Drivers of within- and among-individual variation in risk-taking behaviour during reproduction in a long-lived bird

• Main Authors: Mohring, Bertille, Angelier, Frédéric, Jaatinen, Kim, Steele, Ben, Lönnberg, Elin, Öst, Markus
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: common eider; Somateria mollissima; Flight Initiation Distance; phenotypic plasticity; predation risk; Selection hypothesis; Fid; Common Eider
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/7055223; https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m37pvmd59

Plastic and selective mechanisms govern parental investment adjustments to predation threat. We investigated the relative importance of plasticity and selection in risk-taking propensity of incubating female common eiders Somateria mollissima facing unprecedented predation in SW Finland, Baltic Sea. Using a 12-year individual-based dataset, we examined within- and among-individual variation in flight initiation distance (FID), in relation to predation risk, nest detectability, individual traits and reproductive investment (NFID = 1009; Nindividual = 559). We expected females nesting in riskier environments (higher predation risk, lower nest concealment) to mitigate environmentally-imposed risk by exhibiting longer FIDs, and females investing more in current reproduction (older, in better condition or laying large clutches) to display shorter FIDs. The target of predation - adult or offspring - affected the mechanisms adapting risk-taking propensity; females plastically increased their FID under higher adult predation risk, while risk-avoiding breeders were predominant on islands with higher nest predation risk. Risk-taking females selected thicker nest cover, consistent with personality-matching habitat choice. Females plastically attenuated their antipredator response (shorter FIDs) with advancing age, and females in better body condition were more risk-taking, a result explained by selection processes. Future research should consider predator type when investigating the fitness consequences of risk-taking strategies. Funding provided by: Svenska KulturfondenCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007247Award Number: 17/3317, 16/1476, 15/3296, 14/2657, 13/2654, 138139, 149014, 158026, 168333, and 177733 to MÖFunding provided by: Academy of FinlandCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002341Award Number: 266208 to KJ and 128039 to MÖFunding provided by: Sophie von Julins Stiftelse*Crossref Funder Registry ID: Award Number: grant to the Nature and Game Management ...