Genetic evidence for extra‐pair fertilizations in a monogamous passerine, the Great Tit <i>Parus major</i>

Blakey, Jeremy K.

doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1994.tb01122.x

Cited by 51 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Only nests where the personality of both parents were known were included in the focal analysis, but all EPY sired anywhere in the study area were included in male paternity estimates. A total of 13 per cent (150/1185) of chicks were identified as being extrapair, and 49 per cent (80/164) of broods contained EPY, which is similar to the rate of EPP at the nestling level found previously for this species in Wytham Woods (14%) [54] and within the range of estimates elsewhere for this species [55,56] figure 2). The number of EPY a male sired was strongly predicted by his EB, with bolder males siring more EPY (F 1,91 ¼ 8.79, p ¼ 0.004; figure 3).…”

Section: Results (A) Summarysupporting

confidence: 86%

Promiscuity, paternity and personality in the great tit

et al. 2011

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Understanding causes of variation in promiscuity within populations remain a major challenge. While most studies have focused on quantifying fitness costs and benefits of promiscuous behaviour, an alternative possibility-that variation in promiscuity within populations is maintained because of linkage with other traits-has received little attention. Here, we examine whether promiscuity in male and female great tits (Parus major)-quantified as extra-pair paternity (EPP) within and between nests-is associated with variation in a well-documented personality trait: exploration behaviour in a novel environment. Exploration behaviour has been shown to correlate with activity levels, risk-taking and boldness, and these are behaviours that may plausibly influence EPP. Exploration behaviour correlated positively with paternity gained outside the social pair among males in our population, but there was also a negative correlation with paternity in the social nest. Hence, while variation in male personality predicted the relative importance of paternity gain within and outside the pair bond, total paternity gained was unrelated to exploration behaviour. We found evidence that males paired with bold females were more likely to sire extra-pair young. Our data thus demonstrate a link between personality and promiscuity, with no net effects on reproductive success, suggesting personality-dependent mating tactics, in contrast with traditional adaptive explanations for promiscuity.

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Section: Results (A) Summarysupporting

confidence: 86%

Promiscuity, paternity and personality in the great tit

et al. 2011

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“…Establishing parental identity, combined with offspring ringing at the nest allowed us to build a pedigree of all breeding birds in Wytham, as well as to determine natal dispersal distances of birds born and breeding in the site. The pedigree relies on the assumption that social fathers are also genetic fathers; extra-pair fertilization, however, can occur, and is estimated to be of the order of 14-19% (Blakey 1994;S. C. Patrick 2006, unpublished work) in this population.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dispersal as a means of inbreeding avoidance in a wild bird population

2008

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The long-term study of animal populations facilitates detailed analysis of processes otherwise difficult to measure, and whose significance may appear only when a large sample size from many years is available for analysis. For example, inbreeding is a rare event in most natural populations, and therefore many years of data are needed to estimate its effect on fitness. A key behaviour hypothesized to play an important role in avoiding inbreeding is natal dispersal. However, the functional significance of natal dispersal with respect to inbreeding has been much debated but subject to very few empirical tests. We analysed 44 years of data from a wild great tit Parus major population involving over 5000 natal dispersal events within Wytham Woods, UK. Individuals breeding with a relative dispersed over several-fold shorter distances than those outbreeding; within the class of inbreeding birds, increased inbreeding was associated with reduced dispersal distance, for both males and females. This led to a 3.4-fold increase (2.3-5, 95% CI) in the likelihood of close ( fZ0.25) inbreeding relative to the population average when individuals dispersed less than 200 m. In the light of our results, and published evidence showing little support for active inbreeding avoidance in vertebrates, we suggest that dispersal should be considered as a mechanism of prime importance for inbreeding avoidance in wild populations.

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“…Thus, social fathers are assumed to be genetic fathers, although it is known that extra‐pair fertilization may invalidate this assumption. Extra‐pair fertilization in Wytham great tits is estimated to be in the order of 14–18% (Blakey 1994; S. C. Patrick 2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inbreeding avoidance under different null models of random mating in the great tit

Szulkin

Zelazowski

Nicholson

et al. 2009

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Summary 1.In populations where inbreeding causes a substantial decrease in fitness, selection is expected to favour the evolution of inbreeding avoidance behaviours. Elsewhere we have documented substantial inbreeding depression and the importance of dispersal in avoiding inbreeding in a long-term population study of the great tit Parus major in Wytham (UK). In this study, we ask whether individuals from this population actively avoid mating with kin. 2. We generated four contrasting models of random mate choice that assumed varying levels of mate availability in each year of the data set. This allowed us to compare observed and simulated distributions and frequencies of inbreeding coefficients from 41 years of breeding data. 3. We found no evidence that birds avoid mating with related partners. Our results show that birds breed more often with relatives than expected under null models of mate choice that lack population structure, but not when compared to scenarios where birds were mated with their nearest neighbours. Pedigree-derived F IS values were positive for all scenarios of random mating, confirming the lack of inbreeding avoidance in this population. 4. These results imply the existence of spatial genetic structure where related individuals occur closer together than nonrelated individuals while breeding, and suggest that the relatedness between breeding individuals of the opposite sex decreases with distance. Thus, while dispersal from the natal site decreases the number of relatives around an individual, it does not completely homogenize genetic structure. 5. We show that brother-sister pairs are observed more often than under any scenario of random mating, suggesting that not only birds do not avoid mating with kin, but also that the apparently maladaptive choice of mating with a sibling is made more often than expected. 6. Our results provide no evidence to suggest that individuals actively avoid kin. In fact, some types of inbreeding occur more often than expected, despite the substantial fitness costs. The observed lack of inbreeding avoidance is in agreement with other studies of non-cooperatively breeding passerine birds, although the higher than expected frequency of sibling mating remains a puzzling result.

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Genetic evidence for extra‐pair fertilizations in a monogamous passerine, the Great Tit Parus major

Cited by 51 publications

References 19 publications

Promiscuity, paternity and personality in the great tit

Promiscuity, paternity and personality in the great tit

Dispersal as a means of inbreeding avoidance in a wild bird population

Inbreeding avoidance under different null models of random mating in the great tit

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