Prospectors’ colony attendance is sex-specific and increases future recruitment chances in a seabird

Dittmann, Tobias; Ezard, Thomas H. G.; Becker, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2007.05.002

Cited by 24 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…It has long been known that in many bird species immatures return to colonies several years before breeding (e.g., Cadiou et al 1994;Cadiou 1999;Chabrzyk and Coulson 1976;Danchin et al 1991;Dittmann and Becker 2003;Dittmann et al 2005Dittmann et al , 2007Halley et al 1995;Klomp and Furness 1992;Nelson 1987;Pikering 1989). The behavior, arrival dates, and activities of young birds before recruitment (i.e., in pre-breeders) may have a substantial influence on age of first breeding, and the quality of the recruitment habitat (Bruinzeel and van de Pol 2002).…”

Section: Ontogenymentioning

confidence: 97%

Early development, recruitment and life history trajectory in long-lived birds

Cam

Aubry

2011

J Ornithol

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International audienceLindström (in Trends Ecol Evol 14:343-347, 1999) synthesized knowledge about "early development and fitness in birds and mammals", interesting tracks and challenges for future studies. Today, there is unambiguous evidence that Lindström's first statement holds in long-lived birds: "It is obvious that adverse environmental conditions might have immediate effects [...]." However, whether there are "long-term fitness consequences of conditions experienced during early development" (Lindström's second statement) is unclear for long-lived birds. The extent to which the disadvantage of frail individuals at independence is expressed predominantly in terms of higher mortality and disappearance from the population before recruitment, or persists after recruitment, is still an open question. Due to the rarity of relevant data and the fact that most studies are retrospective, heterogeneity in methods and timescales hampers the identification of general patterns. Nevertheless, several studies have provided evidence of a relationship between early conditions and future reproductive parameters, or lifetime reproductive success. Evidence from large mammals suggests substantial long-term individual and population effects of early conditions, including trans-generational maternal effects. Evidence from short-lived birds also suggests long-term individual consequences, and maternal effects have been documented in long-lived ones. Despite logistical and financial difficulties inherent in long-term studies, they are the only way of addressing Lindström's second statement. Existing long-term longitudinal datasets should be re-analyzed using recently developed capture-mark-recapture models handling state uncertainty and unobservable heterogeneity in populations. Statistical methods designed to estimate lifetime reproductive success or incorporate pedigree information in standard situations of studies of wild vertebrates with imperfect detection offer new opportunities to assess long-term fitness consequences of early development in long-lived birds

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Section: Ontogenymentioning

confidence: 97%

Early development, recruitment and life history trajectory in long-lived birds

Cam

Aubry

2011

J Ornithol

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“…The advancement with age occurs at the individual level and can be explained mainly with a gain in individual experience (31): During the repeated returns the subadults may improve migration patterns and foraging behavior, enabling them to arrive in time step by step. Determining the total time available at a potential breeding site within a season (24,28), arrival date is closely linked to the way of becoming a breeder: establishing a nesting territory, attracting a mate, mating, courtship feeding, and finally starting a breeding attempt. The hurdle of recruitment is higher for males, resulting in intersex differences in recruitment age: With 3.6 years males start breeding significantly later than females (3.2 years; ref.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In several migratory bird species, young individuals advance their arrival with increasing age (12,(22)(23)(24)(25), enabling them to spend more time at potential future breeding sites from year to year. This gain of time can be used for improving skills and condition, for collecting ecological and social information (26), and for integration into a breeding community (27,28).…”

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confidence: 99%

Timing of initial arrival at the breeding site predicts age at first reproduction in a long-lived migratory bird

Becker

Dittmann

Ludwigs³

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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In long-lived vertebrates, individuals generally visit potential breeding areas or populations during one or more seasons before reproducing for the first time. During these years of prospecting, they select a future breeding site, colony, or mate and improve various skills and their physical condition to meet the requirements of reproduction. One precondition of successful reproduction is arrival in time on the breeding grounds. Here, we study the intricate links among the date of initial spring arrival, body mass, sex, and the age of first breeding in the common tern Sterna hirundo, a long-lived migratory colonial seabird. The study is based on a unique, individual-based, long-term dataset of sexed birds, marked with transponders, which allow recording their individual arrival, overall attendance, and clutch initiation remotely and automatically year by year over the entire lifetime at the natal colony site. We show that the seasonal date of initial arrival at the breeding grounds predicts the individual age at first reproduction, which mostly occurs years later. Late first-time arrivals remain delayed birds throughout subsequent years. Our findings reveal that timing of arrival at the site of reproduction and timing of reproduction itself are coherent parameters of individual quality, which are linked with the prospects of the breeding career and may have consequences for fitness.prospecting ͉ recruitment age ͉ seabirds ͉ spring arrival

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“…when prospecting available breeding territories and mates) to solitary birds (e.g. Anderson et al, 2002Anderson et al, , 2003Imber et al, 2005;Dittmann, Ezard & Becker, 2007;Jenouvrier et al, 2008), which will determine the application of various conservation measures; (3) we need better empirical data (including biological models involving more diversified life histories) to improve our knowledge of and ability to predict population stability, persistence and extinction risks.…”

Section: Conclusion: Floaters Necessary But Sometimes Hostilementioning

confidence: 99%

Floater strategies and dynamics in birds, and their importance in conservation biology: towards an understanding of nonbreeders in avian populations

Penteriani

Ferrer

Delgado

2011

Animal Conservation

160

159

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Over the past 40 years, the study of animal populations has shifted from a relatively simple science that assumed the most crucial regulating mechanisms were the intrinsic properties of breeders, to a more complex and refined discipline that reflects a greater understanding of populations and their dynamics. Part of this shift has been the explicit recognition of the importance of a previously overlooked nonbreeding component of animal populations, the so-called floaters.Here we review and discuss the various effects that pools of floaters can have on the structure, dynamics and persistence of bird populations. Under some circumstances floaters can be both active intruders that can alter the breeding performance and behavioural traits of territory owners, as well as secretive presences reducing the extinction risk of populations. Floaters are crucial elements in conservation biology, and knowledge of their behaviour and dynamics in avian communities can be a key factor in the success of conservation strategies. Firstly, larger pools of floaters are associated with more stable breeding populations, even in cases where breeding output could be impacted through interference by floaters. Secondly, the effects of habitat loss and mortality rates are frequently ignored in areas where floaters settle, and consequently conservation measures tend to overlook these sites, potentially leading to increased risks of mortality among floaters. Thirdly, because an increase in the proportion of juveniles in the breeding component of a population may be because of increased pre-adult and/or adult mortality rates, a change in the age of breeders has the potential to function as a warning of an imminent decline in breeding populations. Most population studies have only considered the breeding components of animal populations, so it is time now to focus attention on the floater component, wherein the solution to many conservation issues may be found.

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Prospectors’ colony attendance is sex-specific and increases future recruitment chances in a seabird

Cited by 24 publications

References 50 publications

Early development, recruitment and life history trajectory in long-lived birds

Early development, recruitment and life history trajectory in long-lived birds

Timing of initial arrival at the breeding site predicts age at first reproduction in a long-lived migratory bird

Floater strategies and dynamics in birds, and their importance in conservation biology: towards an understanding of nonbreeders in avian populations

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