Plasticity in moult speed and timing in an arctic‐nesting goose species
Environmental constraints are strong in migratory species that breed in the Arctic. In addition to breeding, Anatidae have to renew all their flight feathers during the short arctic summer. We examine how temporal constraints and climate affect the phenology of flight feather moult in the greater sn...
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crwiley:10.1111/jav.00982 2023-12-03T10:16:30+01:00 Plasticity in moult speed and timing in an arctic‐nesting goose species Marmillot, Vincent Gauthier, Gilles Cadieux, Marie‐Christine Legagneux, Pierre Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Environment Canada ArcticNet Natural Resources Canada 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jav.00982 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fjav.00982 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jav.00982 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Journal of Avian Biology volume 47, issue 5, page 650-658 ISSN 0908-8857 1600-048X Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 2016 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.00982 2023-11-09T13:27:40Z Environmental constraints are strong in migratory species that breed in the Arctic. In addition to breeding, Anatidae have to renew all their flight feathers during the short arctic summer. We examine how temporal constraints and climate affect the phenology of flight feather moult in the greater snow goose Chen caerulescens atlantica , a High Arctic nesting species. We used a database of 1412 moulting adult females measured over 15 yr on Bylot Island, Nunavut. Ninth (9th) primary length was used to determine the moult stage and speed of feather growth. We found a positive relationship between median annual hatching and moult initiation dates and the slope did not differ from 1. The interval between hatching and moult initiation was thus rather fixed and geese did not initiate moult earlier when reproductive phenology was delayed. Nonetheless, there was no relationship between median hatching date and the date at which birds regained flight capacity, suggesting that date of end of moult is independent of the reproductive phenology. There was a trend for an increase in the speed of flight feather growth in years with delayed hatching date. This is the most likely mechanism that could explain moult phenology adjustment in this species. Finally, we found a positive relationship between 9th primary length (corrected for inter‐annual variations) and body condition, suggesting a delay in moulting for individuals in poor condition. These results suggest that moult plasticity is primarily governed by variations in feather growth speed. This phenotypic plasticity could be necessary to complete flight feather renewal before the end of the arctic summer, independently of reproductive phenology and spring environmental conditions. Our novel results suggest possible phenological adjustments through moult speed, which was considered constant in geese until now. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Bylot Island Nunavut Wiley Online Library (via Crossref) Arctic Bylot Island Nunavut Journal of Avian Biology 47 5 650 658 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Marmillot, Vincent Gauthier, Gilles Cadieux, Marie‐Christine Legagneux, Pierre Plasticity in moult speed and timing in an arctic‐nesting goose species |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Environmental constraints are strong in migratory species that breed in the Arctic. In addition to breeding, Anatidae have to renew all their flight feathers during the short arctic summer. We examine how temporal constraints and climate affect the phenology of flight feather moult in the greater snow goose Chen caerulescens atlantica , a High Arctic nesting species. We used a database of 1412 moulting adult females measured over 15 yr on Bylot Island, Nunavut. Ninth (9th) primary length was used to determine the moult stage and speed of feather growth. We found a positive relationship between median annual hatching and moult initiation dates and the slope did not differ from 1. The interval between hatching and moult initiation was thus rather fixed and geese did not initiate moult earlier when reproductive phenology was delayed. Nonetheless, there was no relationship between median hatching date and the date at which birds regained flight capacity, suggesting that date of end of moult is independent of the reproductive phenology. There was a trend for an increase in the speed of flight feather growth in years with delayed hatching date. This is the most likely mechanism that could explain moult phenology adjustment in this species. Finally, we found a positive relationship between 9th primary length (corrected for inter‐annual variations) and body condition, suggesting a delay in moulting for individuals in poor condition. These results suggest that moult plasticity is primarily governed by variations in feather growth speed. This phenotypic plasticity could be necessary to complete flight feather renewal before the end of the arctic summer, independently of reproductive phenology and spring environmental conditions. Our novel results suggest possible phenological adjustments through moult speed, which was considered constant in geese until now. |
author2 |
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Environment Canada ArcticNet Natural Resources Canada |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marmillot, Vincent Gauthier, Gilles Cadieux, Marie‐Christine Legagneux, Pierre |
author_facet |
Marmillot, Vincent Gauthier, Gilles Cadieux, Marie‐Christine Legagneux, Pierre |
author_sort |
Marmillot, Vincent |
title |
Plasticity in moult speed and timing in an arctic‐nesting goose species |
title_short |
Plasticity in moult speed and timing in an arctic‐nesting goose species |
title_full |
Plasticity in moult speed and timing in an arctic‐nesting goose species |
title_fullStr |
Plasticity in moult speed and timing in an arctic‐nesting goose species |
title_full_unstemmed |
Plasticity in moult speed and timing in an arctic‐nesting goose species |
title_sort |
plasticity in moult speed and timing in an arctic‐nesting goose species |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jav.00982 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fjav.00982 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jav.00982 |
geographic |
Arctic Bylot Island Nunavut |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Bylot Island Nunavut |
genre |
Arctic Bylot Island Nunavut |
genre_facet |
Arctic Bylot Island Nunavut |
op_source |
Journal of Avian Biology volume 47, issue 5, page 650-658 ISSN 0908-8857 1600-048X |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.00982 |
container_title |
Journal of Avian Biology |
container_volume |
47 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
650 |
op_container_end_page |
658 |
_version_ |
1784263442579849216 |