Condition dependent strategies of egg size variation in the Common Eider Somateria mollissima.

ABSTRACT: We analysed intraclutch egg-size variation over the laying sequence in relation to clutch size, and the relation between clutch size and female body condition, in the Common Eider Somateria mollissima during an 8-year period. The aim was to assess if eiders adjusted egg size within the laying sequence depending on clutch sizes in response to body condition, as such an adjustment could have adaptive implications on reproductive success through a size advantage for the hatchlings. The analyses were performed on a population level; and then at the individual level using data from recaptured females that changed clutch size between years. Based on 1,099 clutches from 812 individual females, population clutch size averaged 4.13 eggs (range: 1-6), with 4- and 5-egg clutchesconstituting c.70% of

SUBMITTER: Christensen TK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7384649 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature