Sleep and sex among the sandpipers

[Alan Lillich]

Here is a short but interesting post in ArsTechnica about breeding habits of male arctic Pectoral Sandpipers:
http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/...ex-over-sleep/

It starts off: "The need to sleep has long plagued scientists. Why do we—and in fact every other animal with a nervous system—spend such large portions of our day sleeping? After all, there are so many other aspects of life that need our attention. Studies have suggested that sleep may function to consolidate memories, help us solve difficult problems, and boost our immune system. However, there’s still no conclusive answer to why sleep is so vital."

And ends: "And for male pectoral sandpipers, sacrificing sleep for sex appears to be a good strategy."

[John Chardine]

Thanks Alan. Interesting article. I will try to dig up the original as a précis like this can lose detail and key points (obviously). I do know that sleep has not been studied very often in birds but a notable study on gulls during the breeding season showed that they do not go into long sleep periods but and sleep for short "cat naps". They also have the ability to sleep one side of their brain and keep the other side active. This unihemispheric sleep is seen in most birds where people have looked. Pelagic seabirds can sleep on the wing and clearly do not take long naps when doing so (!). Sooty Terns probably stay on the wing for the first 5-6 years of their life so must sleep on the wing too. Many polar bird species take advantage of the 24h days in the summer to forage and look after offspring without any extended sleep periods. Bottom line is that birds generally seem to have the ability to remain active for over time periods that would put us in hospital or worse.

[Paul Guris]

Years ago I was at a presentation by researcher Pete Myers on breeding strategies of Arctic shorebirds. I can't remember the exact title, but the subtitle was "Making Sense Out of Sexual Nonsense". He effectively said that Pectoral Sandpipers spend all their energy on the breeding grounds with just one thing in mind, and that they will attempt to mate with almost any bird small enough that comes into its territory. The photo I remember was one that he said was the only one he knew of documenting interspecific homosexual necrophilia in birds. It was of a male Pectoral Sandpiper mounting a dead male Red-necked Phalarope.

It was a very interesting program because so many species have different strategies. Some pair up, others have leks, etc. It was a fascinating look into bird behavior. Apparently none of the other species are quite as singly focused as Pectorals, though.