Abstract
Seabirds exhibit considerable behavioural flexibility in foraging investment in order to meet the nutritional needs of their chicks during variable environmental conditions. Although regulation of offspring provisioning is generally thought to be related to species-specific constraints imposed by central place foraging, some studies suggest different responses within the same species linked to local differences in foraging conditions. Under adverse conditions, seabirds are expected to be less flexible because they must secure their own survival chances first before investing in current reproduction. Short-ranging single-prey loaders are expected to show large intra-specific variation in time spent on foraging because their mode of foraging is energetically expensive, and because they face restricted possibilities to increase the numerical prey input to the colony compared to multiple prey loaders. In this study, we examined if and how the single-prey loading Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis varies colony attendance based on the nutritional status of their chick as well as parental body condition in two study colonies. The proportion of time that a chick was left unattended at the colony negatively correlated with chick body condition, suggesting that the parents tried to counterbalance poor feeding conditions by investing more time in foraging. Energy transport rates to the chicks (corrected for time spent away from the colony) and body condition of the chicks were similar in both colonies. However, at Zeebrugge, where adults were in poor body condition, parental non-attendance was much lower than on Griend, even when chicks were in poor condition. Still, our results suggest that parental nest non-attendance in Sandwich Terns is merely a corrective response to food loss to kleptoparasitic gulls in order to meet the nutritional status of the chick, although an effect of adult body condition could not be excluded.
Zusammenfassung
Innerartliche Anpassungsfähigkeit beim Elternaufwand in einem langlebigen Seevogel, der nur jeweils ein Beutetier im Schnabel transportieren kann
Seevögel zeigen sehr flexibles Verhalten im Aufwand der Futtersuche, um ihren Küken unter unbeständigen Umweltbedingungen ausreichend Nahrung zu beschaffen. Generell wird angenommen, dass die Regulation der Kükenversorgung abhängig ist von artspezifischen Einschränkungen bei der Futtersuche, die in einem Radius um die Brutkolonie stattfindet. Dennoch gibt es Studien, die auf innerartliche Unterschiede hinweisen, welche auf wechselnden Umweltbedingungen bei der Nahrungssuche beruhen. Es wird angenommen, dass Seevögel unter widrigen Bedingungen weniger flexibel reagieren, da sie zuerst ihr eigenes Überleben sichern müssen bevor sie in die Reproduktion investieren. Dabei wird erwartet, dass Arten mit kurzen Nahrungsflügen, die jeweils nur ein Beutestück transportieren können, eine hohe innerartliche Variation in der Dauer der Nahrungsflüge aufweisen, da bei ihnen die Nahrungssuche wesentlich aufwändiger ist und sie wenig Möglichkeiten haben die Menge an Beutestücken zu erhöhen, die in der Kolonie ankommen. In dieser Studie untersuchten wir in zwei Brutkolonien, ob und wie die Brandseeschwalbe Thalasseus sandvicensis ihre Anwesenheit in der Brutkolonie in Bezug auf den Hungerzustand ihrer Küken sowie der Körperkondition der Eltern anpasst. Die Zeit, in der die Küken unbewacht in der Kolonie zurückgelassen wurden, korrelierte negativ mit der Körperkondition der Küken, was darauf hin deutet, dass die Eltern versuchten die schlechten Nahrungsbedingungen durch längere Futtersuche auszugleichen. Energietransportraten an die Küken (korrigiert für die Zeit, die entfernt von der Kolonie verbracht wurde) und Körperkondition der Küken waren in beiden Kolonien ähnlich. Allerdings waren Altvögel at Zeebrugge in schlechter Körperkondition und elterliche Abwesenheit deutlich geringer als in Griend, selbst wenn Küken in schlechter Verfassung waren. Dennoch deuten unsere Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass die elterliche Abwesenheit vom Nest in Brandseeschwalben nur eine ausgleichende Reaktion auf den Verlust von Beute an kleptoparasitische Möwen ist, um den Ernährungszustand der Küken zu erhalten. Ein Effekt auf die Körperkondition von Altvögeln kann allerdings nicht ausgeschlossen werden.
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Acknowledgments
We like to thank all the people involved in collecting biometrical data and doing observations on Griend and at Zeebrugge. Especially, Hans Schekkerman, Hilbran Verstraete, John Habraken, John Schobben, Karin Geschiere, Nicolas Vanermen, Peter van Beers, Piet van Tienen, René Oosterhuis and Marc Van de walle spend many hours of observations in a hide near the colony. We thank Cees de Boer, Dirk de Boer, Dirk van Hollik, Dirk Kuiper, Jan van Dijk and Peter van Tellingen for their logistic support. The Agency of Nature and Forest (ANB) undertook regular maintenance of the colony site at Zeebrugge. The Port Authority Zeebrugge (MBZ) kindly gave permission to access the breeding sites. The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) provided storage facilities for the field equipment. Ivy Jansen (INBO) gave statistical advice. Financial support for this study was provided by the Department of Maritime Access of the Flemish Government (AMT: 16EP/HS/4/2005 and related contracts) and the Belgian Science Policy Office (projects TROPHOS EV-BNZ-03 and Westbanks SD/BN/01A).
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Communicated by O. Krüger.
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Stienen, E.W.M., Brenninkmeijer, A. & Courtens, W. Intra-specific plasticity in parental investment in a long-lived single-prey loader. J Ornithol 156, 699–710 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1170-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1170-0