Post-fledging brood and care division in the roseate tern (Sterna dougallii) |
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Authors: | Maggie J Watson Jeffrey A Spendelow Jeremy J Hatch |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, USA;(2) USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, USA;(3) School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia |
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Abstract: | Extended post-fledging parental care is an important aspect of parental care in birds, although little studied due to logistic
difficulties. Commonly, the brood is split physically (brood division) and/or preferential care is given to a subset of the
brood by one parent or the other (care division). Among gulls and tern (Laridae), males and females generally share parental
activities during the pre-fledging period, but the allocation of parental care after fledging is little documented. This study
examined the behaviour of male and female roseate terns (Sterna dougallii) during the late chick-rearing and early post-fledging periods, and in particular the amount of feeds and the time spent
in attendance given to individual chicks/fledglings. Pre-fledging parental care was biparental in all cases. Post-fledging
parental care was dependent on the number of fledglings in the brood. Males and females continued biparental care in clutches
with one surviving fledgling, while in two-fledgling clutches, males fed the A-fledgling while females fed the B-fledgling.
Overall, there was no difference in attendance, only in feeds. This division of care may be influenced by the male only being
certain of the paternity of the A-chick but not by chick sex. |
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Keywords: | |
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