Eyes on the future: buffering increased costs of incubation by abandoning offspring

Hanssen, Sveinn Are, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norwegian Institute of Nature Research, Dept. of Arctic Ecology, FRAM – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment , P.O. Box 6606 Langnes , NO-9296 Tromsø , Norway, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1792-435X

Erikstad, Kjell Einar, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norwegian Institute of Nature Research, Dept. of Arctic Ecology, FRAM – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment , P.O. Box 6606 Langnes , NO-9296 Tromsø , Norway

Sandvik, Hanno, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norwegian Institute of Nature Research, Dept. of Aquatic Biodiversity , P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, NO-7485 Trondheim , Norway

Tveraa, Torkild, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norwegian Institute of Nature Research, Dept. of Arctic Ecology, FRAM – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment , P.O. Box 6606 Langnes , NO-9296 Tromsø , Norway

Bustnes, Jan Ove, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norwegian Institute of Nature Research, Dept. of Arctic Ecology, FRAM – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment , P.O. Box 6606 Langnes , NO-9296 Tromsø , Norway

sveinn.a.hanssen@nina.no, kjell.e.erikstad@nina.no, hanno.sandvik@nina.no, torkild.tveraa@nina.no, jan.bustnes@nina.no

Published Dec 13, 2022 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.866t1g1tv

Cite this dataset

Hanssen, Sveinn Are et al. (2022). Eyes on the future: buffering increased costs of incubation by abandoning offspring [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.866t1g1tv

Abstract

Abstract Life history theory states that the resources invested in current reproduction must be traded off against resources needed for survival and future reproduction. Long-lived organisms have a higher residual reproductive value and are therefore expected to be sensitive to reproductive investments that may reduce survival and future reproduction. Individuals within a population may vary in phenotypic quality, experience, access to resources etc. This may affect their optimal reproductive investment level. In this study we manipulated reproductive costs by shortening and extending the incubation period in common eiders Somateria mollissima without altering clutch size. Females whose incubation time was prolonged experimentally, suffered higher mass loss and increased clutch loss/nest desertion. These females were also more prone to abandon their brood after hatching. Both clutch loss and brood abandonment decreased with clutch size in all treatment categories, indicating higher phenotypic quality and/or better access to resources for females producing more eggs. However, although females with prolonged incubation were lighter at hatching, their return rate and breeding performance in the following year were unaffected. These results show that individual quality as expressed through clutch size and body mass is affecting current reproductive investment level as well as future survival and breeding performance. The results also show that individual birds are sensitive to changes in their own condition, and when reproductive effort is approaching a level where survival or future survival may be compromised, they respond by terminating their current reproductive attempt.

Methods

The dataset contains four files:

(1) README.pdf (explanations)

(2) eider.xlsx (microsoft excel spreadsheet workbook)

(3) eider.csv (experimental data file as semicolon-delimited plain text)

(4) eider.inp (capture-mark-recapture data as whitespace-delimited plain text)

The experimental data are provided both in "eider.csv" and in the "Experiment" sheet of "eider.xlsx".

The capture-mark-recapture data are provided both in "eider.inp" and in the "CMR" sheet of "eider.xlsx".

The information needed to interpret the data is provided both in "README.pdf" and in "eider.xlsx".

For questions on these files, please contact the first author (sveinn.a.hanssen@nina.no).

Funding

Norsk institutt for naturforskning

Norges Forskningsråd

Direktoratet for naturforvaltning

Fylkesmannen i Troms og Finnmark

Norwegian Research Council