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Feeding territoriality and the reproductive consequences in brown skuas Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi

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Abstract

In the maritime Antarctic, brown skuas (Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi) show two foraging strategies: some pairs occupy feeding territories in penguin colonies, while others can only feed in unoccupied areas of a penguin colony without defending a feeding territory. One-third of the studied breeding skua population in the South Shetlands occupied territories of varying size (48 to >3,000 penguin nests) and monopolised 93% of all penguin nests in sub-colonies. Skuas without feeding territories foraged in only 7% of penguin sub-colonies and in part of the main colony. Females owning feeding territories were larger in body size than females without feeding territories; no differences in size were found in males. Territory holders permanently controlled their resources but defence power diminished towards the end of the reproductive season. Territory ownership guaranteed sufficient food supply and led to a 5.5 days earlier egg-laying and chick-hatching. Short distances between nest and foraging site allowed territorial pairs a higher nest-attendance rate such that their chicks survived better (71%) than chicks from skua pairs without feeding territories (45%). Due to lower hatching success in territorial pairs, no difference in breeding success of pairs with and without feeding territories was found in 3 years. We conclude that skuas owning feeding territories in penguin colonies benefit from the predictable and stable food resource by an earlier termination of the annual breeding cycle and higher offspring survivorship.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Silke Bauer, Markus Ritz, Andrew Davis, Stephen Votier and two anonymous referees for comments on the manuscript. The study was financially supported by the German Research Council (DFG, Pe 454/9-1) and by a Grant of the State of Thuringia (Landesgraduiertenstipendium).

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  1. Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburger Strasse 159, 07743 , Jena, Germany

    Steffen Hahn & Hans-Ulrich Peter

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  1. Steffen Hahn
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  2. Hans-Ulrich Peter
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Correspondence to Steffen Hahn.

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Research licence: Umweltbundesamt Bonn 13.4-94003-1/5-7.

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Hahn, S., Peter, HU. Feeding territoriality and the reproductive consequences in brown skuas Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi . Polar Biol 26, 552–559 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0522-z

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