance of Compliance with NSF Requirements on Humane Care and Use of Vertebrate Animals—NSF proposal 1543498 and 1543459. Permits were provided under the Antarctic Conservation Act, National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs, and data collection protocols were approved by Point Blue and Oregon State University’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.
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Morandini, V., Dugger, K.M., Lescroël, A. et al. Maintenance of nest quality in Adélie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae: an additional benefit to life in the center. Polar Biol 44, 1553–1562 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02894-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02894-5