Division of parental roles in the monogamous western sandpiper, Calidris mauri

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2002 I investigated whether male and female Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri) contributed equal amounts of parental care during the breeding season, near Nome, AK, USA (64 ̊N) during 1998 and 1999. I repeatedly observed which parent was present at the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Neville, Juliette Aimee
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2002
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11122/6233
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Summary:Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2002 I investigated whether male and female Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri) contributed equal amounts of parental care during the breeding season, near Nome, AK, USA (64 ̊N) during 1998 and 1999. I repeatedly observed which parent was present at the nest during incubation and which parent tended the brood during the brood care period. Females incubated predominantly at night (18:00-06:00 hr ADT); males incubated predominantly during the day (06:00-18:00 hr ADT). Males spent more time incubating than females (57% vs. 43%, P<0.05). Females deserted their broods on average 5.6 days after hatch, while males tended broods on average 13.0 days after hatch (P<0.001). Nests that hatched earlier in the season received significantly more bi-parental care during the brood care period (P=0.01). Timing of nest initiation had the greatest effect on the division of parental care between sexes for Western Sandpipers.