Parent-offspring interactions in food provisioning of Manx shearwaters: implications for nestling obesity
Article Abstract:
Manx shearwater chicks may build up fat reserves to tide the bird over when supplies are short. The chicks appear to send information to parents on their feeding needs, as is shown by a study carried out in 1995 off the coast of Dyfed, Wales, in which chicks were switched between nests. Parents can lessen provision of food for well-fed chicks, but they may not be able to increase food provision for chicks that are poorly nourished. The parents' success may be unpredictable, and it is this, rather than the needs of the chicks, that is linked to variablity of provisioning.
Publication Name: Animal Behaviour
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0003-3472
Year: 1999
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Food provision to nestling shearwaters: why parental behaviour should be monitored?
Article Abstract:
Night weighings were used to measure food delivery to Cory's sheawater chicks to assess whether the chicks' condition affected the amount of food supplied by the parent. Parents' entry to nests was logged using an electronic system. Food provisioning appear to be influenced to an extent, and chicks in poor condition have more chance of receiving food the night after than chicks in a less poor condition. Fat accumulation in chicks does not appear to be a byproduct of variations in foraging success leading to overfeeding.
Publication Name: Animal Behaviour
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0003-3472
Year: 1999
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Prospecting enhances breeding success of first-time breeders in the great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis
Article Abstract:
The colonial great cormorant is among those seabirds which exhibit prospecting behavior, with youn birds visiting colonies prior to breeding. New breeders that had previously prospected appear to be more successful in finding good sites and in raising their young. The young birds tended to prospect toward the end of the breeding season, following the hatching of eggs, but prior to fledging of chicks. This allowed a link between the suitability of the habitat and breeding success.
Publication Name: Animal Behaviour
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0003-3472
Year: 1999
User Contributions:
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