Incubation Routine and Sex Role of Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas at Sasudo Island, South Korea

• Published in: Ocean and polar research Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 11 - 19
• Main Authors: Nam, K-B, Kwon, I-K, Yoo, J-C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: Calonectris leucomelas; Marine; Procellariiformes; Korea, Rep; INW, Korea, Rep., Cheju-do, Cheju-do I
• ISSN: 1598-141X; 2234-7313
• DOI: 10.4217/OPR.2008.30.1.011

Incubation routine and sex role of Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas at Sasudo Island, in Jeju, South Korea, were studied during the incubation period, June to August in 2002. Incubation routine in Procellariiformes represents a sequence of alternating shifts taken in turn by female and male in a species-specific pattern. Hence, coordination of individual incubation rhythms between partners is crucial for successful breeding attempt. In Streaked Shearwaters, incubation routine represents a sequence of alternating shifts taken in turn by male and female. The first incubation shift was made by male after female had laid the egg. The mean incubation period was 50.8 days until hatching. Males had spent on average 26.5 days incubating and females 24.3 days accordingly. The mean duration of incubation shifts decreased progressively from 6th and 7th shift to hatching. Overall, males had spent more time incubating than females during the incubation period, but the mean duration of the incubation shift 5.6 days for males and 5.7 days for females did not differ between males and females. There were no effect of the body size of the breeding pair on incubation performance. For males the mean of body weight decreased during the incubation, whereas for females it remained approximately stable. In Streaked Shearwaters, the duration of incubation shift and subsequent foraging trip are related to loss of body weight during the period of fasting. In addition, coordination of individual incubation rhythms affects their incubation behaviour.