Body and organ mass dynamics during remigial moult in a wing–foot-propelled diving sea duck: the Common Eider (Atlantic) (Somateria mollissima dresseri)

Abstract

Body and organ dynamics, during remigial moult, have been mainly explored on geese, dabbling ducks, and foot-propelled diving ducks, but weakly on sea ducks. This study investigated the internal changes in a wing–foot-propelled sea duck to determine the adaptive strategies implemented. Forty-five male Common Eiders (Atlantic) (Somateria mollissima dresseri Sharpe, 1871), collected in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, were dissected; their body mass, muscle mass, and organ sizes were measured. We tested three hypotheses: (1) S. m. dresseri use a strategic reduction of body mass to reduce the flightlessness duration; (2) organs will exhibit changes consistent with a trade-off between function and maintenance to save and reallocate energy and proteins to feather growth; (3) S. m. dresseri would show lower flight muscle reduction than foot-propelled diving ducks. Somateria mollissima dresseri did not lose body mass, which does not support the first hypothesis. Atrophy of the heart followed by hypertrophy and opposite changes in leg muscle mass and gizzard mass are consistent with the second hypothesis. Flight muscle mass showed lower variations than in other ducks, validating the third hypothesis. We also suggest that the lipid depletion observed early in the moult could be a strategy to reduce foraging effort and minimize the risk of damaging the growing feathers.

Large feet are beneficial for eidersSomateria mollissima

“…Finally, (c) if birds with larger webbed feet acquire more food per unit time, this should result in a reduction in the duration of the molting period which again would result in a reduction in the duration of exposure to predators such as white‐tailed sea eagle Haliaeetus albicilla that is the main cause of mortality. Viain, Guillemette, and Savard () showed that eiders had lower flight muscle reduction than foot‐propelled diving ducks during molt, apparently as a means of maintenance of the ability to escape from predators.…”