Coordinated provisioning in a dual-foraging pelagic seabird

In long-lived species, care-giving parents are expected to balance their own condition with that of their offspring. Many species of seabirds display a unique behavioural adaptation for managing these conflicting demands known as dual foraging, in which long trips, largely for self-maintenance, are...

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Main Authors: Tyson, C, Kirk, H, Fayet, A, van Loon, E, Shoji, A, Dean, B, Perrins, C, Freeman, R, Guilford, T
Format: Journal article
Published: Elsevier 2017
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author Tyson, C
Kirk, H
Fayet, A
van Loon, E
Shoji, A
Dean, B
Perrins, C
Freeman, R
Guilford, T
author_facet Tyson, C
Kirk, H
Fayet, A
van Loon, E
Shoji, A
Dean, B
Perrins, C
Freeman, R
Guilford, T
author_sort Tyson, C
collection OXFORD
description In long-lived species, care-giving parents are expected to balance their own condition with that of their offspring. Many species of seabirds display a unique behavioural adaptation for managing these conflicting demands known as dual foraging, in which long trips, largely for self-maintenance, are alternated with short trips, which are primarily for offspring care. While dual foraging is a widely studied behaviour, it entails a complication that is seldom discussed: if parents independently employ a dual-foraging strategy, chicks might be abandoned for extended periods when the long trips of both partners coincide. Whether partners coordinate their dual-foraging strategies, however, is largely unknown. To investigate this possibility, we used radiofrequency identification readers coupled with passive integrated transponder tags to record extended sequences of foraging trips for breeding Manx shearwaters, Puffinus puffinus. Our results show a pattern of foraging trips that indicates a high level of coordination between parents, which facilitates consistent provisioning. Additionally, we show that the propensity for pairs to coordinate declines across the chick-rearing period. Given the potential costs of not coordinating, we expect this behaviour to be widely spread among dual-foraging species.
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spelling oxford-uuid:fb174b2f-52c4-4483-b925-6bb98a4d3aef2022-03-27T13:11:17ZCoordinated provisioning in a dual-foraging pelagic seabirdJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:fb174b2f-52c4-4483-b925-6bb98a4d3aefSymplectic Elements at OxfordElsevier2017Tyson, CKirk, HFayet, Avan Loon, EShoji, ADean, BPerrins, CFreeman, RGuilford, TIn long-lived species, care-giving parents are expected to balance their own condition with that of their offspring. Many species of seabirds display a unique behavioural adaptation for managing these conflicting demands known as dual foraging, in which long trips, largely for self-maintenance, are alternated with short trips, which are primarily for offspring care. While dual foraging is a widely studied behaviour, it entails a complication that is seldom discussed: if parents independently employ a dual-foraging strategy, chicks might be abandoned for extended periods when the long trips of both partners coincide. Whether partners coordinate their dual-foraging strategies, however, is largely unknown. To investigate this possibility, we used radiofrequency identification readers coupled with passive integrated transponder tags to record extended sequences of foraging trips for breeding Manx shearwaters, Puffinus puffinus. Our results show a pattern of foraging trips that indicates a high level of coordination between parents, which facilitates consistent provisioning. Additionally, we show that the propensity for pairs to coordinate declines across the chick-rearing period. Given the potential costs of not coordinating, we expect this behaviour to be widely spread among dual-foraging species.
spellingShingle Tyson, C
Kirk, H
Fayet, A
van Loon, E
Shoji, A
Dean, B
Perrins, C
Freeman, R
Guilford, T
Coordinated provisioning in a dual-foraging pelagic seabird
title Coordinated provisioning in a dual-foraging pelagic seabird
title_full Coordinated provisioning in a dual-foraging pelagic seabird
title_fullStr Coordinated provisioning in a dual-foraging pelagic seabird
title_full_unstemmed Coordinated provisioning in a dual-foraging pelagic seabird
title_short Coordinated provisioning in a dual-foraging pelagic seabird
title_sort coordinated provisioning in a dual foraging pelagic seabird
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