Kin structure and choice of brood care in a Common Eider (Somateria m. mollissima) population

Hario, Martti; Koljonen, Marja‐Liisa; Rintala, Jukka

doi:10.1007/s10336-012-0825-3

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In this study, our objectives were to (a) genotype nest feathers and hatch membranes to identify instances of conspecific brood parasitism, (b) quantify the level of relatedness between host and parasitizers to estimate the inclusive fitness of parasitic eggs to the host female, and (c) understand the underlying mechanism (kin grouping or nest site fidelity) responsible for high levels of relatedness observed between host and parasitizer. Our overall estimate of brood parasitism (22.7% of eggs and 50.7% of nests) is comparable to other estimates for this species using microsatellite genotyping: higher than the rate of 17% of eggs estimated by Tiedemann et al () and lower than the rate of 34.2% of eggs estimated by Hario et al () (Table ). We also found our estimate of parasitism to be higher than other methods used such as protein banding and morphometrics, which is due to microsatellites having a higher probability of detecting cases of parasitism (Table ; Figure ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Kin grouping is insufficient to explain the inclusive fitness gains of conspecific brood parasitism in the common eider

et al. 2019

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Conspecific brood parasitism allows females to exploit other females' nests and enhance their reproductive output. Here, we test a recent theoretical model of how host females gain inclusive fitness from brood parasitism. High levels of relatedness between host and parasitizer can be maintained either by: (a) kin recognizing and parasitizing each other as a form of cooperative breeding or (b) natal philopatry and nest site fidelity facilitating the formation of kin groups, thereby increasing the probability of parasitism between relatives nesting in close proximity. To address these two hypotheses we genotyped feathers and hatch membranes of common eiders (Somateria mollissima) from western Hudson Bay, Canada, using a noninvasive sampling methodology. We found that most instances of brood parasitism do result in inclusive fitness gains. Furthermore, females with failed nests moved an average of 492 m from their previous year's nest site, while successful females only moved an average of 13 m. Therefore, we observed host–parasite relatedness can occur at levels higher than would be expected by chance even in the absence of kin grouping, suggesting that closely related females nesting near one another is not essential to maintain high host–parasitizer relatedness. In addition, kin grouping is only a transient phenomenon that cannot occur every year due to the propensity for females of failed nests to nest farther away from their nest site in subsequent years than females with successful nests, which provides support for kin recognition as a more likely mechanism to maintain high host–parasitizer relatedness over time.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Kin grouping is insufficient to explain the inclusive fitness gains of conspecific brood parasitism in the common eider

et al. 2019

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“…This view is corroborated by the observations that breeding dispersal distances are very short (Ö st et al 2011) and that shifts between nesting islands are rare (Ekroos et al 2012b). In contrast, natal dispersal, which is unfortunately poorly documented in eiders due to practical constraints, may be much higher than previously realized (Hario et al 2012). This opens up the possibility that immigration and emigration during natal dispersal may profoundly affect local and regional population dynamics.…”

Section: Source-sink Dynamics and Management Challengesmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…In itself this idea is not new, as Ö st et al (2005) suggested that strict natal philopatry to nesting islands is not the rule in Tvärminne, based on the finding that genetic differentiation between islands is absent. Moreover, Hario et al (2012) reported a low frequency of first-order kin associations at Söderskär, and extensive movement between the natal and breeding sites of recruiting females born in the Söderskär colony. These strands of empirical evidence, suggesting that natal dispersal may be more extensive than currently recognized, are significantly strengthened by our analysis of stochastic growth rate.…”

Section: Differences Between Model-predicted and Observed Growth Ratesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Small‐scale spatial and temporal variation in the demographic processes underlying the large‐scale decline of eiders in the Baltic Sea

et al. 2015

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The application of uniform conservation schemes often fails to account for small-scale spatial variation in the drivers of population decline. Demographic comparisons of imperilled populations across locations are therefore crucial for successful conservation, but progress is hampered by lack of long-term data from more than a single population. The recent large-scale decline of eider ducks (Somateria mollissima) in the Baltic Sea is ideal for determining to what extent mechanisms underlying population decline can be extrapolated over larger areas. We utilized stochastic demographic methods incorporating both environmental and sampling variation to assess small-scale spatial and temporal variation in the population dynamics of eiders at Söderskär (eastern range-margin) and Tvärminne (core breeding area), situated 130 km apart. The stochastic growth rate models accurately predicted the observed differences in the rate of decline between sites and time periods. At Söderskär, established breeder survival had by far the greatest elasticity, whereas elasticity was more evenly distributed among vital rates at Tvärminne. Although the study sites showed the single largest difference in fecundity, stochastic life table response experiment analyses revealed that reduced adult female survival at Tvärminne mainly determined the observed difference in growth rates between sites. In contrast, reduced fecundity primarily differentiated the past population increase from the present population decline at Söderskär. Our results demonstrate that different mechanisms may be associated with population decline across adjacent geographic locations, and indicate that dispersal of first-time breeders may be important for population dynamics. Safeguarding adult female survival and/or fecundity should be prioritized in management efforts.

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“…There is evidence of kin synchrony in nesting snow geese Anser caerulescens (Findlay & Cooke, ). In eiders no strong effect was found of heritable similarity in breeding time between close relatives (Hario et al ., ).…”

Section: Causes Of Host–parasite Relatednessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The male follows his mate to her breeding area, often near her birth site (Anderson et al, 1992). Some neighbour females are therefore related, with potential consequences for social behaviour and inclusive fitness (Andersson &Åhlund, 2000;McKinnon, Gilchrist & Scribner, 2006;Roy Nielsen et al, 2006c;Waldeck et al, 2008;Jaatinen et al, 2009aJaatinen et al, , 2011bAnderholm et al, 2009b;Sonsthagen et al, 2010;Fishman et al, 2011;Hario, Koljonen & Rintala, 2012). Most ducks have dispersed nests, but common eiders (Somateria mollissima) and geese often breed in colonies, where high nest density facilitates CBP.…”

Section: Waterfowl Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brood parasitism, relatedness and sociality: a kinship role in female reproductive tactics

2018

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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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Kin structure and choice of brood care in a Common Eider (Somateria m. mollissima) population

Cited by 8 publications

References 44 publications

Kin grouping is insufficient to explain the inclusive fitness gains of conspecific brood parasitism in the common eider

Kin grouping is insufficient to explain the inclusive fitness gains of conspecific brood parasitism in the common eider

Small‐scale spatial and temporal variation in the demographic processes underlying the large‐scale decline of eiders in the Baltic Sea

Brood parasitism, relatedness and sociality: a kinship role in female reproductive tactics

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