{"id":{"repo_id":"woods-hole","oai_identifier":"oai:darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org:1912/66427"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/woods-hole/oai:darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org:1912/66427","repository":{"repo_id":"woods-hole","name":"Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute","base_url":"https://darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Causes and consequences of pair-bond disruption in socially monogamous species","abstract":"Many animals, from crustaceans to humans, form socially monogamous pair-bonds which are maintained during one or more consecutive breeding seasons. However, the ecological consequences of the disruption of monogamous pair-bond have rarely been addressed because it is difficult to estimate the rates and demographic impacts of pairbond disruption (divorce or widowhood). This dissertation investigates the effect of global changes and individual heterogeneity on pair-bond disruption (divorce or widowhood) and their consequences for vital rates and life-history outcomes for socially monogamous species. In Chapter 2 and Chapter 4, analyses of long-term demographicdatasets reveal different patterns of pair-bond dynamics between the population of wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) breeding in sub-Antarctica and the snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) breeding in Antarctica. In wandering albatross, divorceis nonadaptive with no improvement in breeding success, while divorce triggered by breeding failure is adaptive in Snow Petrels, resulting in a higher subsequent breeding success. Widowhood rates are male-biased due to lower survival rates of females in wandering albatrosses. In both wandering albatross and snow petrel, remaining single after a pair-bond disruption results in a reduction in individual lifetime reproductive success due to missed breeding seasons. Chapter 3 presents a link between individual personality and divorce in wandering albatrosses demonstrating the important implications of behavior types for the dynamics of social relationships. Personality was measured on a shy-bold continuum, linked to individual risk-taking tendencies, with bolder individuals more likely to take risks and shyer individuals. In wandering albatrosses, shyer males exhibit higher divorce rates than bolder males but no such relationship was found in females. Chapter 4 shows that environmental fluctuations can affect the prevalence of pair-bond disruption in snow petrels, with higher rates of pair-bond disruption under unfavorable environmental conditions. Moreover, the findings suggest a potential increase in the prevalence of pair-bond disruption towards the end of the current century. As a whole, this thesis advances our understanding of the effects of pair-bond disruption on demography which should not be ignored when providing guidelines for the conservation and management of endangered species.","abstract_html":"Many animals, from crustaceans to humans, form socially monogamous pair-bonds which are maintained during one or more consecutive breeding seasons. However, the ecological consequences of the disruption of monogamous pair-bond have rarely been addressed because it is difficult to estimate the rates and demographic impacts of pairbond disruption (divorce or widowhood). This dissertation investigates the effect of global changes and individual heterogeneity on pair-bond disruption (divorce or widowhood) and their consequences for vital rates and life-history outcomes for socially monogamous species. In Chapter 2 and Chapter 4, analyses of long-term demographicdatasets reveal different patterns of pair-bond dynamics between the population of wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) breeding in sub-Antarctica and the snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) breeding in Antarctica. In wandering albatross, divorceis nonadaptive with no improvement in breeding success, while divorce triggered by breeding failure is adaptive in Snow Petrels, resulting in a higher subsequent breeding success. Widowhood rates are male-biased due to lower survival rates of females in wandering albatrosses. In both wandering albatross and snow petrel, remaining single after a pair-bond disruption results in a reduction in individual lifetime reproductive success due to missed breeding seasons. Chapter 3 presents a link between individual personality and divorce in wandering albatrosses demonstrating the important implications of behavior types for the dynamics of social relationships. Personality was measured on a shy-bold continuum, linked to individual risk-taking tendencies, with bolder individuals more likely to take risks and shyer individuals. In wandering albatrosses, shyer males exhibit higher divorce rates than bolder males but no such relationship was found in females. Chapter 4 shows that environmental fluctuations can affect the prevalence of pair-bond disruption in snow petrels, with higher rates of pair-bond disruption under unfavorable environmental conditions. Moreover, the findings suggest a potential increase in the prevalence of pair-bond disruption towards the end of the current century. As a whole, this thesis advances our understanding of the effects of pair-bond disruption on demography which should not be ignored when providing guidelines for the conservation and management of endangered species.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sun, Ruijiao"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Jenouvrier, Stephanie"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-09","date_published":"2023-09","updated_at":"2026-07-27T22:05:08Z","subjects":["Seabird","Demography","Mating"],"languages":["en_US"],"rights":["©2023 Ruijiao Sun. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT and WHOI permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.1575/1912/66427"],"render_values":[{"text":"10.1575/1912/66427","href":"https://doi.org/10.1575/1912/66427","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1912/66427","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Jenouvrier, Stephanie"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sun, Ruijiao"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2023-07-18T14:35:01Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-07-18T14:35:01Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2023-09"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Seabird","Demography","Mating"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_US"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["©2023 Ruijiao Sun. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT and WHOI permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.1575/1912/66427"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1912/66427"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution September 2023."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Many animals, from crustaceans to humans, form socially monogamous pair-bonds which are maintained during one or more consecutive breeding seasons. However, the ecological consequences of the disruption of monogamous pair-bond have rarely been addressed because it is difficult to estimate the rates and demographic impacts of pairbond disruption (divorce or widowhood). This dissertation investigates the effect of global changes and individual heterogeneity on pair-bond disruption (divorce or widowhood) and their consequences for vital rates and life-history outcomes for socially monogamous species. In Chapter 2 and Chapter 4, analyses of long-term demographicdatasets reveal different patterns of pair-bond dynamics between the population of wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) breeding in sub-Antarctica and the snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) breeding in Antarctica. In wandering albatross, divorceis nonadaptive with no improvement in breeding success, while divorce triggered by breeding failure is adaptive in Snow Petrels, resulting in a higher subsequent breeding success. Widowhood rates are male-biased due to lower survival rates of females in wandering albatrosses. In both wandering albatross and snow petrel, remaining single after a pair-bond disruption results in a reduction in individual lifetime reproductive success due to missed breeding seasons. Chapter 3 presents a link between individual personality and divorce in wandering albatrosses demonstrating the important implications of behavior types for the dynamics of social relationships. Personality was measured on a shy-bold continuum, linked to individual risk-taking tendencies, with bolder individuals more likely to take risks and shyer individuals. In wandering albatrosses, shyer males exhibit higher divorce rates than bolder males but no such relationship was found in females. Chapter 4 shows that environmental fluctuations can affect the prevalence of pair-bond disruption in snow petrels, with higher rates of pair-bond disruption under unfavorable environmental conditions. Moreover, the findings suggest a potential increase in the prevalence of pair-bond disruption towards the end of the current century. As a whole, this thesis advances our understanding of the effects of pair-bond disruption on demography which should not be ignored when providing guidelines for the conservation and management of endangered species."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Causes and consequences of pair-bond disruption in socially monogamous species"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Jenouvrier, Stephanie"],"dc:creator":["Sun, Ruijiao"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2023-07-18T14:35:01Z"],"dc:date.available":["2023-07-18T14:35:01Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2023-09"],"dc:description":["Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution September 2023."],"dc:description.abstract":["Many animals, from crustaceans to humans, form socially monogamous pair-bonds which are maintained during one or more consecutive breeding seasons. However, the ecological consequences of the disruption of monogamous pair-bond have rarely been addressed because it is difficult to estimate the rates and demographic impacts of pairbond disruption (divorce or widowhood). This dissertation investigates the effect of global changes and individual heterogeneity on pair-bond disruption (divorce or widowhood) and their consequences for vital rates and life-history outcomes for socially monogamous species. In Chapter 2 and Chapter 4, analyses of long-term demographicdatasets reveal different patterns of pair-bond dynamics between the population of wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) breeding in sub-Antarctica and the snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) breeding in Antarctica. In wandering albatross, divorceis nonadaptive with no improvement in breeding success, while divorce triggered by breeding failure is adaptive in Snow Petrels, resulting in a higher subsequent breeding success. Widowhood rates are male-biased due to lower survival rates of females in wandering albatrosses. In both wandering albatross and snow petrel, remaining single after a pair-bond disruption results in a reduction in individual lifetime reproductive success due to missed breeding seasons. Chapter 3 presents a link between individual personality and divorce in wandering albatrosses demonstrating the important implications of behavior types for the dynamics of social relationships. Personality was measured on a shy-bold continuum, linked to individual risk-taking tendencies, with bolder individuals more likely to take risks and shyer individuals. In wandering albatrosses, shyer males exhibit higher divorce rates than bolder males but no such relationship was found in females. Chapter 4 shows that environmental fluctuations can affect the prevalence of pair-bond disruption in snow petrels, with higher rates of pair-bond disruption under unfavorable environmental conditions. Moreover, the findings suggest a potential increase in the prevalence of pair-bond disruption towards the end of the current century. As a whole, this thesis advances our understanding of the effects of pair-bond disruption on demography which should not be ignored when providing guidelines for the conservation and management of endangered species."],"dc:identifier.doi":["10.1575/1912/66427"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1912/66427"],"dc:language.iso":["en_US"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution"],"dc:rights":["©2023 Ruijiao Sun. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT and WHOI permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created."],"dc:subject":["Seabird","Demography","Mating"],"dc:title":["Causes and consequences of pair-bond disruption in socially monogamous species"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T22:05:08Z"}