Flexible Parental Care: Uniparental Incubation In Biparentally Incubating Shorebirds

摘要: Recent findings suggest that relative investment of females and males into parental care depends on the population's adult sex-ratio. For example, all else being equal, should be more caring sex if ratio is male biased. Whether such outcomes are evolutionary fixed (i.e. related to species' typical sex-ratio) or whether they arise through flexible responses individuals current population sex-ratio remains unclear. Nevertheless, a response might limited by history when one loses ability single parent cannot successfully care. Here, we demonstrate after disappearance parent, from 8 out 15 biparentally incubating shorebird species were able incubate uniparentally for 1-19 days (median = 3, N 69). Such uniparental phases often resembled incubation rhythm with obligatory incubation. Although it has been suggested some shorebirds desert their brood hatching, our indicate either may prior hatching. Strikingly, in 27% incubated clutches - 5 document successful Our data thus reveal potential switch biparental