Measurements, Chick Meals and Breeding Distribution of Dovekies (<i>Alle alle</i>) in Northwest Greenland
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic2526Keywords:
Animal distribution, Animal food, Animal reproduction, Bird nesting, Dovekies, Predation, Sea birds, Gender differences, Inglefield Bredning region, Greenland, Siorapaluk, Melville Bugt regionAbstract
This paper reports the results of an investigation of Dovekies (Alle alle L.) breeding near Cape Atholl and Siorapaluk in the Thule District, Northwest Greenland during July and August 1978. Mean values for body measurements of breeding birds were: total length = 218.2 mm (n = 265), wing length = 122.9 mm (n - 266), tail length - 40.8 mm (n = 266) and body weight = 150.5 g (n = 209). Most measurements between the sexes were not significantly different, but mean body weight of males (153.8 g) was significantly greater than that of females (147.2 g). Body weight was highly correlated with wing length and total length in males, but not in females. Food delivered to nestlings consisted primarily of copepods (Calanus hyperboreas and C. glacialis) and amphipods (Parathemisto libellula and Apherusa glacialis). Size of chick meals delivered by male and female parents did not differ significantly and average meal weight was 3.48 g (sd = 1.24, n = 204) with mean weight of meals increasing through the chick-rearing period. General information is presented on measurements of subadults, timing of breeding, feeding areas, population size and colony attendance, and predation and disturbance. The distribution of Dovekie colonies in the Thule District is reviewed and compared with earlier information.
Key words: Dovekie, morphometrics, chick diet, seabirds, NW Greenland
