Kentish plovers Anarhynchus alexandrinus increase parental cooperation in variable environments

Area of Science:

• Animal Behavior
• Ecology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Environmental variability influences parental care strategies.
• Parental care can buffer offspring against environmental fluctuations.
• Increased parental cooperation may be crucial under harsh conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of high ambient temperature (Ta) and wind, and their variability, on nest attendance and thermoregulation in Kentish plovers.
• To understand how environmental factors influence parental cooperation during incubation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized custom-built, low-cost dataloggers with single board computers, webcams, and temperature sensors to quantify plover nest activity.
• Collected data from coastal and inland sites to compare responses to environmental conditions.
• Observed nest attendance and behavioral thermoregulation in relation to ambient temperature and wind speed.

Main Results:

• Kentish plovers increased heat-dissipating behaviors and switched incubation more frequently at higher ambient temperatures.
• Wind speed facilitated longer periods of uniparental incubation through convective cooling.
• Males exhibited higher nest attendance at the more variable inland site compared to the coastal site at equivalent temperatures.

Conclusions:

• Environmental variability, particularly temperature and wind, significantly impacts parental care behaviors in Kentish plovers.
• Increased male nest attendance in variable environments may provide a crucial buffer against harsh conditions.
• Findings support the hypothesis that environmental variability drives variations in parental cooperation during incubation.