Drivers of within- and among-individual variation in risk-taking behaviour during reproduction in a long-lived bird.

ABSTRACT: Plastic and selective mechanisms govern parental investment adjustments to predation threat. We investigated the relative importance of plasticity and selection in risk-taking propensity of incubating female common eiders Somateria mollissima facing unprecedented predation in SW Finland, Baltic Sea. Using a 12-year individual-based dataset, we examined within- and among-individual variation in flight initiation distance (FID), in relation to predation risk, nest detectability, individual traits and reproductive investment (N_FID = 1009; N_individual = 559). We expected females nesting in riskier environments (higher predation risk, lower nest concealment) to mitigate environmentally imposed risk by exhibiting longer FIDs, and females investing more

SUBMITTER: Mohring B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9489283 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature