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Title
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Mates but not sexes differ in migratory niche in a monogamous penguin species
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Author
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Abstract
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| Strong pair bonds generally increase fitness in monogamous organisms, but may also underlie the risk of hampering it when re-pairing fails after the winter season. We investigated whether partners would either maintain contact or offset this risk by exploiting sex-specific favourable niches during winter in a migratory monogamous seabird, the southern rockhopper penguin Eudyptes chrysocome. Using light-based geolocation, we show that although the spatial distribution of both sexes largely overlapped, pair-wise mates were located on average 595 ± 260 km (and up to 2500 km) apart during winter. Stable isotope data also indicated a marked overlap between sex-specific isotopic niches (δ13C and δ15N values) but a segregation of the feeding habitats (δ13C values) within pairs. Importantly, the tracked females remained longer (12 days) at sea than males, but all re-mated with their previous partners after winter. Our study provides multiple evidence that migratory species may well demonstrate pair-wise segregation even in the absence of sex-specific winter niches (spatial and isotopic). We suggest that dispersive migration patterns with sex-biased timings may be a sufficient proximal cause for generating such a situation in migratory animals. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Biology letters / Royal Society [Londen] - London
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Publication
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London
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2015
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ISSN
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1744-9561
[print]
1744-957X
[online]
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DOI
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10.1098/RSBL.2015.0429
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Volume/pages
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11
:9
(2015)
, 4 p.
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Article Reference
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20150429
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ISI
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000364772300005
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Pubmed ID
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26562934
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Medium
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E-only publicatie
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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Full text (open access)
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