Stable isotopes of carbon reveal flexible pairing strategies in a migratory Arctic bird

Many birds change their partners every year and pairing may occur before arrival on the breeding grounds. Early pairing strategies can benefit mates by strengthening pair-bonds and increasing the rate of pre-breeding resource acquisition, leading to increased reproductive output and success, especia...

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Published in:Journal of Ornithology
Main Authors: Steenweg, Rolanda J., Legagneux, Pierre, Crossin, Glenn T., Gilchrist, H. Grant, Kyser, T. Kurt, Love, Oliver P.
Format: Other/Unknown Material
Language:English
Published: Springer Berlin 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/40201
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-019-01661-y
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spelling ftunivlavalcorp:oai:corpus.ulaval.ca:20.500.11794/40201 2024-06-23T07:49:54+00:00 Stable isotopes of carbon reveal flexible pairing strategies in a migratory Arctic bird Steenweg, Rolanda J. Legagneux, Pierre Crossin, Glenn T. Gilchrist, H. Grant Kyser, T. Kurt Love, Oliver P. Arctique 2020-08-26T17:30:01Z application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/40201 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-019-01661-y eng eng Springer Berlin 2193-7192 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/40201 doi:10.1007/s10336-019-01661-y http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 Pair bond Pairing phenology Sea duck Spring staging Stable isotope analysis Winter migration Eider à duvet -- Reproduction Eider à duvet -- Migration Eider à duvet -- Phénologie article de recherche COAR1_1::Texte::Périodique::Revue::Contribution à un journal::Article::Article de recherche 2020 ftunivlavalcorp https://doi.org/20.500.11794/4020110.1007/s10336-019-01661-y 2024-06-03T23:43:59Z Many birds change their partners every year and pairing may occur before arrival on the breeding grounds. Early pairing strategies can benefit mates by strengthening pair-bonds and increasing the rate of pre-breeding resource acquisition, leading to increased reproductive output and success, especially for migratory species breeding in seasonally-constrained environments like the Arctic. Despite the theorized and documented advantages of early pairing, we know rather little about pairing phenology in many species. Here, we test the use of a stable isotope (carbon δ13C) method to assign geographic origin of paired birds to examine pairing phenology in Arctic-breeding Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima borealis). During two consecutive years, we captured paired individuals upon their arrival at breeding grounds approximately 2–3 weeks before laying. Pairs with similar δ13C in their claws indicates that they paired during winter, while similar blood values (with no similarity in claws) would reveal pairs formed much later, during the pre-breeding period near or on the breeding grounds. While a large proportion of pairs (43%) appeared to pair on wintering grounds, an almost equal number (52%) likely paired within 1 month prior to arrival on the breeding grounds. The remaining 5% did not have an obvious pairing time. Despite this variability in pairing phenology, we found no significant differences in body condition between females or males which paired in winter or spring. In the year characterized with more challenging winter conditions, pairs formed in spring tended to have a higher breeding propensity than those formed in winter, although there were no detectable links to body condition. Delaying pairing until spring may be advantageous for Arctic-breeding eiders, although a specific mechanism is unknown. Future research focusing on the energetic costs and benefits for male eiders during these periods would help further understand pairing phenology and potential impacts on males of female breeding decisions. Other/Unknown Material Arctic Arctique* Eider à duvet Somateria mollissima Université Laval: CorpusUL Arctic Journal of Ornithology 160 3 607 616
institution Open Polar
collection Université Laval: CorpusUL
op_collection_id ftunivlavalcorp
language English
topic Pair bond
Pairing phenology
Sea duck
Spring staging
Stable isotope analysis
Winter migration
Eider à duvet -- Reproduction
Eider à duvet -- Migration
Eider à duvet -- Phénologie
spellingShingle Pair bond
Pairing phenology
Sea duck
Spring staging
Stable isotope analysis
Winter migration
Eider à duvet -- Reproduction
Eider à duvet -- Migration
Eider à duvet -- Phénologie
Steenweg, Rolanda J.
Legagneux, Pierre
Crossin, Glenn T.
Gilchrist, H. Grant
Kyser, T. Kurt
Love, Oliver P.
Stable isotopes of carbon reveal flexible pairing strategies in a migratory Arctic bird
topic_facet Pair bond
Pairing phenology
Sea duck
Spring staging
Stable isotope analysis
Winter migration
Eider à duvet -- Reproduction
Eider à duvet -- Migration
Eider à duvet -- Phénologie
description Many birds change their partners every year and pairing may occur before arrival on the breeding grounds. Early pairing strategies can benefit mates by strengthening pair-bonds and increasing the rate of pre-breeding resource acquisition, leading to increased reproductive output and success, especially for migratory species breeding in seasonally-constrained environments like the Arctic. Despite the theorized and documented advantages of early pairing, we know rather little about pairing phenology in many species. Here, we test the use of a stable isotope (carbon δ13C) method to assign geographic origin of paired birds to examine pairing phenology in Arctic-breeding Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima borealis). During two consecutive years, we captured paired individuals upon their arrival at breeding grounds approximately 2–3 weeks before laying. Pairs with similar δ13C in their claws indicates that they paired during winter, while similar blood values (with no similarity in claws) would reveal pairs formed much later, during the pre-breeding period near or on the breeding grounds. While a large proportion of pairs (43%) appeared to pair on wintering grounds, an almost equal number (52%) likely paired within 1 month prior to arrival on the breeding grounds. The remaining 5% did not have an obvious pairing time. Despite this variability in pairing phenology, we found no significant differences in body condition between females or males which paired in winter or spring. In the year characterized with more challenging winter conditions, pairs formed in spring tended to have a higher breeding propensity than those formed in winter, although there were no detectable links to body condition. Delaying pairing until spring may be advantageous for Arctic-breeding eiders, although a specific mechanism is unknown. Future research focusing on the energetic costs and benefits for male eiders during these periods would help further understand pairing phenology and potential impacts on males of female breeding decisions.
format Other/Unknown Material
author Steenweg, Rolanda J.
Legagneux, Pierre
Crossin, Glenn T.
Gilchrist, H. Grant
Kyser, T. Kurt
Love, Oliver P.
author_facet Steenweg, Rolanda J.
Legagneux, Pierre
Crossin, Glenn T.
Gilchrist, H. Grant
Kyser, T. Kurt
Love, Oliver P.
author_sort Steenweg, Rolanda J.
title Stable isotopes of carbon reveal flexible pairing strategies in a migratory Arctic bird
title_short Stable isotopes of carbon reveal flexible pairing strategies in a migratory Arctic bird
title_full Stable isotopes of carbon reveal flexible pairing strategies in a migratory Arctic bird
title_fullStr Stable isotopes of carbon reveal flexible pairing strategies in a migratory Arctic bird
title_full_unstemmed Stable isotopes of carbon reveal flexible pairing strategies in a migratory Arctic bird
title_sort stable isotopes of carbon reveal flexible pairing strategies in a migratory arctic bird
publisher Springer Berlin
publishDate 2020
url https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/40201
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-019-01661-y
op_coverage Arctique
geographic Arctic
geographic_facet Arctic
genre Arctic
Arctique*
Eider à duvet
Somateria mollissima
genre_facet Arctic
Arctique*
Eider à duvet
Somateria mollissima
op_relation 2193-7192
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/40201
doi:10.1007/s10336-019-01661-y
op_rights http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
op_doi https://doi.org/20.500.11794/4020110.1007/s10336-019-01661-y
container_title Journal of Ornithology
container_volume 160
container_issue 3
container_start_page 607
op_container_end_page 616
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