Population-level body condition correlates with productivity in an arctic wader, the dunlin Calidris alpina, during post-breeding migration.

ABSTRACT: Weather and predation constitute the two main factors affecting the breeding success of those Arctic waders whose productivity is highly variable over the years. We tested whether reproductive success is associated with the post-breeding condition of adults, in which in 'good' years (with warm weather, plentiful food and low predation pressure) the condition of breeders and their productivity is high. To verify this hypothesis, we used a 10-year dataset comprising 20,792 dunlins Calidris alpina, trapped during migration at a stopover site on the southern Baltic Sea shore. Males were consistently in a slightly worse condition than females, likely due to male-biased parental investment in brood rearing. Annual productivity indices were positively correlated with the respective condition indi

SUBMITTER: Neubauer G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5665542 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature