A matter of timing: Adelie penguin reproductive success in a seasonally varying environment
Earlier breeding has been shown to be advantageous for the reproductive outcomes of a variety of avian species inhabiting a diverse range of environments. However, it is generally unclear how this advantage translates for polar seabirds that breed in a highly seasonal and restricted breeding season....
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11536 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/114673 |
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:114673 2023-05-15T13:04:53+02:00 A matter of timing: Adelie penguin reproductive success in a seasonally varying environment Smiley, KM Emmerson, LM 2016 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11536 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/114673 en eng Inter-Research http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps11536 Smiley, KM and Emmerson, LM, A matter of timing: Adelie penguin reproductive success in a seasonally varying environment, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 542 pp. 235-249. ISSN 0171-8630 (2016) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/114673 Biological Sciences Zoology Animal Developmental and Reproductive Biology Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2016 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11536 2019-12-13T22:14:30Z Earlier breeding has been shown to be advantageous for the reproductive outcomes of a variety of avian species inhabiting a diverse range of environments. However, it is generally unclear how this advantage translates for polar seabirds that breed in a highly seasonal and restricted breeding season. The present study determined whether there was an overall advantage or disadvantage of early or late breeding on the reproductive outcomes of Adlie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae breeding at Bchervaise Island, East Antarctica. We examined this for individual nests within each year as well as for the overall population over a 13 yr period, using between 69 and 166 monitored nests each year. We investigated whether any advantage was related to bird age, and quantified the different environmental conditions (windchill and snow days) that early and late breeders and their eggs and chicks experienced. In just under half of the years, laying eggs late in the breeding season resulted in a reduced chance of chicks crching, and early egg laying was advantageous in only 2 years. We found no evidence that the advantage of early breeding or the disadvantage of late laying was due to the age and associated experience of the birds. We are unable to generate a consistent explanation for why the timing of clutch initiation in some years was important for reproductive success, yet in others it was not. The years when timing was important were not consistently harsh nor were they particularly favourable for overall reproductive success. Article in Journal/Newspaper Adelie penguin Antarc* Antarctica East Antarctica Pygoscelis adeliae eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) East Antarctica Marine Ecology Progress Series 542 235 249 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences Zoology Animal Developmental and Reproductive Biology |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Zoology Animal Developmental and Reproductive Biology Smiley, KM Emmerson, LM A matter of timing: Adelie penguin reproductive success in a seasonally varying environment |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences Zoology Animal Developmental and Reproductive Biology |
description |
Earlier breeding has been shown to be advantageous for the reproductive outcomes of a variety of avian species inhabiting a diverse range of environments. However, it is generally unclear how this advantage translates for polar seabirds that breed in a highly seasonal and restricted breeding season. The present study determined whether there was an overall advantage or disadvantage of early or late breeding on the reproductive outcomes of Adlie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae breeding at Bchervaise Island, East Antarctica. We examined this for individual nests within each year as well as for the overall population over a 13 yr period, using between 69 and 166 monitored nests each year. We investigated whether any advantage was related to bird age, and quantified the different environmental conditions (windchill and snow days) that early and late breeders and their eggs and chicks experienced. In just under half of the years, laying eggs late in the breeding season resulted in a reduced chance of chicks crching, and early egg laying was advantageous in only 2 years. We found no evidence that the advantage of early breeding or the disadvantage of late laying was due to the age and associated experience of the birds. We are unable to generate a consistent explanation for why the timing of clutch initiation in some years was important for reproductive success, yet in others it was not. The years when timing was important were not consistently harsh nor were they particularly favourable for overall reproductive success. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Smiley, KM Emmerson, LM |
author_facet |
Smiley, KM Emmerson, LM |
author_sort |
Smiley, KM |
title |
A matter of timing: Adelie penguin reproductive success in a seasonally varying environment |
title_short |
A matter of timing: Adelie penguin reproductive success in a seasonally varying environment |
title_full |
A matter of timing: Adelie penguin reproductive success in a seasonally varying environment |
title_fullStr |
A matter of timing: Adelie penguin reproductive success in a seasonally varying environment |
title_full_unstemmed |
A matter of timing: Adelie penguin reproductive success in a seasonally varying environment |
title_sort |
matter of timing: adelie penguin reproductive success in a seasonally varying environment |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11536 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/114673 |
geographic |
East Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
East Antarctica |
genre |
Adelie penguin Antarc* Antarctica East Antarctica Pygoscelis adeliae |
genre_facet |
Adelie penguin Antarc* Antarctica East Antarctica Pygoscelis adeliae |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps11536 Smiley, KM and Emmerson, LM, A matter of timing: Adelie penguin reproductive success in a seasonally varying environment, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 542 pp. 235-249. ISSN 0171-8630 (2016) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/114673 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11536 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
542 |
container_start_page |
235 |
op_container_end_page |
249 |
_version_ |
1766374319100788736 |