Incubation strategy and hatching start time affect the duration of the nestling period in precocial Arctic-breeding sandpipers

In bird species with precocial development, i.e. chicks acquire abilities to leave the nest soon after hatching, the nestling period during which parents warm their young in the nest by brooding them is short but critical to breeding success. The duration of the nestling period (DNP) depends on the hatching synchrony of eggs and the speed at which chicks acquire these abilities but may be indirectly affected by parental behaviour and temporal variations in temperature and predation. We assessed the effects of incubation strategy (bi- or uniparental), hatching start time, incubation initiation date and predation risk on the DNP in Arctic-breeding sandpipers. We found that the DNP was longer in biparental species (29.75 ± 8.95 h) compared with uniparental ones (25.82 ± 6.87 h) and was extended in nests where chicks began hatching during the colder 'night' hours. No effect of incubation initiation date or predation pressure was found on the DNP. We suggest that parental investment strategies and constraints related to circadian variations in temperature in chicks drive the DNP in Arctic-breeding sandpipers. These results help us better understand how different species may exhibit different behavioural responses during nesting to impending climate change.

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Publication Details

Journal
Biology Letters
Published
2026-04-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0670
Primary Topic
Avian ecology and behavior
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Incubation strategy and hatching start time affect the duration of the nestling period in precocial Arctic-breeding sandpipers

Christopher J. Latty, Vasiliy Sokolov, Benoît Sittler, Julien Bouvet et al.
Biology Letters
Avian ecology and behavior
article

Incubation strategy and hatching start time affect the duration of the nestling period in precocial Arctic-breeding sandpipers

Christopher J. Latty, Vasiliy Sokolov, Benoît Sittler, Julien Bouvet, François‐Xavier Dechaume‐Moncharmont, Jérôme Moreau, Ivan Fufachev, Nicolas Lecomte, Jeroen Reneerkens, Laura McKinnon, Dorothée Ehrich, Natalia Sokolova, Glenn Yannic, Paul A. Smith, Glen S. Brown, Richard B. Lanctot, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Eric Buchel, R.S.A. van Bemmelen, Olivier Gilg, Johannes Lang, Joël Bêty, Anders Angerbjörn, Thomas Pagnon, Léa Etchart, Loïc Bollache, Jannik Hansen, Aleksandr Sokolov, Niels M. Schmidt, Brigitte Sabard
article en

Abstract

In bird species with precocial development, i.e. chicks acquire abilities to leave the nest soon after hatching, the nestling period during which parents warm their young in the nest by brooding them is short but critical to breeding success. The duration of the nestling period (DNP) depends on the hatching synchrony of eggs and the speed at which chicks acquire these abilities but may be indirectly affected by parental behaviour and temporal variations in temperature and predation. We assessed the effects of incubation strategy (bi- or uniparental), hatching start time, incubation initiation date and predation risk on the DNP in Arctic-breeding sandpipers. We found that the DNP was longer in biparental species (29.75 ± 8.95 h) compared with uniparental ones (25.82 ± 6.87 h) and was extended in nests where chicks began hatching during the colder 'night' hours. No effect of incubation initiation date or predation pressure was found on the DNP. We suggest that parental investment strategies and constraints related to circadian variations in temperature in chicks drive the DNP in Arctic-breeding sandpipers. These results help us better understand how different species may exhibit different behavioural responses during nesting to impending climate change.

Biology LettersVol. 22(4)
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (CA), Environment and Climate Change Canada (CA), United States Fish and Wildlife Service (US), Université de Moncton (CA), University of Freiburg (DE), Stockholm University (SE), University of Groningen (NL), Université de Bourgogne (FR), Université du Québec à Rimouski (CA), Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen (DE), Aarhus University (DK), Arctic Nutrition (Norway) (NO), Arctic Research Centre (SE), Bureau Waardenburg (Netherlands) (NL), Russian Engineering Academy (RU), Institut Pasteur du Maroc (MA), Dawson Community College (US), Groupe de Recherche en Écologie Arctique (FR), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (FR), UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO), La Rochelle Université (FR), Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (RU), Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 22%
Avian ecology and behavior
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