1
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Prop J, Black JM, Aars J, Oudman T, Wolters E, Moe B. Land-based foraging by polar bears reveals sexual conflict outside mating season. Sci Rep 2024; 14:20275. [PMID: 39217220 PMCID: PMC11365984 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-71258-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2024] [Accepted: 08/26/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
According to sexual selection theory, the sexes are faced with opposing evolutionary goals. Male fitness benefits from access to females, whereas female fitness is constrained by food resources and safety for themselves and their offspring. Particularly in large solitary carnivores, such as polar bears (Ursus maritimus), these divergent goals can potentially lead to conflict between the sexes. Outside the mating season, when polar bears are on the move across vast distances, the consequences of such conflict can become apparent when individuals arrive at the same food source. To investigate interrelationships between the sexes, we observed successive polar bears visiting a bird breeding colony to feed on clutches of eggs. We found that males succeeded females more frequently and more closely than expected by chance. Moreover, when males were closer to conspecifics, they walked faster, spent less time in the colony and ingested less food. In contrast, female foraging performance was not associated with proximity to other bears. Irrespective of proximity, females generally spent short periods in the colony and ingested fewer clutches than males. Our results suggest that in polar bears, there is a trade-off between the benefits of food intake and the opportunities (in males) and risks (in females) posed by encountering conspecifics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jouke Prop
- Arctic Centre, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Jeffrey M Black
- Department of Wildlife, Cal Poly Humboldt (formerly Humboldt State University), Arcata, CA, USA
| | - Jon Aars
- FRAM Centre, Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
| | | | - Eva Wolters
- Branta Research, Ezinge, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Børge Moe
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Norway
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2
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Lucon-Xiccato T, De Russi G, Frigato E, Dadda M, Bertolucci C. One-trial odour recognition learning and its underlying brain areas in the zebrafish. Behav Brain Res 2024; 465:114949. [PMID: 38479474 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
Distinguishing familiar from novel stimuli is critical in many animals' activities, and procedures based on this ability are among the most exploited in translational research in rodents. However, recognition learning and the underlying brain substrates remain unclear outside a few mammalian species. Here, we investigated one-trial recognition learning for olfactory stimuli in a teleost fish using a behavioural and molecular approach. With our behavioural analysis, we found that zebrafish can learn to recognise a novel odour after a single encounter and then, discriminate between this odour and a different one provided that the molecular structure of the cues is relatively differentiated. Subsequently, by expression analysis of immediate early genes in the main brain areas, we found that the telencephalon was activated when zebrafish encountered a familiar odour, whereas the hypothalamus and the optic tectum were activated in response to the novel odour. Overall, this study provided evidence of single-trial spontaneous learning of novel odours in a teleost fish and the presence of multiple neural substrates involved in the process. These findings are promising for the development of zebrafish models to investigate cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Gaia De Russi
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Elena Frigato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marco Dadda
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Cristiano Bertolucci
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
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3
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Li Z, Chen S, Wei S, Komdeur J, Lu X. Should sons breed independently or help? Local relatedness matters. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:2189-2200. [PMID: 37766488 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
In cooperatively breeding birds, why do some individuals breed independently but others have to help at home? This question has been rarely addressed despite its fundamental importance for understanding the evolution of social cooperation. We address it using 15 years of data from Tibetan ground tits Pseudopodoces humilis where helpers consist of younger males. Since whether younger males successfully breed depends critically on their chances to occupy territories nearby home, our analytic strategy is to identify the determinants of individual differences in gaining territory ownership among these ready-to-breed males. Across widowed, last-year helper and yearling males, an age advantage was evident in inheriting resident territories, occupying adjacent vacancies and budding off part of adjacent territories, which left some last-year helpers and most yearling males to take the latter two routes. These males were more likely to acquire a territory if they were genetically related to the previous or current territory owners; otherwise they remained on natal territories as helpers. The relatedness effect can arise from the prior residence advantage established in the preceding winter when younger males followed their parents to perform kin-directed off-territory forays. Our research highlights the key role of local kinship in determining younger males' territory acquisition and thus their fate in terms of independent reproduction versus help. This finding provides insight into the formation of kin-based, facultative cooperative societies prevailing among vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhibing Li
- Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Shicheng Chen
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Sai Wei
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Xin Lu
- Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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4
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Dunning J, Burke T, Hoi Hang Chan A, Ying Janet Chik H, Evans T, Schroeder J. Opposite-sex associations are linked with annual fitness, but sociality is stable over lifetime. Behav Ecol 2023; 34:315-324. [PMID: 37192923 PMCID: PMC10183206 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Revised: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal sociality, an individual's propensity to associate with others, has fitness consequences through mate choice, for example, directly, by increasing the pool of prospective partners, and indirectly through increased survival, and individuals benefit from both. Annually, fitness consequences are realized through increased mating success and subsequent fecundity. However, it remains unknown whether these consequences translate to lifetime fitness. Here, we quantified social associations and their link to fitness annually and over lifetime, using a multi-generational, genetic pedigree. We used social network analysis to calculate variables representing different aspects of an individual's sociality. Sociality showed high within-individual repeatability. We found that birds with more opposite-sex associates had higher annual fitness than those with fewer, but this did not translate to lifetime fitness. Instead, for lifetime fitness, we found evidence for stabilizing selection on opposite-sex sociality, and sociality in general, suggesting that reported benefits are only short-lived in a wild population, and that selection favors an average sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Dunning
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Terry Burke
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, UK
| | - Alex Hoi Hang Chan
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, UK
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Germany
- Max Plank Institute of Animal Behaviour, Germany
| | - Heung Ying Janet Chik
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Netherlands
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia
| | - Tim Evans
- Center for Complexity Science, Imperial College London, UK
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5
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Gokcekus S, Firth JA, Regan C, Cole EF, Sheldon BC, Albery GF. Social familiarity and spatially variable environments independently determine reproductive fitness in a wild bird. Am Nat 2023; 201:813-824. [DOI: 10.1086/724382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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6
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Brown TJ, Spurgin LG, Dugdale HL, Komdeur J, Burke T, Richardson DS. Causes and consequences of telomere lengthening in a wild vertebrate population. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:5933-5945. [PMID: 34219315 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres have been advocated to be important markers of biological age in evolutionary and ecological studies. Telomeres usually shorten with age and shortening is frequently associated with environmental stressors and increased subsequent mortality. Telomere lengthening - an apparent increase in telomere length between repeated samples from the same individual - also occurs. However, the exact circumstances, and consequences, of telomere lengthening are poorly understood. Using longitudinal data from the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis), we tested whether telomere lengthening - which occurs in adults of this species - is associated with specific stressors (reproductive effort, food availability, malarial infection and cooperative breeding) and predicts subsequent survival. In females, telomere shortening was observed under greater stress (i.e., low food availability, malaria infection), while telomere lengthening was observed in females experiencing lower stress (i.e., high food availability, assisted by helpers, without malaria). The telomere dynamics of males were not associated with the key stressors tested. These results indicate that, at least for females, telomere lengthening occurs in circumstances more conducive to self-maintenance. Importantly, both females and males with lengthened telomeres had improved subsequent survival relative to individuals that displayed unchanged, or shortened, telomeres - indicating that telomere lengthening is associated with individual fitness. These results demonstrate that telomere dynamics are bidirectionally responsive to the level of stress that an individual faces, but may poorly reflect the accumulation of stress over an individuals lifetime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Brown
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.,Nature Seychelles, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles
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7
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Davidian E, Höner OP. Kinship and similarity drive coordination of breeding-group choice in male spotted hyenas. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220402. [PMID: 36514956 PMCID: PMC9748768 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
When and where animals reproduce influences the social, demographic and genetic properties of the groups and populations they live in. We examined the extent to which male spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) coordinate their breeding-group choice. We tested whether their propensity to settle in the same group is shaped by passive processes driven by similarities in their socio-ecological background and genotype or by an adaptive process driven by kin selection. We compared the choices of 148 pairs of same-cohort males that varied in similarity and kinship. We found strong support for both processes. Coordination was highest (70% of pairs) for littermates, who share most cumulative similarity, lower (36%) among peers born in the same group to different mothers, and lowest (7%) among strangers originating from different groups and mothers. Consistent with the kin selection hypothesis, the propensity to choose the same group was density dependent for full siblings and close kin, but not distant kin. Coordination increased as the number of breeding females and male competitors in social groups increased, i.e. when costs of kin competition over mates decreased and benefits of kin cooperation increased. Our results contrast with the traditional view that breeding-group choice and dispersal are predominantly solitary processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eve Davidian
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Oliver P. Höner
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin 10315, Germany
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8
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Sparks AM, Spurgin LG, van der Velde M, Fairfield EA, Komdeur J, Burke T, Richardson DS, Dugdale HL. Telomere heritability and parental age at conception effects in a wild avian population. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6324-6338. [PMID: 33586226 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Individual variation in telomere length is predictive of health and mortality risk across a range of species. However, the relative influence of environmental and genetic variation on individual telomere length in wild populations remains poorly understood. Heritability of telomere length has primarily been calculated using parent-offspring regression which can be confounded by shared environments. To control for confounding variables, quantitative genetic "animal models" can be used, but few studies have applied animal models in wild populations. Furthermore, parental age at conception may also influence offspring telomere length, but most studies have been cross-sectional. We investigated within- and between-parental age at conception effects and heritability of telomere length in the Seychelles warbler using measures from birds caught over 20 years and a multigenerational pedigree. We found a weak negative within-paternal age at conception effect (as fathers aged, their offspring had shorter telomeres) and a weak positive between-maternal age at conception effect (females that survived to older ages had offspring with longer telomeres). Animal models provided evidence that heritability and evolvability of telomere length were low in this population, and that variation in telomere length was not driven by early-life effects of hatch period or parental identities. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction plate had a large influence on telomere length variation and not accounting for it in the models would have underestimated heritability. Our study illustrates the need to include and account for technical variation in order to accurately estimate heritability, as well as other environmental effects, on telomere length in natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M Sparks
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Marco van der Velde
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.,Nature Seychelles, Victoria, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.,Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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9
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Brunk KM, West EH, Peery MZ, Pidgeon A. Failed despots and the equitable distribution of fitness in a subsidized species. Behav Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Territorial species are often predicted to adhere to an ideal despotic distribution and under-match local food resources, meaning that individuals in high-quality habitat achieve higher fitness than those in low-quality habitat. However, conditions such as high density, territory compression, and frequent territorial disputes in high-quality habitat are expected to cause habitat quality to decline as population density increases and, instead, promote resource matching. We studied a highly human-subsidized and under-matched population of Steller’s jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) to determine how under-matching is maintained despite high densities, compressed territories, and frequent agonistic behaviors, which should promote resource matching. We examined the distribution of fitness among individuals in high-quality, subsidized habitat, by categorizing jays into dominance classes and characterizing individual consumption of human food, body condition, fecundity, and core area size and spatial distribution. Individuals of all dominance classes consumed similar amounts of human food and had similar body condition and fecundity. However, the most dominant individuals maintained smaller core areas that had greater overlap with subsidized habitat than those of subordinates. Thus, we found that (1) jays attain high densities in subsidized areas because dominant individuals do not exclude subordinates from human food subsidies and (2) jay densities do not reach the level necessary to facilitate resource matching because dominant individuals monopolize space in subsidized areas. Our results suggest that human-modified landscapes may decouple dominance from fitness and that incomplete exclusion of subordinates may be a common mechanism underpinning high densities and creating source populations of synanthropic species in subsidized environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin M Brunk
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison , 1630 Linden Drive, Madison WI 53706 , USA
| | - Elena H West
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities , 2003 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108 , USA
| | - M Zachariah Peery
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison , 1630 Linden Drive, Madison WI 53706 , USA
| | - Anna Pidgeon
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison , 1630 Linden Drive, Madison WI 53706 , USA
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10
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Brown TJ, Dugdale HL, Hammers M, Komdeur J, Richardson DS. Seychelles warblers with silver spoons: Juvenile body mass is a lifelong predictor of annual survival, but not annual reproduction or senescence. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9049. [PMID: 35813920 PMCID: PMC9251861 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The environment experienced during development, and its impact on intrinsic condition, can have lasting outcomes for individual phenotypes and could contribute to variation in adult senescence trajectories. However, the nature of this relationship in wild populations remains uncertain, owing to the difficulties in summarizing natal conditions and in long-term monitoring of individuals from free-roaming long-lived species. Utilizing a closely monitored, closed population of Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis), we determine whether juvenile body mass is associated with natal socioenvironmental factors, specific genetic traits linked to fitness in this system, survival to adulthood, and senescence-related traits. Juveniles born in seasons with higher food availability and into smaller natal groups (i.e., fewer competitors) were heavier. In contrast, there were no associations between juvenile body mass and genetic traits. Furthermore, size-corrected mass-but not separate measures of natal food availability, group size, or genetic traits-was positively associated with survival to adulthood, suggesting juvenile body mass is indicative of natal condition. Heavier juveniles had greater body mass and had higher rates of annual survival as adults, independent of age. In contrast, there was no association between juvenile mass and adult telomere length attrition (a measure of somatic stress) nor annual reproduction. These results indicate that juvenile body mass, while not associated with senescence trajectories, can influence the likelihood of surviving to old age, potentially due to silver-spoon effects. This study shows that measures of intrinsic condition in juveniles can provide important insights into the long-term fitness of individuals in wild populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J. Brown
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwichUK
| | - Hannah L. Dugdale
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - David S. Richardson
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwichUK
- Nature SeychellesVictoria, MahéSeychelles
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11
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Raj Pant S, Versteegh MA, Hammers M, Burke T, Dugdale HL, Richardson DS, Komdeur J. The contribution of extra-pair paternity to the variation in lifetime and age-specific male reproductive success in a socially monogamous species. Evolution 2022; 76:915-930. [PMID: 35325482 PMCID: PMC9322416 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
In socially monogamous species, extra-pair paternity (EPP) is predicted to increase variance in male reproductive success (RS) beyond that resulting from genetic monogamy, thus, increasing the "opportunity for selection" (maximum strength of selection that can act on traits). This prediction is challenging to investigate in wild populations because lifetime reproduction data are often incomplete. Moreover, age-specific variances in reproduction have been rarely quantified. We analyzed 21 years of near-complete social and genetic reproduction data from an insular population of Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis). We quantified EPP's contribution to lifetime and age-specific opportunities for selection in males. We compared the variance in male genetic RS vs social ("apparent") RS (RSap ) to assess if EPP increased the opportunity for selection over that resulting from genetic monogamy. Despite not causing a statistically significant excess (19%) of the former over the latter, EPP contributed substantially (27%) to the variance in lifetime RS, similarly to within-pair paternity (WPP, 39%) and to the positive WPP-EPP covariance (34%). Partitioning the opportunity for selection into age-specific (co)variance components, showed that EPP also provided a substantial contribution at most ages, varying with age. Therefore, despite possibly not playing the main role in shaping sexual selection in Seychelles warblers, EPP provided a substantial contribution to the lifetime and age-specific opportunity for selection, which can influence evolutionary processes in age-structured populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Raj Pant
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and EngineeringUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands,Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East Anglia, Norwich Research ParkNorwichUK,Department of BiologyLund UniversityLundSweden
| | - Maaike A. Versteegh
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and EngineeringUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and EngineeringUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands,Aeres University of Applied SciencesAlmereThe Netherlands
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
| | - Hannah L. Dugdale
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and EngineeringUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - David S. Richardson
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East Anglia, Norwich Research ParkNorwichUK,Nature SeychellesRoche CaimanMaheRepublic of Seychelles
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and EngineeringUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
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12
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Humphries DJ, Nelson‐Flower MJ, Bell MBV, Finch FM, Ridley AR. Kinship, dear enemies, and costly combat: The effects of relatedness on territorial overlap and aggression in a cooperative breeder. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:17031-17042. [PMID: 34938490 PMCID: PMC8668771 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Many species maintain territories, but the degree of overlap between territories and the level of aggression displayed in territorial conflicts can vary widely, even within species. Greater territorial overlap may occur when neighboring territory holders are close relatives. Animals may also differentiate neighbors from strangers, with more familiar neighbors eliciting less-aggressive responses during territorial conflicts (the "dear enemy" effect). However, research is lacking in how both kinship and overlap affect territorial conflicts, especially in group-living species. Here, we investigate kinship, territorial overlap, and territorial conflict in a habituated wild population of group-living cooperatively breeding birds, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor. We find that close kin neighbors are beneficial. Territories overlap more when neighboring groups are close kin, and these larger overlaps with kin confer larger territories (an effect not seen for overlaps with unrelated groups). Overall, territorial conflict is costly, causing significant decreases in body mass, but conflicts with kin are shorter than those conducted with nonkin. Conflicts with more familiar unrelated neighbors are also shorter, indicating these neighbors are "dear enemies." However, kinship modulates the "dear enemy" effect; even when kin are encountered less frequently, kin elicit less-aggressive responses, similar to the "dear enemy" effect. Kin selection appears to be a main influence on territorial behavior in this species. Groups derive kin-selected benefits from decreased conflicts and maintain larger territories when overlapping with kin, though not when overlapping with nonkin. More generally, it is possible that kinship extends the "dear enemy" effect in animal societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J. Humphries
- Department of Biological SciencesMacquarie UniversitySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Pied Babbler Research ProjectUniversity of Cape TownRondeboschWestern CapeSouth Africa
| | - Martha J. Nelson‐Flower
- Pied Babbler Research ProjectUniversity of Cape TownRondeboschWestern CapeSouth Africa
- Department of BiologyLangara CollegeVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Matthew B. V. Bell
- Pied Babbler Research ProjectUniversity of Cape TownRondeboschWestern CapeSouth Africa
- Institute of Evolutionary BiologySchool of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Fiona M. Finch
- Pied Babbler Research ProjectUniversity of Cape TownRondeboschWestern CapeSouth Africa
| | - Amanda R. Ridley
- Pied Babbler Research ProjectUniversity of Cape TownRondeboschWestern CapeSouth Africa
- DST/NRF Centre of ExcellencePercy FitzPatrick Institute for African OrnithologyUniversity of Cape TownRondeboschSouth Africa
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of Western AustraliaPerthWestern AustraliaAustralia
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13
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Werba JA, Stuckert AM, Edwards M, McCoy MW. Stranger danger: A meta-analysis of the dear enemy hypothesis. Behav Processes 2021; 194:104542. [PMID: 34818561 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The dear enemy hypothesis predicts that territorial individuals will be less aggressive toward known neighbors than to strangers. This hypothesis has been well studied and there is a wealth of data demonstrating its prevalence in some taxa. However, a quantitative synthesis is needed to test the generality of the phenomenon, identify key mechanisms driving the behavior, and guide future research. In this study, we conduct a meta-analysis and, we test the importance of the location of intrusion, the type of experiment conducted (field, laboratory, or neutral arenas), and the sex and breeding status of territory holders, on the occurrence of dear enemy behavior. We also test how various ecological and life history traits, such as territory type, stimulus of intrusion, and taxonomic group, affect the magnitude of dear enemy behavior. We find that this phenomenon is common and that taxonomic class and breeding status are correlated with the expression of dear enemy behaviors. Further, we found that the way authors measure aggression influences the likelihood of identifying dear enemy responses, and thus we discuss potential pitfalls of dear enemy studies. Considering this conclusion, we discuss future lines of inquiry that could more directly examine the mechanisms of the dear enemy phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jo A Werba
- Department Ecosystem Sciences and Management, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Adam Mm Stuckert
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03857, USA
| | - Matthew Edwards
- Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Michael W McCoy
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville NC 27858, USA
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14
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Friesen CR, Wilson M, Rollings N, Sudyka J, Giraudeau M, Whittington CM, Olsson M. Exercise training has morph-specific effects on telomere, body condition and growth dynamics in a color-polymorphic lizard. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb.242164. [PMID: 33785504 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) are correlated suites of sexually selected traits that are likely to impose differential physiological costs on different individuals. While moderate activity might be beneficial, animals living in the wild often work at the margins of their resources and performance limits. Individuals using ARTs may have divergent capacities for activity. When pushed beyond their respective capacities, they may experience condition loss, oxidative stress, and molecular damage that must be repaired with limited resources. We used the Australian painted dragon lizard that exhibits color polymorphism as a model to experimentally test the effect of exercise on body condition, growth, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and telomere dynamics - a potential marker of stress and aging and a correlate of longevity. For most males, ROS levels tended to be lower with greater exercise; however, males with yellow throat patches - or bibs - had higher ROS levels than non-bibbed males. At the highest level of exercise, bibbed males exhibited telomere loss, while non-bibbed males gained telomere length; the opposite pattern was observed in the no-exercise controls. Growth was positively related to food intake but negatively correlated with telomere length at the end of the experiment. Body condition was not related to food intake but was positively correlated with increases in telomere length. These results, along with our previous work, suggest that aggressive - territory holding - bibbed males suffer physiological costs that may reduce longevity compared with non-bibbed males with superior postcopulatory traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R Friesen
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.,Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.,Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Mark Wilson
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.,Molecular Horizons and School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Nicky Rollings
- Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Joanna Sudyka
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, 30-060 Krakow, Poland
| | - Mathieu Giraudeau
- CREEC, UMR IRD 224-CNRS 5290-Université de Montpellier, F34394 Montpellier, France.,CREES Centre for Research on the Ecology and Evolution of Disease, 34394 Montpellier, France
| | - Camilla M Whittington
- Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Mats Olsson
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.,Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
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15
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Siracusa ER, Boutin S, Dantzer B, Lane JE, Coltman DW, McAdam AG. Familiar Neighbors, but Not Relatives, Enhance Fitness in a Territorial Mammal. Curr Biol 2021; 31:438-445.e3. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.10.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Revised: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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16
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Social Structure. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-82879-0_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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17
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Raj Pant S, Hammers M, Komdeur J, Burke T, Dugdale HL, Richardson DS. Age-dependent changes in infidelity in Seychelles warblers. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:3731-3746. [PMID: 32706433 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2019] [Revised: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Extra-pair paternity (EPP) is often linked to male age in socially monogamous vertebrates; that is, older males are more likely to gain EPP and less likely to be cuckolded. However, whether this occurs because males improve at gaining paternity as they grow older, or because "higher quality" males that live longer are preferred by females, has rarely been tested, despite being central to our understanding of the evolutionary drivers of female infidelity. Moreover, how extra-pair reproduction changes with age within females has received even less attention. Using 18 years of longitudinal data from an individually marked population of Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis), we found considerable within-individual changes in extra-pair reproduction in both sexes: an early-life increase and a late-life decline. Furthermore, males were cuckolded less as they aged. Our results indicate that in this species age-related patterns of extra-pair reproduction are determined by within-individual changes with age, rather than differences among individuals in longevity. These results challenge the hypothesis-based on longevity reflecting intrinsic quality-that the association between male age and EPP is due to females seeking high-quality paternal genes for offspring. Importantly, EPP accounted for up to half of male reproductive success, emphasizing the male fitness benefits of this reproductive strategy. Finally, the occurrence of post-peak declines in extra-pair reproduction provides explicit evidence of senescence in infidelity in both males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Raj Pant
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - David S Richardson
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
- Nature Seychelles, Mahe, Republic of Seychelles
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18
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McDonald GC, Engel N, Ratão SS, Székely T, Kosztolányi A. The impact of social structure on breeding strategies in an island bird. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13872. [PMID: 32807811 PMCID: PMC7431420 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70595-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The social environment is a key factor determining fitness by influencing multiple stages of reproduction, including pair formation, mating behavior and parenting. However, the influence of social structure across different aspects of breeding is rarely examined simultaneously in wild populations. We therefore lack a consolidation of the mechanisms by which sociality impacts reproduction. Here we investigate the implications of the social environment before and during breeding on multiple stages of reproduction in an island population of the ground nesting shorebird, the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus). We utilise information on mating decisions, nest locations and nesting success across multiple years in combination with social network analysis. Sociality before breeding was connected with patterns of pair formation. In addition, site fidelity and personal breeding experience was associated with the spatial organisation of breeding pairs. Our results provide evidence that, while differential social interactions at localised scales influence patterns of reproductive pairing, site fidelity and personal breeding experience influence the structure of populations at the landscape scale. Our results underline the tight link between the social structure of populations and patterns of mating, while revealing that the relative influence of sociality, breeding experience and local ecology are dynamic across different facets of reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant C McDonald
- Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest, Hungary.
- Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | - Noémie Engel
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Sara S Ratão
- FMB, Fundação Maio Biodiversidade, Cidade do Porto Inglês, Maio, 6110, Cabo Verde
| | - Tamás Székely
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- FMB, Fundação Maio Biodiversidade, Cidade do Porto Inglês, Maio, 6110, Cabo Verde
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - András Kosztolányi
- Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
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19
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Abstract
Stress exposure can leave long-term footprints within the organism, like in telomeres (TLs), protective chromosome caps that shorten during cell replication and following exposure to stressors. Short TLs are considered to indicate lower fitness prospects, but why TLs shorten under stressful conditions is not understood. Glucocorticoid hormones (GCs) increase upon stress exposure and are thought to promote TL shortening by increasing oxidative damage. However, evidence that GCs are pro-oxidants and oxidative stress is causally linked to TL attrition is mixed . Based on new biochemical findings, we propose the metabolic telomere attrition hypothesis: during times of substantially increased energy demands, TLs are shortened as part of the transition into an organismal 'emergency state', which prioritizes immediate survival functions over processes with longer-term benefits. TL attrition during energy shortages could serve multiple roles including amplified signalling of cellular energy debt to re-direct critical resources to immediately important processes. This new view of TL shortening as a strategy to resolve major energetic trade-offs can improve our understanding of TL dynamics. We suggest that TLs are master regulators of cell homeostasis and propose future research avenues to understand the interactions between energy homeostasis, metabolic regulators and TL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Casagrande
- 1 Research Group Evolutionary Physiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology , 82319 Seewiesen , Germany
| | - Michaela Hau
- 1 Research Group Evolutionary Physiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology , 82319 Seewiesen , Germany.,2 Department of Biology, University of Konstanz , D-78457 Konstanz , Germany
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20
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McDonald GC, Spurgin LG, Fairfield EA, Richardson DS, Pizzari T. Differential female sociality is linked with the fine-scale structure of sexual interactions in replicate groups of red junglefowl, Gallus gallus. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191734. [PMID: 31615354 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent work indicates that social structure has extensive implications for patterns of sexual selection and sexual conflict. However, little is known about the individual variation in social behaviours linking social structure to sexual interactions. Here, we use network analysis of replicate polygynandrous groups of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) to show that the association between social structure and sexual interactions is underpinned by differential female sociality. Sexual dynamics are largely explained by a core group of highly social, younger females, which are more fecund and more polyandrous, and thus associated with more intense postcopulatory competition for males. By contrast, less fecund females from older cohorts, which tend to be socially dominant, avoid male sexual attention by clustering together and perching on branches, and preferentially reproduce with dominant males by more exclusively associating and mating with them. Collectively, these results indicate that individual females occupy subtly different social niches and demonstrate that female sociality can be an important factor underpinning the landscape of intrasexual competition and the emergent structure of animal societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant C McDonald
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest 1077, Hungary
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | | | | | - Tommaso Pizzari
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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21
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Raj Pant S, Komdeur J, Burke TA, Dugdale HL, Richardson DS. Socio-ecological conditions and female infidelity in the Seychelles warbler. Behav Ecol 2019; 30:1254-1264. [PMID: 31579133 PMCID: PMC6765383 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Within socially monogamous breeding systems, levels of extra-pair paternity can vary not only between species, populations, and individuals, but also across time. Uncovering how different extrinsic conditions (ecological, demographic, and social) influence this behavior will help shed light on the factors driving its evolution. Here, we simultaneously address multiple socio-ecological conditions potentially influencing female infidelity in a natural population of the cooperatively breeding Seychelles warbler, Acrocephalus sechellensis. Our contained study population has been monitored for more than 25 years, enabling us to capture variation in socio-ecological conditions between individuals and across time and to accurately assign parentage. We test hypotheses predicting the influence of territory quality, breeding density and synchrony, group size and composition (number and sex of subordinates), and inbreeding avoidance on female infidelity. We find that a larger group size promotes the likelihood of extra-pair paternity in offspring from both dominant and subordinate females, but this paternity is almost always gained by dominant males from outside the group (not by subordinate males within the group). Higher relatedness between a mother and the dominant male in her group also results in more extra-pair paternity-but only for subordinate females-and this does not prevent inbreeding occurring in this population. Our findings highlight the role of social conditions favoring infidelity and contribute toward understanding the evolution of this enigmatic behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Raj Pant
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Terry A Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - David S Richardson
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
- Nature Seychelles, Roche Caiman, Mahe, Republic of Seychelles
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22
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Parsons PJ, Grinsted L, Field J. Partner choice correlates with fine scale kin structuring in the paper wasp Polistes dominula. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0221701. [PMID: 31465487 PMCID: PMC6715180 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Cooperation among kin is common in animal societies. Kin groups may form by individuals directly discriminating relatives based on kin recognition cues, or form passively through natal philopatry and limited dispersal. We describe the genetic landscape for a primitively eusocial wasp, Polistes dominula, and ask whether individuals choose cooperative partners that are nearby and/or that are genetic relatives. Firstly, we genotyped an entire sub-population of 1361 wasps and found genetic structuring on an extremely fine scale: the probability of finding genetic relatives decreases exponentially within just a few meters of an individual's nest. At the same time, however, we found a lack of genetic structuring between natural nest aggregations within the population. Secondly, in a separate dataset where ~2000 wasps were genotyped, we show that wasps forced experimentally to make a new nest choice tended to choose new nests near to their original nests, and that these nests tended to contain some full sisters. However, a significant fraction of wasps chose nests that did not contain sisters, despite sisters being present in nearby nests. Although we cannot rule out a role for direct kin recognition or natal nest-mate recognition, our data suggest that kin groups may form via a philopatric rule-of-thumb, whereby wasps simply select groups and nesting sites that are nearby. The result is that most subordinate helpers obtain indirect fitness benefits by breeding cooperatively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul John Parsons
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences: Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX,QD, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Lena Grinsted
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW, United Kingdom
| | - Jeremy Field
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR, United Kingdom
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23
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Siracusa ER, Wilson DR, Studd EK, Boutin S, Humphries MM, Dantzer B, Lane JE, McAdam AG. North American red squirrels mitigate costs of territory defence through social plasticity. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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24
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Hammers M, Kingma SA, Spurgin LG, Bebbington K, Dugdale HL, Burke T, Komdeur J, Richardson DS. Breeders that receive help age more slowly in a cooperatively breeding bird. Nat Commun 2019; 10:1301. [PMID: 30899016 PMCID: PMC6428877 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09229-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Helping by group members is predicted to lead to delayed senescence by affecting the trade-off between current reproduction and future survival for dominant breeders. Here we investigate this prediction in the Seychelles warbler, Acrocephalus sechellensis, in which mainly female subordinate helpers (both co-breeders and non-breeding helpers) often help dominants raise offspring. We find that the late-life decline in survival usually observed in this species is greatly reduced in female dominants when a helper is present. Female dominants with a female helper show reduced telomere attrition, a measure that reflects biological ageing in this and other species. Finally, the probability of having female, but not male, helpers increases with dominant female age. Our results suggest that delayed senescence is a key benefit of cooperative breeding for elderly dominants and support the idea that sociality and delayed senescence are positively self-reinforcing. Such an effect may help explain why social species often have longer lifespans. Sociality explains substantial variation in ageing across species, but less is known about this relationship within species. Here, the authors show that female dominant Seychelles warblers with helpers at the nest have higher late-life survival and lower telomere attrition and the probability of having helpers increases with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 CP, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 CP, Groningen, The Netherlands.,Department of Animal Science, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR47TJ, UK
| | - Kat Bebbington
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 CP, Groningen, The Netherlands.,School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR47TJ, UK
| | | | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S102TN, UK
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 CP, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR47TJ, UK.,Nature Seychelles, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles
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25
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Testing the Sexual and Social Benefits of Cooperation in Animals. Trends Ecol Evol 2018; 34:112-120. [PMID: 30527795 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Theoretical models show that sexual and social selection can stabilise cooperation. However, field tests of these mechanisms have been difficult to conduct and the results are mixed. We discuss the conceptual and practical difficulties associated with testing the role of social and sexual selection on cooperation and argue that there are alternative ways of examining these hypotheses. Specifically, approaches based on the classic theories of sexual selection and signalling, and recent developments in the field of behavioural syndromes, provide mechanisms to insure the reliability of cooperation. In addition, methodological developments (social networks and microtracking) and long-term datasets, allow measuring partner choice in a cooperation context and the resulting fitness benefits for both the cooperators and the individuals that associate with them.
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