Do extended incubation recesses carry fitness costs in two cavity-nesting birds?

Most bird species exhibit biparental care, but the type of care provided by each sex may differ substantially. In particular, during the incubation phase in passerines, females perform most or all of the incubation, while the male cares for the brood indirectly by feeding the female. However, detailed descriptions of this male investment during the incubation period are missing. Here, we quantitatively describe female nest attendance and male incubation feeding throughout the~14-day incubation period in a population of Eurasian Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus breeding in nestboxes. Males and females progressively increased their daily activity at the nest over the incubation period. The amount of day-time incubation, measured as the proportion of the active day (time interval between first nestbox exit in the morning and last entry in the evening) a female spent inside the nestbox, varied between 52 and 60% with an average of 55% per day. The frequency of male incubation feeding varied between 0 and 74 times per day with an average of 12 feeds per day. Both male feeding rate and female nest attendance were highest in the morning and declined rapidly throughout the day. Females were more likely to be off the nest during the warmest periods (15-21°C), as expected based on thermal needs of the developing embryos, but also during the coldest periods (2-5°C), presumably due to the energetic needs of the female. This was despite the fact that males fed their females more often at the nest when ambient temperatures were low. Females that received more feeds incubated more and their off-nest bouts were shorter after a feed. The observed variation in female incubation and in male feeding rate was not linked to individual age or to variation in measures of reproductive success. However, direct observations showed that in some pairs a substantial amount of feeding by males occurred outside the nestbox. This suggests that the true male investment might have been underestimated, here and in previous studies.

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“…, Bueno‐Enciso et al . ). In our population such extended recesses (exit durations > 60 min, definition following Bueno‐Enciso et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In our population such extended recesses (exit durations > 60 min, definition following Bueno‐Enciso et al . ) represent approximately 10% of all exits (Fig. S7).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of female nest attendance and male feeding throughout the incubation period in Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus

Bambini

Schlicht

Kempenaers

2018

Ibis

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“…Perhaps breeding in a temperate climate does not require continuous incubation attendance (but see temperate species in Bulla et al 2016b). Essentially, the between nest variability in nest attendance – which can be as much as a 6.5 hours difference per day – seems huge and is much larger than nest attendance fluctuations known to influence embryo development (Hepp et al 2006; Carter et al 2014; Bueno-Enciso et al 2017), or length of the incubation period (Grønstøl 2003; Martin et al 2007; Carter et al 2014; Bueno-Enciso et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Diverse incubation rhythms in a facultatively uniparental shorebird – the Northern Lapwing

Sládeček

Wozabulová

Šálek

et al. 2018

Preprint

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14Incubation by both parents is the most common form of care for eggs. Although the involvement of 15 the two parents may vary dramatically between and within pairs, as well as over the day and 16breeding season, detailed description of this variation (especially in species with variable male 17 contribution to incubation) is rare. Here, we continuously video-monitored 113 nests of Northern 18Lapwing Vanellus vanellus over the breeding season to reveal the diversity of incubation rhythms 19 and parental involvement. We found great between-nest variation in the overall nest attendance (68 20 -94%; median = 87%) and in how much males incubated (0 -37%; median = 13%). Notably, the less 21 the males incubated, the lower was the overall nest attendance, even though females partially 22 compensated for the males' decrease. Overall, incubation rhythms changed little over the season 23 and incubation period. However, as nights shorten with the progressing breeding season, the female 24 longest night incubation bout shortened too. Essentially, nest attendance was highest, incubation 25 bouts longest, exchange gaps shortest and male involvement lowest during the night. Also, males 26 tended to incubate the most after sunrise and before sunset. To conclude, we revealed strong 27 circadian rhythms and remarkable between nest differences in Northern Lapwing incubation 28 (especially in male involvement), yet despite seasonal environmental trends (e.g. increasing 29 temperature) Lapwing incubation rhythms remained relatively stable over the season and incubation 30 period. 31

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“…Apart from anti-predation strategy and predatory risk, the day-night differences in lapwing nest attendance may arise from circadian variation in ambient temperatures and food availability. First, as ambient temperature falls during the night, continuous incubation might be necessary to sustain embryonic development 45 , 46 . Indeed, also other species (including the uniparental ones) increase their night-time nest attendance 24 , 68 , 69 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of incubation rhythms in a facultatively uniparental shorebird – the Northern Lapwing

Sládeček

Vozabulová

Šálek

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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In birds, incubation by both parents is a common form of care for eggs. Although the involvement of the two parents may vary dramatically between and within pairs, as well as over the course of the day and breeding season, detailed descriptions of this variation are rare, especially in species with variable male contributions to care. Here, we continuously video-monitored 113 nests of Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus to reveal the diversity of incubation rhythms and parental involvement, as well as their daily and seasonal variation. We found great between-nest variation in the overall nest attendance (68–94%; median = 87%) and in how much males attended their nests (0–37%; median = 13%). Notably, the less the males attended their nests, the lower was the overall nest attendance, even though females partially compensated for the males’ decrease. Also, despite seasonal environmental trends (e.g. increasing temperature), incubation rhythms changed little over the season and 27-day incubation period. However, as nights shortened with the progressing breeding season, the longest night incubation bout of females shortened too. Importantly, within the 24h-day, nest attendance was highest, incubation bouts longest, exchange gaps shortest and male involvement lowest during the night. Moreover, just after sunrise and before sunset males attended the nest the most. To conclude, we confirm substantial between nest differences in Lapwing male nest attendance, reveal how such differences relates to variation in incubation rhythms, and describe strong circadian incubation rhythms modulated by sunrise and sunset.

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Do extended incubation recesses carry fitness costs in two cavity-nesting birds?

Cited by 10 publications

References 36 publications

Patterns of female nest attendance and male feeding throughout the incubation period in Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus

Patterns of female nest attendance and male feeding throughout the incubation period in Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus

Diverse incubation rhythms in a facultatively uniparental shorebird – the Northern Lapwing

Diversity of incubation rhythms in a facultatively uniparental shorebird – the Northern Lapwing

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