Between‐year and spatial variation in body condition across the breeding cycle in a pelagic seabird, the Red‐billed Tropicbird
Abstract Body condition in pelagic seabirds impacts key fitness‐related traits such as reproductive performance and breeding frequency. Regulation of body condition can be especially important for species with long incubation periods and long individual incubation shifts between foraging trips. Here...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10743 https://doaj.org/article/c75f6e6643b54ba1a5a0efe1856c11cc |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c75f6e6643b54ba1a5a0efe1856c11cc 2024-01-28T10:09:11+01:00 Between‐year and spatial variation in body condition across the breeding cycle in a pelagic seabird, the Red‐billed Tropicbird Annalea Beard Robert J. Thomas Renata Medeiros Mirra Elizabeth Clingham Leeann Henry Sarah Saldanha Jacob González‐Solís Frank Hailer 2023-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10743 https://doaj.org/article/c75f6e6643b54ba1a5a0efe1856c11cc EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10743 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.10743 https://doaj.org/article/c75f6e6643b54ba1a5a0efe1856c11cc Ecology and Evolution, Vol 13, Iss 12, Pp n/a-n/a (2023) behaviour body mass chick growth incubation shift Phaethon aethereus seabird ecology Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10743 2023-12-31T01:40:10Z Abstract Body condition in pelagic seabirds impacts key fitness‐related traits such as reproductive performance and breeding frequency. Regulation of body condition can be especially important for species with long incubation periods and long individual incubation shifts between foraging trips. Here, we show that body condition of adult Red‐billed Tropicbirds (Phaethon aethereus) at St Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean, exhibited considerable variation between years (2013–2017) and between different stages of the breeding cycle. Females took the first incubation shift following egg laying, after which males and females alternated incubation shifts of varying length, ranging from <1 to 12 days. Body condition declined in both sexes during an incubation shift by an average of 22 g (2.83% of starting mass) per day and over the incubation period; mass loss was significantly greater during longer incubation shifts, later within a shift and later in the total incubation period. There was also significant differences in incubation behaviour and body condition between years; in 2015, coinciding with a moderate coastal warming event along the Angolan‐Namibian coastlines, adults on average undertook longer incubation shifts than in other years and had lower body condition. This suggests that substantial between‐year prey fluctuations in the Angola Benguela upwelling system may influence prey availability, in turn affecting incubation behaviour and regulation of body condition. Adults rearing chicks showed a significant reduction in body condition when chicks showed the fastest rate of growth. Chick growth rates during 2017 from two localities in the Atlantic Ocean: an oceanic (St Helena) versus neritic (Cabo Verde) population were similar, but chicks from St Helena were overall heavier and larger at fledging. Results from this multi‐year study highlight that flexibility and adaptability in body condition regulation will be important for populations of threatened species to optimise resources as global climate change ... Article in Journal/Newspaper South Atlantic Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Helena Island ENVELOPE(-101.069,-101.069,76.652,76.652) St. Helena ENVELOPE(8.575,8.575,63.621,63.621) St. Helena Island ENVELOPE(-89.150,-89.150,76.285,76.285) Ecology and Evolution 13 12 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
behaviour body mass chick growth incubation shift Phaethon aethereus seabird ecology Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
behaviour body mass chick growth incubation shift Phaethon aethereus seabird ecology Ecology QH540-549.5 Annalea Beard Robert J. Thomas Renata Medeiros Mirra Elizabeth Clingham Leeann Henry Sarah Saldanha Jacob González‐Solís Frank Hailer Between‐year and spatial variation in body condition across the breeding cycle in a pelagic seabird, the Red‐billed Tropicbird |
topic_facet |
behaviour body mass chick growth incubation shift Phaethon aethereus seabird ecology Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Body condition in pelagic seabirds impacts key fitness‐related traits such as reproductive performance and breeding frequency. Regulation of body condition can be especially important for species with long incubation periods and long individual incubation shifts between foraging trips. Here, we show that body condition of adult Red‐billed Tropicbirds (Phaethon aethereus) at St Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean, exhibited considerable variation between years (2013–2017) and between different stages of the breeding cycle. Females took the first incubation shift following egg laying, after which males and females alternated incubation shifts of varying length, ranging from <1 to 12 days. Body condition declined in both sexes during an incubation shift by an average of 22 g (2.83% of starting mass) per day and over the incubation period; mass loss was significantly greater during longer incubation shifts, later within a shift and later in the total incubation period. There was also significant differences in incubation behaviour and body condition between years; in 2015, coinciding with a moderate coastal warming event along the Angolan‐Namibian coastlines, adults on average undertook longer incubation shifts than in other years and had lower body condition. This suggests that substantial between‐year prey fluctuations in the Angola Benguela upwelling system may influence prey availability, in turn affecting incubation behaviour and regulation of body condition. Adults rearing chicks showed a significant reduction in body condition when chicks showed the fastest rate of growth. Chick growth rates during 2017 from two localities in the Atlantic Ocean: an oceanic (St Helena) versus neritic (Cabo Verde) population were similar, but chicks from St Helena were overall heavier and larger at fledging. Results from this multi‐year study highlight that flexibility and adaptability in body condition regulation will be important for populations of threatened species to optimise resources as global climate change ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Annalea Beard Robert J. Thomas Renata Medeiros Mirra Elizabeth Clingham Leeann Henry Sarah Saldanha Jacob González‐Solís Frank Hailer |
author_facet |
Annalea Beard Robert J. Thomas Renata Medeiros Mirra Elizabeth Clingham Leeann Henry Sarah Saldanha Jacob González‐Solís Frank Hailer |
author_sort |
Annalea Beard |
title |
Between‐year and spatial variation in body condition across the breeding cycle in a pelagic seabird, the Red‐billed Tropicbird |
title_short |
Between‐year and spatial variation in body condition across the breeding cycle in a pelagic seabird, the Red‐billed Tropicbird |
title_full |
Between‐year and spatial variation in body condition across the breeding cycle in a pelagic seabird, the Red‐billed Tropicbird |
title_fullStr |
Between‐year and spatial variation in body condition across the breeding cycle in a pelagic seabird, the Red‐billed Tropicbird |
title_full_unstemmed |
Between‐year and spatial variation in body condition across the breeding cycle in a pelagic seabird, the Red‐billed Tropicbird |
title_sort |
between‐year and spatial variation in body condition across the breeding cycle in a pelagic seabird, the red‐billed tropicbird |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10743 https://doaj.org/article/c75f6e6643b54ba1a5a0efe1856c11cc |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-101.069,-101.069,76.652,76.652) ENVELOPE(8.575,8.575,63.621,63.621) ENVELOPE(-89.150,-89.150,76.285,76.285) |
geographic |
Helena Island St. Helena St. Helena Island |
geographic_facet |
Helena Island St. Helena St. Helena Island |
genre |
South Atlantic Ocean |
genre_facet |
South Atlantic Ocean |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution, Vol 13, Iss 12, Pp n/a-n/a (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10743 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.10743 https://doaj.org/article/c75f6e6643b54ba1a5a0efe1856c11cc |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10743 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
12 |
_version_ |
1789338864398106624 |