Factors associated with breeding site fidelity in the sex-role reversed red phalarope
When birds breed in multiple years, they can either return to their former breeding site or disperse to a new area. The degree of breeding site fidelity often differs between the sexes in relation to the mating system of a species. However, most research has focused on species with conventional sex roles. We monitored local return rates in an Arctic-breeding population of the sex-role reversed red phalarope. Breeding site fidelity was much higher in males than in females, consistent with predictions about site fidelity in species with a female-access polyandrous mating system. We also found that site fidelity is associated with local breeding performance, even in a species that shows a reversal of typical sex-roles, where individuals do not defend a territory and breed in an environment that is highly unpredictable between years. The findings of our study are published in the latest issue of Behavioral Ecology.
(Santema, Krietsch, and Kempenaers 2026)
