CLUTCH-SIZE DETERMINATION IN PRECOCIAL BIRDS - A STUDY OF THE COMMON EIDER

Clutch-size determination in the Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) was evaluated in a colony in northern Norway. Females in good body condition (determined from mass at hatching) produced large clutches and had a shorter incubation period than females with small body reserves. Females in good body condition cared for young (including adoption of the young of other females), while females in poor body condition abandoned their young soon after hatching. Repeatability (an upper limit to heritability) of clutch size, which for individual females varies from three to six eggs, does not differ significantly from zero. A hypothesis is proposed, suggesting that there is a trade-off involved in allocating body reserves to eggs, incubation, and care of chicks and that females use a particular clutch-size strategy related to their body condition and ability to care for young.