High site and mate fidelity in a monogamous Arctic seabird

Abstract

In long‐lived seabirds, social monogamy and mate and site fidelity are common due to the cost entailed by site change and divorce such as delayed laying or reduced reproductive success. We used 13 years of monitoring data from marked Long‐tailed Jaegers Stercorarius longicaudus in the Canadian High Arctic to quantify the degree of mate and site fidelity, and to investigate (1) how nesting success and mate fidelity affect site fidelity and (2) how mate fidelity affects laying date and nesting success. We observed a minimum mate retention rate of 79% for males and 85% for females; the site fidelity of birds that nested successfully was higher for those faithful to their mate than for those that changed mates but we found no evidence that mate change affected laying date or nesting success. The short summer and high unpredictability of resources of the Arctic tundra probably favour high site and mate fidelity in this species.