The adaptive significance of crèching behaviour in the white-winged scoter ( Melanitta fusca deglandi )
I tested several hypotheses regarding the adaptive significance of crèching behaviour using white-winged scoters (Melanitta fusca delgnadi) at Redberry Lake, Saskatchewan. Scoter crèches consist of a single female tending the young of one or more conspecifics. There was no relationship between a fem...
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Canadian Science Publishing
1989
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z89-060 2023-12-17T10:33:20+01:00 The adaptive significance of crèching behaviour in the white-winged scoter ( Melanitta fusca deglandi ) Kehoe, F. Patrick 1989 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z89-060 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z89-060 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 67, issue 2, page 406-411 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1989 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z89-060 2023-11-19T13:39:28Z I tested several hypotheses regarding the adaptive significance of crèching behaviour using white-winged scoters (Melanitta fusca delgnadi) at Redberry Lake, Saskatchewan. Scoter crèches consist of a single female tending the young of one or more conspecifics. There was no relationship between a female's weight at the end of incubation and whether she stayed with ducklings. Therefore, there is no evidence that females in poor condition abandon their young more frequently than other females. No relationship was found between a female's age and her association with ducklings. Therefore, crèching does not appear to be related to female age or experience. Observations of color-marked ducklings in 1985 showed that 7 out of 10 females tended crèches that were composed entirely of fostered young. The survival of ducklings from large groups was greater than that from small groups, so crèching does not appear to be a strategy that enhances individual fitness of crèche-tending females. However, because of the high degree of philopatry displayed by female scoters, crèching could enhance inclusive fitness if crèches contain the young of related individuals. This hypothesis could not be tested. Article in Journal/Newspaper Melanitta fusca Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Canadian Journal of Zoology 67 2 406 411 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Kehoe, F. Patrick The adaptive significance of crèching behaviour in the white-winged scoter ( Melanitta fusca deglandi ) |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
I tested several hypotheses regarding the adaptive significance of crèching behaviour using white-winged scoters (Melanitta fusca delgnadi) at Redberry Lake, Saskatchewan. Scoter crèches consist of a single female tending the young of one or more conspecifics. There was no relationship between a female's weight at the end of incubation and whether she stayed with ducklings. Therefore, there is no evidence that females in poor condition abandon their young more frequently than other females. No relationship was found between a female's age and her association with ducklings. Therefore, crèching does not appear to be related to female age or experience. Observations of color-marked ducklings in 1985 showed that 7 out of 10 females tended crèches that were composed entirely of fostered young. The survival of ducklings from large groups was greater than that from small groups, so crèching does not appear to be a strategy that enhances individual fitness of crèche-tending females. However, because of the high degree of philopatry displayed by female scoters, crèching could enhance inclusive fitness if crèches contain the young of related individuals. This hypothesis could not be tested. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kehoe, F. Patrick |
author_facet |
Kehoe, F. Patrick |
author_sort |
Kehoe, F. Patrick |
title |
The adaptive significance of crèching behaviour in the white-winged scoter ( Melanitta fusca deglandi ) |
title_short |
The adaptive significance of crèching behaviour in the white-winged scoter ( Melanitta fusca deglandi ) |
title_full |
The adaptive significance of crèching behaviour in the white-winged scoter ( Melanitta fusca deglandi ) |
title_fullStr |
The adaptive significance of crèching behaviour in the white-winged scoter ( Melanitta fusca deglandi ) |
title_full_unstemmed |
The adaptive significance of crèching behaviour in the white-winged scoter ( Melanitta fusca deglandi ) |
title_sort |
adaptive significance of crèching behaviour in the white-winged scoter ( melanitta fusca deglandi ) |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1989 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z89-060 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z89-060 |
genre |
Melanitta fusca |
genre_facet |
Melanitta fusca |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 67, issue 2, page 406-411 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z89-060 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
67 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
406 |
op_container_end_page |
411 |
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1785587299346546688 |