Fueling incubation:Differential use of body stores in Arctic and temperate-breeding Barnacle Geese ( Branta leucopsis )

• Published in: The Auk
• Main Authors: Eichhorn, Goetz, van der Jeugd, Henk P., Meijer, Harro A. J., Drent, Rudolf H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Barnacle Goose; body mass; body stores; Branta leucopsis; cost of reproduction; incubation; latitude; range expansion; GREATER SNOW GEESE; CLUTCH-SIZE; REPRODUCTIVE-PERFORMANCE; CANADA GEESE; COMMON EIDER; BEHAVIOR; PROTEIN; FEMALE; GOOSE; BIRDS; Arctic; Barents Sea; Canada; Barnacle goose; Common Eider
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/e6d23d44-b7e0-45c0-a811-369a7e28a888; https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/e6d23d44-b7e0-45c0-a811-369a7e28a888; https://doi.org/10.1525/auk.2009.09057; https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/6742075/2010AukEichhorn.pdf

We compared the use of body stores in breeding Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis) in traditional Arctic colonies in the Barents Sea with that in recently established temperate-zone breeding colonies in the Baltic Sea and North Sea by studying female body-mass loss and use of fat and protein stores during incubation. Average daily body-mass loss was almost identical in the 2 temperate-breeding populations (17.0 g and 16.5 g in Baltic Sea and North Sea, respectively), whereas Arctic-breeding females lost significantly less (10.6 g day(-1)). Temperate-breeding females initiated incubation with body mass 1.25 g higher than that of Arctic breeders, but at the end of incubation, body mass was similar among the 3 populations, averaging 1,458 g. Body-mass loss during incubation amounted to 23% (North Sea), 22% (Baltic Sea), and 15% (Barents Sea). Fat mass, as measured by isotope dilution in a subsample of females, was consistently higher in North Sea than in Barents Sea birds, but both Populations showed similar rates of fat-mass loss (94 9 day(-1) on average). By contrast, loss of fat-free mass (assumed to represent wet protein) amounted to 9.3 g day(-1) in North Sea birds but only 1.5 g day(-1) in Barents Sea birds. Energy content of I g utilized body mass was 21.1 kj (North Sea) and 34.9 kj (Barents Sea), which equates to 376 kj day(-1) and 415 kj day'drawn from stored energy, respectively. We suggest that differences in nest-attendance and post-incubation demands are responsible for the differential use of body stores in temperate- and Arctic-breeding Barnacle Geese. Received 1 November 2008, accepted 20 August 2009.