Costs of reproduction and carry-over effects in breeding albatrosses

Antarctic science

Glenn T. Crossin¹  richard A. Phillips²  Christine R. Lattin³  L. Michael Romero⁴  Xavier Bordeleau⁵ 

[1] 1Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada;2British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK;3Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA02155, USA;4Department of Biological Sciences and Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada;5Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

关键词: feather corticosterone;    glucocorticoids;    haematocrit;    migration;    testosterone;    triglycerides;   

DOI  :  10.1017/S0954102016000560

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

来源: Cambridge University Press

【 摘 要 】

We investigated the physiology of two closely related albatross species relative to their breeding strategy: black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophris) breed annually, while grey-headed albatrosses (T. chrysostoma) breed biennially. From observations of breeding fate and blood samples collected at the end of breeding in one season and feather corticosterone levels (fCort) sampled at the beginning of the next breeding season, we found that in both species some post-breeding physiological parameters differed according to breeding outcome (successful, failed, deferred). Correlations between post-breeding physiology and fCort, and links to future breeding decisions, were examined. In black-browed albatrosses, post-breeding physiology and fCort were not significantly correlated, but fCort independently predicted breeding decision the next year, which we interpret as a possible migratory carry-over effect. In grey-headed albatrosses, post-breeding triglyceride levels were negatively correlated with fCort, but only in females, which we interpret as a potential cost of reproduction. However, this potential cost did not carry-over to future breeding in the grey-headed albatrosses. None of the variables predicted future breeding decisions. We suggest that biennial breeding in the grey-headed albatrosses may have evolved as a strategy to buffer against the apparent susceptibility of females to negative physiological costs of reproduction. Future studies are needed to confirm this.

【 授权许可】

CC BY