Field notes on the breeding biology of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in arctic Norway

Lutz Lücker,Siegfried Kraatz,Bärbel Kraatz

doi:10.34080/os.v21.22604

Abstract

From 2002 to 2010 twenty-four Dotterel nests were observed on Varangerfjell plateaus near Batsfjord. Females definitely took part in incubation in 18 cases. However, shared incubation could not be ruled out for the remaining 6 nests. One female defended the chicks against her own partner before they left the nest. Another lone female was seen leading 3 chicks for 5 days in a very small section of the study area, to our knowledge the only case of a female with chicks outside the nest ever recorded. Several nests were found less than 100 m apart. One bird laid eggs in the same nest in 2 consecutive years. These findings complement previously published observations and hypotheses.

Highlights

Dotterel females have been known to be polyandrous for a long time (Berg 1917, Géroudet 1982, Cramp & Simmons 1983, Owens et al 1995), deserting their males after egg-laying in order to lay more clutches with other males
From June 2002 to July 2010 we found 24 nests, 18 (= 75%) of which were definitely incubated by two different birds after completion of egg-laying on 1 to 16 consecutive days, the average being 6.42 days (Table 1)
We never found more than 4 nests per season; in 4 years we only found 1 nest (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Dotterel females have been known to be polyandrous for a long time (Berg 1917, Géroudet 1982, Cramp & Simmons 1983, Owens et al 1995), deserting their males after egg-laying in order to lay more clutches (normally three eggs) with other males. Very little is known about the role of females; only a few authors (Géroudet 1982, Cramp & Simmons 1983, Nethersole-Thompson 1973) mention that some females may occasionally take part in incubation, the only precise proportions recorded so far being 9 out of 27 nests on Hardangervidda in southern Norway (Kalas & Byrkjedal 1984) and 4 out of 32 nests on Värriötunturi in Finland (Pulliainen & Saari 1997). Some authors (Cramp & Simmons 1983, Géroudet 1982, Hable 1975) give the impression that sexing of adult birds is extremely difficult, even from a short distance

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Conclusion