Kelly, Kevin2023-03-012023-03-012015Thesis 9568https://unbscholar.lib.unb.ca/handle/1882/13546In seabirds, monitoring the health of individuals and how it affects reproductive success allows researchers to make predictions about the population as a whole. In my study I focused on body condition and heterophil:lymphocyte ratio (H:L), as a measure of stress response, in Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica). When testing what aspects of health are predictive of reproductive success I found that females with lower heterophil:lymphocyte ratios have better egg hatching success, while I found no aspect of male health to be predictive of egg hatching success. Additionally I tested whether the colour of puffin bills or feet was related to their body condition or H:L ratio but found no correlation between colouration and these health metrics in either sex, though my sample sizes were small and no definitive conclusions could be made. Finally, I tested whether my handling of breeding puffins was detrimental to their breeding success in case that invalidated my study on health and reproductive success. I found no significant difference in egg hatching or chick fledging rates between birds that were handled during incubation and those that were not during this study.text/xmlviii, 150 pages : illustrations, mapelectronicen-CAhttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Honest signals.Honest signalling.Atlantic puffin -- Health.Atlantic puffin -- Reproduction.Atlantic puffin -- Physiology.Atlantic puffin -- Effect of stress on.Atlantic puffin -- Color.Eggs -- Hatchability.Leucocytes.master thesis2016-11-21Diamond, AntonyHolberton, Rebecca(OCoLC)963833562Biology