| 1. |
- Andersson, Malte, 1941, et al.
(författare)
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Brood parasitism, relatedness and sociality: a kinship role in female reproductive tactics
- 2019
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Ingår i: Biological Reviews. - : Wiley. - 1464-7931. ; 94:1, s. 307-327
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) is a reproductive tactic in which parasitic females lay eggs in nests of other females of the same species that then raise the joint brood. Parasites benefit by increased reproduction, without costs of parental care for the parasitic eggs. CBP occurs in many egg-laying animals, among birds most often in species with large clutches and self-feeding young: two major factors facilitating successful parasitism. CBP is particularly common in waterfowl (Anatidae), a group with female-biased natal philopatry and locally related females. Theory suggests that relatedness between host and parasite can lead to inclusive fitness benefits for both, but if host costs are high, parasites should instead target unrelated females. Pairwise relatedness (r) in host-parasite (h-p) pairs of females has been estimated using molecular genetic methods in seven waterfowl (10 studies). In many h-p pairs, the two females were unrelated (with low r, near the local population mean). However, close relatives (r = 0.5) were over-represented in h-p pairs, which in all 10 studies had higher mean relatedness than other females. In one species where this was studied, h-p relatedness was higher than between nesting close neighbours, and hosts parasitized by non-relatives aggressively rejected other females. In another species, birth nest-mates (mother-daughters, sisters) associated in the breeding area as adults, and became h-p pairs more often than expected by chance. These and other results point to recognition of birth nest-mates and perhaps other close relatives. For small to medium host clutch sizes, addition of a few parasitic eggs need not reduce host offspring success. Estimates in two species suggest that hosts can then gain inclusive fitness if parasitized by relatives. Other evidence of female cooperation is incubation by old eider Somateria mollissima females of clutches laid by their relatives, and merging and joint care of broods of young. Merging females tended to be more closely related. Eiders associate with kin in many situations, and in some geese and swans, related females may associate over many years. Recent genetic evidence shows that also New World quails (Odontophoridae) have female-biased natal philopatry, CBP and brood merging, inviting further study and comparison with waterfowl. Kin-related parasitism also occurs in some insects, with revealing parallels and differences compared to birds. In hemipteran bugs, receiving extra eggs is beneficial for hosts by diluting offspring predation. In eggplant lace bugs Gargaphia solani, host and parasite are closely related, and kin selection favours egg donation to related females. Further studies of kinship in CBP, brood merging and other contexts can test if some of these species are socially more advanced than presently known.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Malte, 1941, et al.
(författare)
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Female sociality and kin discrimination in brood parasitism: unrelated females fight over egg laying
- 2015
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Ingår i: Behavioral Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1045-2249 .- 1465-7279. ; 26:3, s. 755-762
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In conspecific brood parasitism, some females ("parasites") lay eggs in nests of other females of the same species ("hosts"). This reproductive tactic is particularly common in waterfowl, in which studies suggest that parasites are often related to the host. Here, we test the hypothesis that hosts may discriminate and reject unrelated parasites. Based on observations and >4100 h of digital video film, we analyze behavioral interactions at 65 nests of High Arctic common eiders during the laying sequence. We also estimate parasitism and host-parasite relatedness by albumen fingerprinting of 975 eggs from 232 nests. Among the video-filmed nests in which interactions were recorded during the egg-laying period, 11 had eggs from 2 females. At 8 of these 11 nests, there was overt female aggression and significantly lower host-parasite relatedness (mean coefficient of relationship r = -0.40) than in the nests with tolerant or no interactions (r = 0.91). The results demonstrate active female kin discrimination in common eiders, used against nonrelatives that try to lay eggs in the nest. Other females trying to access the nest were often prevented from doing so: in 65% of 34 such attempts, the sitting female rejected the intruder. Brood "parasitism" in eiders and other waterfowl is complex, ranging from violent female conflict and parasitic exploitation of the host's parental care to nest takeover and potential kin selection favoring acceptance of related parasites. These and other aspects of female sociality in eiders are discussed; in some respects, they may resemble certain long-lived matriarchal mammals.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Malte, 1941, et al.
(författare)
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Host-parasite kinship in a female-philopatric bird population: evidence from relatedness trend analysis
- 2007
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology. - 0962-1083. ; 16:13, s. 2797-2806
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP), an alternative reproductive tactic where some females lay eggs in the nests of other females of the same species, occurs in many animals with egg care. It is particularly common in waterfowl, for reasons that are debated. Many waterfowl females nest near their birthplace, making it likely that some local females are relatives. We analyse brood parasitism in a Hudson Bay population of common eiders, testing predictions from two alternative hypotheses on the role of relatedness in CBP. Some models predict host–parasite relatedness, others predict that parasites avoid close relatives as hosts. To distinguish between the alternatives, we use a novel approach, where the relatedness of host–parasite pairs is tested against the spatial population trend in pairwise relatedness. We estimate parasitism, nest take-over and relatedness with protein fingerprinting and bandsharing analysis of egg albumen, nondestructively sampled from each new egg in the nest throughout the laying period. The results refute the hypothesis that parasites avoid laying eggs in the nests of related hosts, and corroborate the alternative of host–parasite relatedness. With an estimated r of 0.12–0.14, females laying eggs in the same nest are on average closer kin than nesting neighbour females. Absence of a population trend in female pairwise relatedness vs. distance implies that host–parasite relatedness is not only an effect of strong natal philopatry: some additional form of kin bias is also involved.
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| 4. |
- Andersson, Malte, 1941, et al.
(författare)
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Reproductive tactics under severe egg predation: an eider's dilemma.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Oecologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0029-8549 .- 1432-1939. ; 148:2, s. 350-5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Parental defence against predators may increase offspring survival but entail other costs. Egg predation is frequent early in the laying sequence of the common eider, which differs in this and in several other ways from most other waterfowl. We test the hypothesis that permanent presence at the nest from the second or third egg is an adaptation for reducing egg predation in eiders. Two other alternative hypotheses for lower predation at later nest stages are early predation loss of the most vulnerable nests and seasonal decrease in predation risk. Analyses of predation rates at the one-egg and later stages refute these two alternatives. Early nest attendance by eider females is estimated to increase clutch survival by about 20% in four-egg and 35% in five-egg clutches, albeit probably at a cost of smaller clutch size.
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| 5. |
- Duda, N, et al.
(författare)
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Multiple maternity in black-headed gull Larus ridibundus clutches as revealed by protein fingerprinting
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Avian Biology. - : Wiley. - 0908-8857 .- 1600-048X. ; 39:1, s. 116-119
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Social monogamy with biparental care is the norm in gulls Laridae, but egg colour variation suggests that some nests may contain mixed clutches laid by more than one female. Here we use protein fingerprinting of egg albumen to assess the occurrence of mixed maternity clutches in three colonies of black-headed gulls. Among 160 analysed clutches with >1 egg, 34% contained eggs from more than one female, and 15% of the eggs in clutches >1 came from other females than the major female (laying most eggs in nest). Among clutches with 2–3 eggs 28% were mixed, and among clutches with 4 or more eggs 89% contained eggs from two or more females. There were significantly fewer eggs from the major female in mixed nests (mean=2.06±0.63 SD) than in non-mixed nests (mean=2.82±0.43 SD). In nests without evidence of female conflict, hatching success of minority eggs was similar to that of eggs from the major female (12.5 and 8.4%, respectively). In 21% of mixed maternity nests, one or more minority eggs was buried or punctured, and 25% of eggs from major females were also found evicted, suggesting conflict between females and rejection of eggs. Intra-specific nest parasitism seems the most likely cause of mixed clutches, but there are also other possible causes.
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| 6. |
- Jaatinen, Kim, et al.
(författare)
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Clutch desertion in Barrow's goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica) - effects of non-natal eggs, the environment and host female characteristics
- 2009
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Ingår i: ANNALES ZOOLOGICI FENNICI. - 0003-455X. ; 46:5, s. 350-360
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Addition of eggs to nests of conspecifics is a common avian alternative breeding strategy, called conspecific brood parasitism. The consequences of this breeding strategy on recipient breeding success have seldom been quantified, while taking into account environmental factors and host female characteristics. We study the occurrence of nest parasitism and, using an information theoretic approach, the most important factors responsible for nest desertion in female Barrow's goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica). Nest parasitism is common in the study populationpopulation, and 58% of the nests contained non-natal eggs, representing 20% of all eggs. A prime factor explaining nest desertion was the number of non-natal eggs. There were also significant effects of year and own clutch size. By contrast, ambient temperature and female laying date did not influence nest desertion. These results provide one of the first demonstrations that non-natal eggs can have substantial negative effects also in precocial species.
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| 7. |
- Larsson, Kjell, 1958-, et al.
(författare)
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Colony kin structure and host-parasite relatedness in the barnacle goose
- 2009
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology. - Oxford : Blackwell Science. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 18:23, s. 4955-4963
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP), females laying eggs in the nest of other 'host' females of the same species, is a common alternative reproductive tactic among birds. For hosts there are likely costs of incubating and rearing foreign offspring, but costs may be low in species with precocial chicks such as waterfowl, among which CBP is common. Waterfowl show strong female natal philopatry, and spatial relatedness among females may influence the evolution of CBP. Here we investigate fine-scale kin structure in a Baltic colony of barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis, estimating female spatial relatedness using protein fingerprints of egg albumen, and testing the performance of this estimator in known mother-daughter pairs. Relatedness was significantly higher between neighbour females (nesting ≤ 40 metres from each other) than between females nesting farther apart, but there was no further distance trend in relatedness. This pattern may be explained by earlier observations of females nesting close to their mother or brood sisters, even when far from the birth nest. Hosts and parasites were on average not more closely related than neighbour females. In 25 of 35 sampled parasitized nests, parasitic eggs were laid after the host female finished laying, too late to develop and hatch. Timely parasites, laying eggs in the host's laying sequence, had similar relatedness to hosts as that between neighbours. Females laying late parasitic eggs tended to be less related to the host, but not significantly so. Our results suggest that CBP in barnacle geese might represent different tactical life-history responses.
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| 8. |
- Larsson, Kjell, 1958-, et al.
(författare)
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Nest parasitism in the barnacle goose : evidence from protein fingerprinting and microsatellites
- 2009
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Ingår i: Animal Behaviour. - London : Academic Press. - 0003-3472 .- 1095-8282. ; 78:1, s. 167-174
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Geese are often seen as one of nature's best examples of monogamous relationships, and many social pairs stay together for life. However, when parents and young are screened genetically, some chicks do not match their social parents. Although this has often been explained as adoption of foreign young after hatching, conspecific nest parasitism is another possibility. We used nondestructive egg albumen sampling and protein fingerprinting to estimate the frequency and success of nest parasitism in a Baltic Sea population of barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis. Among the 86 nests for which we had the most complete information, 36% were parasitized, and 12% of the eggs were parasitic. Almost 80% of the parasitic eggs were laid after the host began incubation. Hatching of these eggs was limited to the few cases where the host female incubated longer than normally because her own eggs failed to hatch. Conspecific nest parasitism in this population therefore seems mainly to be an alternative reproductive tactic of lower fitness than normal nesting. Comparison with DNA profiling of chicks (with 10–14 microsatellites) and other evidence confirmed the suitability of protein fingerprinting for analysis of nest parasitism. It can often provide more data than microsatellites, if eggs are albumen-sampled soon after being laid, before most losses occur.
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| 9. |
- Waldeck, Peter, 1963, et al.
(författare)
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Brood parasitism and nest takeover in common eiders
- 2006
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Ingår i: Ethology. - : Wiley. - 0179-1613 .- 1439-0310. ; 112:6, s. 616-624
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) is an alternative breeding tactic that occurs in many brood-tending animals and can have important fitness effects for both host and parasite. We use protein fingerprinting of egg albumen to distinguish the eggs from different females and to estimate the frequency, pattern and tactics of CBP and other forms of mixed maternity in a Hudson Bay population of common eiders (Somateria mollissima sedentaria). Mixed clutches, containing eggs from more than one female, occurred in 31% of the 86 nests studied that progressed to clutch completion. Other females than the host laid 8% of the eggs. In 11 (41%) of the mixed clutches another female laid before the host started laying, corroborating the hypothesis that takeover of nests started by other females accounts for many of the mixed clutches in this population. Our results also indicate that traditional non-molecular methods of identifying foreign eggs may considerably underestimate the frequency of mixed clutches.
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| 10. |
- Waldeck, Peter, 1963, et al.
(författare)
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Brood parasitism, female condition and clutch reduction in the common eider Somateria mollisima
- 2011
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY. - 0908-8857. ; 42:3, s. 231-238
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) is an alternative reproductive tactic found in many animals with parental care. Parasitizing females lay eggs in the nests of other females (hosts) of the same species, which incubate and raise both their own and the foreign offspring. The causes and consequences of CBP are debated. Using albumen fingerprinting of eggs for accurately detecting parasitism, we here analyse its relation to female condition and clutch size in High Arctic common eiders Somateria mollissima borealis. Among 166 clutches in a Svalbard colony, 31 (19%) contained eggs from more than one female, and 40 of 670 eggs (6%) were parasitic. In 6 cases an active nest with egg(s) was taken over by another female. Many suitable nest sites were unoccupied, indicating that CBP and nest takeover are reproductive tactics, not only consequences of nest site shortage. Similarity in body mass between female categories suggests that condition does not determine whether a nesting female becomes parasitised. There was no evidence of low condition in parasites: egg size was similar in hosts and parasites, and parasitism was equally frequent early and late in the laying season. Meta-analysis of this and 3 other eider studies shows that there is a cost of being parasitised in this precocial species: host females laid on average 7% fewer eggs than other females.
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| 11. |
- Waldeck, Peter, 1963, et al.
(författare)
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Brood parasitism in a population of common eider (Somateria mollissima)
- 2004
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Ingår i: Behaviour. - : Brill. - 0005-7959 .- 1568-539X. ; 141, s. 725-739
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The common eider differs from many other ducks in being a colonial 'capital' breeder, producing eggs from stored resources. These traits are expected to influence the occurrence of conspecific brood parasitism (CBP), which is particularly common in waterfowl. We analysed CBP in an eider population in the central Baltic Sea 2001-2002, using non-destructive egg albumen sampling combined with protein fingerprinting. This technique greatly increases the detection of parasitic eggs compared to more traditional methods. Parasitic eggs occurred in 20-22% of 164 nests studied, 6% of 754 eggs being laid by other than the host female. Parasitism increased with nest density, was rather evenly distributed over the laying season, and occurred both early and late in the laying sequence of the host. Protein fingerprinting showed that host females laid up to seven eggs, more than previously reported. Among 33 parasitised nests 22 had one parasitic egg, nine had two and two had three. In all but one case all parasitic eggs within a nest were laid by the same female. Although colonial breeding facilitates CBP, it is less frequent in this eider population than in several other diving ducks. Possible contributing reasons are the relatively small clutch size and start of incubation after egg 2 or 3, limiting the time window for successful parasitism.
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Waldeck, Peter, 1963, et al.
(författare)
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Spatial relatedness and brood parasitism in a female-philopatric bird.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Behavioral Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1045-2249 .- 1465-7279. ; 19:1, s. 67-73
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The spatial structure of relatedness between individuals in a population can be crucial for social selection and evolution. Here we analyze a female alternative reproductive tactic, conspecific brood parasitism, in relation to spatial relatedness among females in a Baltic Sea population of the common eider Somateria mollissima. The role of relatedness in brood parasitism is debated: some models predict parasite avoidance of related hosts, others predict host–parasite relatedness. We estimate pairwise relatedness from protein fingerprinting of egg albumen in 156 nests, with pairwise nest distances ranging from 1 to 6 km. Relatedness increases significantly from the longest distances to an average of r 0.09 below 20 m. Brood parasitism is common, and average pairwise relatedness between host and parasite is estimated at 0.18–0.21. Parasites thus do not avoid relatives, and combined with the findings of a similar study in another eider population, the results show that mean host–parasite relatedness is higher than that among close neighbors. High host–parasite relatedness is therefore not an effect of natal philopatry alone; some other form of kin bias is also involved. Recognition and association between birth nest mates is a candidate mechanism for further study.
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| 14. |
- Öst, M, et al.
(författare)
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Eider females form non-kin brood-rearing coalitions
- 2005
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology. - 1365-294X. ; 14:12, s. 3903-3908
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Kin selection is a powerful tool for understanding cooperation among individuals, yet its role as the sole explanation of cooperative societies has recently been challenged on empirical grounds. These studies suggest that direct benefits of cooperation are often overlooked, and that partner choice may be a widespread mechanism of cooperation. Female eider ducks (Somateria mollissima) may rear broods alone, or they may pool their broods and share brood-rearing. Females are philopatric, and it has been suggested that colonies may largely consist of related females, which could promote interactions among relatives. Alternatively, shared brood care could be random with respect to relatedness, either because brood amalgamations are accidental and nonadaptive, or through group augmentation, assuming that the fitness of all group members increases with group size. We tested these alternatives by measuring the relatedness of co-tending eider females in enduring coalitions with microsatellite markers. Females formed enduring brood-rearing coalitions with each other at random with respect to relatedness. However, based on previous data, partner choice is nonrandom and dependent on female body condition. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying eider communal brood-rearing decisions, which may be driven by the specific ecological conditions under which sociality has evolved in this species.
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