fossheim's birds 

New post about the rather unique gender roles of the purple sandpiper during breeding season, summarising two studies conducted in Svalbard:
https://fossheim.photography/blog/purple-sandpiper-gender-roles-svalbard/

They're monogamous, only have one clutch of eggs per season, sit on the eggs just as much, but as soon as they hatch, the female leaves the area and the male becomes the sole caregiver of the young.

#birds #photography #ornithology

The parental roles of purple sandpipers.

Earlier in August I set myself a new reading goal: read one scientific paper at the end of each work day. It can be related to any subject, but to no one’s surprise, I’ve mainly been picking up bird-related reads. So far it’s been genuinely fun to learn something new every day, and on the menu this week were two articles about a bird I’ve photographed several times but know relatively little about: the purple sandpiper.

Aug 29, 2024 at 7:02pmWeb
Show threadfossheim's birds Aug 29, 2024
1) They need to be two to incubate the egg (sit on them and keep them warm) because food is scarce and follows the tides, so if they need enough time to look for the food, and meanwhile someone needs to look after the eggs.
Show threadfossheim's birds Aug 29, 2024

2) They don't need to be two to raise the young. They can feed themselves, and one parent is enough to guide them to food, make alarm calls, and show distraction displays when a predator comes near.

Also, in the arctic they breed in tundra landscape with relatively low vegetation, and an additional bird also means additional risk of getting discovered by a predator.

So they probably have the most chance of surviving to next breeding season as a family by splitting ways.

Show threadfossheim's birds Aug 29, 2024

3) But why does the male stay / female leave?

Researchers have observed males chasing the females away and not giving them a choice but to leave.

They also found that the female sandpipers were interested in raising the young when given the chance. When males were removed females took just as good care of their young.

There seems to be an advantage for the males to stay with the young the longest, probably to defend the territory from other couples from moving in, or scout for a back-up mate.

Show threadfossheim's birds Aug 29, 2024

4) Being monogamous also makes most sense given the climate and terrain the breed in.

Arctic summers are short, there is no time for multiple nests, and there's an advantage to securing a partner and breeding spot shortly after arrival, without spending energy "seducing" new mates.

This could also mean that the guys take on the task of raising the young to secure their partners return to them next year.

Show threadfossheim's birds Aug 29, 2024

Details about this in the blog post:
https://fossheim.photography/blog/purple-sandpiper-gender-roles-svalbard/

Also if you enjoy this type of fun facts, want to support my work, or download purple sandpiper wallpapers, all that on ko-fi ⬇️:
https://ko-fi.com/fosstography

The parental roles of purple sandpipers.

Earlier in August I set myself a new reading goal: read one scientific paper at the end of each work day. It can be related to any subject, but to no one’s surprise, I’ve mainly been picking up bird-related reads. So far it’s been genuinely fun to learn something new every day, and on the menu this week were two articles about a bird I’ve photographed several times but know relatively little about: the purple sandpiper.