Offspring thermal demands and parental brooding efficiency differ for precocial birds living in contrasting climates.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Chicks of precocial birds hatch well-developed and can search actively for food but their homeothermy develops gradually during growth. This makes them dependent on heat provided by parents ("brooding"), which is then traded off against other activities, mainly foraging. Although brooding has been documented in many precocial birds, little is known about the differences in the amount and efficiency of brooding care, brooding diel rhythmicity, and impact on the chick's growth, particularly between species living in different climatic conditions.

Results

We used multisensory dataloggers to evaluate brooding patterns in two congeneric species inhabiting contrasting climate zones: temperate Northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) and desert Red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus

SUBMITTER: Koleskova V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10084700 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature