Variation in body mass and foraging effort of Barrow’s Goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica) during remigial molt

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Molt is a metabolically demanding process in the annual cycle of birds, particularly for species that undergo simultaneous remigial molt because nutritional and energetic costs occur during a short period. Birds that molt remiges simultaneously utilize many different body-mass and foraging strategies to meet the nutritional and energetic costs of remigial molt, and documentation of interspecific variation has contributed to understanding species-specific risks associated with molt. However, little is known about intraspecific variation in body-mass and foraging strategies among birds that molt remiges simultaneously. We documented body-mass dynamics and foraging effort of Barrow's Goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica) during simultaneous remigial molt at two important postbreeding sites, including a large, hypereuthrophic lake and a small, mesotrophic lake in Alberta, to determine whether strategies for meeting nutritional costs of remigial molt varied across sites, years, and cohorts. Average body m...