Role of the Chick's Begging Behavior in the Regulation of Parental Feeding Behavior of Larus glaucescens

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Abstract
Observations of artificially enlarged and reduced broods indicated that parents adjusted their parental behavior to the brood size. The foraging rate was increased by decreasing the foraging absence in response to a larger brood. Although the foraging absence for a comparable range of brood sizes did not differ between Mandarte and Cleland, the foraging rate per day was greater on Mandarte. Therefore, Mandarte parents must have increased their foraging rate by decreasing the time spent on the territory or in other non-parental activities. These changes may have been controlled by the chicks'' behavior. The foraging rate was probably regulated by the brood''s cumulative calling rate, which increased with brood size and hunger. The parent fed the chicks only if they pecked at its bill approximately 18 times, regardless of brood size, therefore the feeding rate was probably regulated by the pecking behavior. If pecking behavior did regulate feeding, the feeding rate could be controlled by the hungriest chick. Without further experiments, it would be impossible to distinguish conclusively between the effects of calling and pecking on the parent''s behavior.

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