Sex-specific growth and pre-and post-hatching patterns of sex allocation in murres (Uria spp.) and Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica)

Cameron, Maureen L. (2003) Sex-specific growth and pre-and post-hatching patterns of sex allocation in murres (Uria spp.) and Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica). Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Patterns of pre- and post-hatching sex allocation were explored in the Common Murre Uria aalge, Thick-billed Murre Uria lomvia, and Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica. Chicks from each species were sexed using the CHD gene. Growth rates of male and female chicks were compared, as were parental feeding rates and time spent at the nest site. The sex ratios produced with respect to parental age, size and body condition, as well as annual mean feeding rate at the site, were examined. -- While males and females gained mass at a similar rate, wing growth was faster for female chicks. In Thick-billed Murres, wing growth in males, but not females, was positively correlated with parent quality. In the latter part of the chick-feeding period at the nest site, Common Murre parents fed their sons at a higher rate than their daughters. There was no sex difference in time to fledging. In years where parents provisioned their chicks less than usual, the sex ratio at the Common Murre study site showed a female bias. Parents that were larger or in better condition were no more likely to produce a son, and there was little support for an effect of parental age, though very young parents tended to produce daughters.

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