Puffin pairs that follow similar migration routes breed more successfully the following season, a new Oxford University study has found.
Many long-lived birds, such as swans, albatrosses or indeed, puffins, are known for their long-lived monogamous, ‘soulmate’ pairings. Scientists have long understood that in these species, reproductive performance is influenced by pair bond strength and longevity, with long-established pairs usually better at rearing offspring. However, in species like puffins which have to migrate to distant wintering grounds during the non-breeding season, very little is known about how mates maintain their pair-bond and behave. Do they keep in contact to maintain their relationship? Or do they go their own way and abandon their mate until the following spring?
The new study which features in the April 7th 2017 edition of Marine Ecology Progress Series, focused on whether puffin pairs stayed in contact during the winter months or instead headed off and migrated independently, prioritising their individual health and wellbeing, and whether this had any effect on the pairs’ subsequent breeding success.
Originally posted to The Daily Catch : www.theterramarproject.org/thedailycatch
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