Interrupted incubation: How dabbling ducks respond when flushed from the nest.

ABSTRACT: Nesting birds must provide a thermal environment sufficient for egg development while also meeting self-maintenance needs. Many birds, particularly those with uniparental incubation, achieve this balance through periodic incubation recesses, during which foraging and other self-maintenance activities can occur. However, incubating birds may experience disturbances such as predator or human activity which interrupt natural incubation patterns by compelling them to leave the nest. We characterized incubating mallard Anas platyrhynchos and gadwall Mareca strepera hens' responses when flushed by predators and investigators in Suisun Marsh, California, USA. Diurnal incubation recesses initiated by investigators approaching nests were 63% longer than natural diurnal incubation rece

SUBMITTER: Croston R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7981198 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature