Eliane Miranda
Project
Differences in chick food provisioning and growth for individuals with bold vs shy parents in Black-legged KittiwakesSeabirds have different personalities; they can namely be shy or bold. Past research has shown that chicks with bolder parents have higher survival rates. The aim of this research would be to understand why that is. The subject of the study are black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), a species of seabirds with a very wide artic and sub-arctic range in Canada. The species is now undergoing population declines due to many threats including dwindling food resources. On Middleton Island, where the study will take place, reproduction has been low due to decreased prey availability. This study's aim is to further our understanding of the consequences of personality on reproductive success in black-legged kittiwakes. We hypothesize that if personality affects foraging capacities, there will be a difference in chick food provisioning and chick growth rate between bold and shy individuals. Our hypothesis will be tested by obtaining boldness scores from parents, measuring chick food provisioning as well as chick growth and survival rates.
