Ecology Summary - Actitis macularius

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Ecology of Actitis macularius

Main Ref.	Kennedy, M.K., L. Van Guelpen, G. Pohle and L. Bajona (eds.), 2010
Remarks	Beach and shoreline, and bay and nearshore (Ref. 116102). Exhibits "resource defense polyandry" mating system. Females larger than males by about 20-25% and is the dominant sex; male and female pair defend territory where they nest, rear their brood and forage for food. After laying the third egg of the 4-egg clutch, females start prospecting for new mates. Males generally incubate and care for brood. Female will desert the previous mate when she finds a new male; may mate with up to 4 males; and may lay up to 5 clutches in a single breeding season. Nesting behavior involves the male scraping the ground several times to form nest cups, and collecting and lining it with small pieces of dry vegetation; only once formed will the female begin laying in one of them. This allows the female to continue foraging while producing eggs. (Ref. 95153). Feeds mainly on terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates (Ref. 95152).

Main Ref.

Kennedy, M.K., L. Van Guelpen, G. Pohle and L. Bajona (eds.), 2010

Remarks

Beach and shoreline, and bay and nearshore (Ref. 116102). Exhibits "resource defense polyandry" mating system. Females larger than males by about 20-25% and is the dominant sex; male and female pair defend territory where they nest, rear their brood and forage for food. After laying the third egg of the 4-egg clutch, females start prospecting for new mates. Males generally incubate and care for brood. Female will desert the previous mate when she finds a new male; may mate with up to 4 males; and may lay up to 5 clutches in a single breeding season. Nesting behavior involves the male scraping the ground several times to form nest cups, and collecting and lining it with small pieces of dry vegetation; only once formed will the female begin laying in one of them. This allows the female to continue foraging while producing eggs. (Ref. 95153). Feeds mainly on terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates (Ref. 95152).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Actitis macularius may be found.

Habitat

Substrate
Substrate Ref.
Special habitats
Special habitats Ref.

Associations

Ref.
Associations
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	Didyk, A.S., A.G. Canaris and J.M. Kinsella, 2007
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.	Didyk, A.S., A.G. Canaris and J.M. Kinsella, 2007

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	original sample		unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition
From individual food items	3.69	0.40			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.

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