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Body condition of shorebirds upon arrival at their Siberian breeding grounds

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Abstract

Arctic breeding shorebirds carry substantial body stores on their long-distance migrations from their non-breeding grounds. Upon arrival at the breeding area the remains of these stores can be used for egg formation, insurance against poor feeding conditions or rebuilding organs. We quantified body condition (body mass, total body water, lean body mass and fat mass estimated using the deuterium dilution method) in seven shorebird species caught upon arrival in the Siberian Arctic. Arrival condition was compared with incubation condition in a subset of species. After correction for structural size, body mass was significantly lower at arrival than during incubation in most of the species (but 3–18% above lean mass). Fat index (fat mass/lean mass) varied between 5.1 and 13.2%. Fat stores were estimated to enable survival for 0.6 days for the smallest and 2.5 days for the largest species. We discuss possible functions of arrival stores: insurance, egg-formation or rebuilding organs.

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Acknowledgments

The expeditions were made possible through participation in the programme North-South, financed by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Food Safety. The following organisations and persons were helpful in the organisation of the expeditions: the staff of the Great Arctic Reserve, Gerard Boere, Bart Ebbinge, Pavel Tomkovich, Gerard Müskens, Sergei Kharitonov, Sergei, Katya and Aleksej Dudko and Alexander Beliashov. Berthe Verstappen (CIO) carried out the isotope analyses. We want to thank Kathleen Tjörve, Oscar Langevoord, Joep de Leeuw and Leon Peters for help in collecting the data. IT received a research grant from the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) (2000).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES), P.O. Box 68, 1970 AB, IJmuiden, The Netherlands

    Ingrid Tulp

  2. Dutch Centre for Avian Migration and Demography, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), P.O. Box 40, 6666 ZG, Heteren, The Netherlands

    Hans Schekkerman

  3. Department of Ecology, Animal Ecology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 22365, Lund, Sweden

    Raymond H. G. Klaassen

  4. SOVON Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology, Rijksstraatweg 178, 6573 DG, Beek-Ubbergen, The Netherlands

    Bruno J. Ens

  5. Centre for Isotope Research, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands

    G. Henk Visser

  6. Behavioural Biology, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 12, 9750 AA, Haren, The Netherlands

    G. Henk Visser

Authors
  1. Ingrid Tulp
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  2. Hans Schekkerman
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  3. Raymond H. G. Klaassen
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  4. Bruno J. Ens
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  5. G. Henk Visser
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Correspondence to Ingrid Tulp.

Additional information

G. H. Visser: Deceased.

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Tulp, I., Schekkerman, H., Klaassen, R.H.G. et al. Body condition of shorebirds upon arrival at their Siberian breeding grounds. Polar Biol 32, 481–491 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-008-0543-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-008-0543-8

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