Offspring thermal demands and parental brooding efficiency differ for precocial birds living in contrasting climates ...

• Main Authors: Kolešková, Veronika, Šálek, Miroslav E., Brynychová, Kateřina, Chajma, Petr, Pešková, Lucie, Elhassan, Esmat, Petrusová Vozabulová, Eva, Janatová, Veronika, Almuhery, Aisha, Sládeček, Martin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: figshare 2024
• Subjects: Ecology; FOS: Biological sciences; Vanellus vanellus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6593432.v1; https://springernature.figshare.com/collections/Offspring_thermal_demands_and_parental_brooding_efficiency_differ_for_precocial_birds_living_in_contrasting_climates/6593432/1

Abstract Background Chicks of precocial birds hatch well-developed and can search actively for food but their homeothermy develops gradually during growth. This makes them dependent on heat provided by parents (“brooding”), which is then traded off against other activities, mainly foraging. Although brooding has been documented in many precocial birds, little is known about the differences in the amount and efficiency of brooding care, brooding diel rhythmicity, and impact on the chick’s growth, particularly between species living in different climatic conditions. Results We used multisensory dataloggers to evaluate brooding patterns in two congeneric species inhabiting contrasting climate zones: temperate Northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) and desert Red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus). In accordance with our expectation, the adult desert lapwings brooded the chicks slightly less compared to the adult temperate lapwings. However, the desert lapwings brooded their chicks in higher ambient temperatures ...