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- Guillemain, Matthieu, et al.
(författare)
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Predation risk constrains the plasticity of foraging behaviour in teals, Anas crecca : a flyway-level circumannual approach
- 2007
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Ingår i: Animal Behaviour. - 0003-3472 .- 1095-8282. - 0003-3472 ; 73:5, s. 845-854
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The trade-off foragers make between predation risk and feeding efficiency is readily studied in dabbling ducks, which have stereotyped feeding methods, some of which prevent predator detection while others do not. Teals forage mostly with only the bill submerged (eyes above the water surface) in winter, but use a broader foraging repertoire in summer. Given the different environments used by teals over the year, it is likely that such a shift is due to changes in diet, but it may also be caused by differences in predation risk between habitats. However, neither predation risk nor teal behaviour has been studied with consistent methods around the year or throughout any of its flyways. Covering wintering, spring-staging, breeding and moulting sites, we combined focal observations of teals and predator flyover data from seven regions ranging from southern France to northern Sweden. Although not apparent at the scale of days within sites, teals indeed relied more on shallow foraging where predation risk was higher, i.e. at wintering sites. Average foraging depth increased gradually from September to August, i.e. from wintering to breeding sites. Foraging bout length of deeply foraging teals did not decrease over the year, suggesting that it is through selection of foraging technique, rather than by the balance between foraging and interruptions, that birds adjust to predation risk. This study highlights behavioural plasticity in response to contrasting selection regimes within a flyway, in dabbling ducks as well as long-distance migrants in general.
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| 2. |
- Guillemain, Matthieu, et al.
(författare)
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Risky foraging leads to cost-free mate guarding in male teal Anas crecca
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Ornithology = Journal fur Ornithologie. - 0021-8375 .- 1439-0361. - 0021-8375 ; 148:2, s. 251-254
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mate guarding by males is common in species with long-lasting pair bonds. We tested if the need to guard females affected foraging depth in male teal (Anas crecca), and if they were more vigilant than females when foraging with submerged eyes (preventing monitoring of competing males and predators). These predictions were not supported, suggesting that foraging depth selection is primarily driven by other factors, presumably food related. A likely reason why deeply foraging males did not increase vigilance is that 37.5% of the foraging time was already dedicated to it. The apparent lack of guarding costs in foraging male teal may explain why such small ducks can maintain pair bonds for up to 7 months.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Guillemain, Matthieu, et al.
(författare)
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Wintering French mallard and teal are heavier and in better body condition than 30 years ago : effects of a changing environment?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Ambio. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 39:2, s. 170-180
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Animal populations are exposed to large-scale anthropogenic impact from e.g. climate change, habitat alteration and supplemental stocking. All of these may affect body condition in wintering dabbling ducks, which in turn may affect an individual's survival and reproductive success. The aim of this study was to assess whether there have been morphometric changes in Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Teal (Anas crecca) over the last 30 years at a major wintering site. Body mass and condition increased from the 1950s-1960s to the 2000s in both species. The increase in body mass amounted to as much as 11.7%, with no corresponding change in body size. Improved body condition was maintained from early to mid-winter, but then converged with historical values for late winter. Our interpretation is that increasingly benign ambient winter conditions permit ducks to maintain better energetic "safety margins" throughout winter, and that converging spring departure values may be related to evolutionary flight energetic optima. The observed changes are consistent with large-scale climate amelioration and local/regional habitat improvement (both anthropogenic).
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