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Volume 53, No. 1

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Nape coloration varies with sex, not age, among Great Shearwaters Ardenna gravis.


Authors

EWAN D. WAKEFIELD1,2, ANNA R. ROBUCK3,4, KEVIN D. POWERS5, ROBERT A. RONCONI6, PETER G. RYAN7, & DAVID N. WILEY5
1Department of Geography, Durham University, Lower Mountjoy, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK (Ewan.Wakefield@durham.ac.uk)
2University of Glasgow, School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine, Graham Kerr Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
3University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, Narragansett, Rhode Island, 02882, USA
4Current address: US Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Office of Research and Development, Narragansett, Rhode Island, 02882, USA
5Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Scituate, Massachusetts, 02066, USA
6Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B2Y 2N6, Canada
7FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa

Citation

Wakefield, E. D., Robuck, A. R., Powers, K. D., Ronconi, R. A., Ryan, P. G., & Wiley, D. N. 2025. Nape coloration varies with sex, not age, among Great Shearwaters Ardenna gravis.. Marine Ornithology 53: 151 - 158
http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.53.1.1627

Received 22 July 2024, accepted 23 September 2024

Date Published: 2025/04/15
Date Online: 2025/04/02
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Key words: immature, juvenile, melanin, molt, petrel, plumage, Procellariidae

Abstract

Most petrels (family Procellariidae) exhibit little or no obvious variation in plumage with age or sex, either because plumage performs no sexual function or does so in a way poorly perceptible to humans. This limits the inferences that can be made from visual observations of petrels at sea. However, it has been suggested that nape coloration of Great Shearwaters Ardenna gravis whitens with age. Here we test this supposition using observations of known-age-class individuals. We necropsied birds bycaught around Gough Island, a major breeding colony in the South Atlantic Ocean, and in Massachusetts Bay, a wintering area off the northeastern coast of the USA, to determine sex and classify nape coloration. In addition, we classified the nape coloration of adults and fledglings photographed in colonies on Gough Island and Inaccessible Island in the South Atlantic. Across birds (n = 328), ratios of light:intermediate:dark napes did not differ significantly between age classes, and the accuracy of age classification based on putative nape variation was only 52%. Nape coloration did, however, vary systematically with sex and location: in Massachusetts Bay, light napes were more prevalent in adult females. Off Gough Island, where only adults were sampled, this disparity did not occur. We conclude that while nape coloration may vary due to feather wear, it is not a reliable indicator of age. Rather, it may perform a sexual function, possibly mediating mate choice. Further study of plumage variation and behavior at the colony would be required to test this hypothesis.

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