Heritability of the extra-pair mating behaviour of the pied flycatcher in Western Siberia

Abstract

Males and females take part in extra-pair copulations in most socially monogamous bird species. The mechanisms leading to the frequent occurrence of extra-pair offspring in socially monogamous couples are strongly debated and unresolved, and they are often difficult to distinguish from one another. Most hypotheses explaining the evolution of extra-pair reproduction suggest selective and adaptive scenarios for their origination and persistence. Is extra-pair paternity a heritable trait? We evaluated the heritability of extra-pair paternity in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) nesting in Western Siberia. Estimated heritability was low: depending on the model used, the point estimate of the heritability (mode) varied from 0.005 to 0.11, and the bounds of the 95% confidence interval are [0–0.16] in the widest range. Thus, it seems that extra-pair mating behaviour in the pied flycatchers is a plastic phenotypic mating tactic with a small or no genetic component. Our data can help to understand the evolution of extra-pair mating behaviour in socially monogamous species.

Extra‐pair paternity is not repeatable between years in Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca): a role for social context

“…EPP would not be an individual trait but the result of the interaction of individuals in a varying and fluid social context affecting behaviours operating during a brief period of time each season (Beck et al 2020). Our study supports the conclusion from another study showing extremely low heritability estimates for EPP (Grinkov et al 2020). Most traits linked to EPY are individually variable from year to year, such as age and breeding phenology.…”

“…To ascertain the importance of individual traits for EPP it is necessary to estimate repeatability of individuals across different pair contexts as caused by mate changes between seasons. Two recent studies do indeed show low EPP repeatability estimates across seasons, namely in Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus (Beck et al 2020) and in Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca (Grinkov et al 2020), underlining that we are dealing with a very phenotypically labile trait.…”

“…The effects of breeding phenology and synchrony or population density (Bj örklund & Westman 1983, Rätti et al 1995, Canal et al 2011, and of male traits involved in mate-guarding (Alatalo et al 1987), territorial defence (Lehtonen et al 2009) and sexual attractiveness (Mitrus et al 2014, Edme et al 2016) have been explored in numerous studies on the same or closely related species, with some of them also including female traits (Rätti et al 1995, Plaza et al 2019a. A recent study has shown that EPP heritability in a Russian population is low, although data were only available for a single year (Grinkov et al 2020). Here we present a comprehensive study by using data on EPP across three seasons in two populations of Pied Flycatchers.…”

“…2020) and in Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca (Grinkov et al . 2020), underlining that we are dealing with a very phenotypically labile trait.…”

Divorce is linked with extra‐pair paternity in a monogamous passerine

“…Equivalent attention has also been given towards intersexual pleiotropic effects, where female extra‐pair behaviour may be linked with a trait which benefits male reproductive success; these studies have found little support in captivity (Wang et al 2020), or in wild populations (Zietsch et al 2015, Reid and Wolak 2018). Where quantitative genetic studies have sought to demonstrate a heritable basis for male extra‐pair behaviour, required for intersexual pleiotropy to drive female extra‐pair behaviour, estimates are low (Reid et al 2011, Reid and Wolak 2018, Grinkov et al 2020). However, Dobson et al (2023) suggested that the inclusion of social partner indirect genetic effects (those derived from the behaviour of another) improved model fit for the heritability of both male and female extra‐pair behaviour, implying a role for the wider social environment in the plasticity of extra‐pair behaviour.…”