Decoding dumping ducks
Abstract Conspecific brood parasitism, where females of the same species lay eggs in each other's nests, is common in waterfowl, and is usually considered costly to host females, which are stuck looking after eggs and chicks that are not their own. However, since female waterfowl often exhibit...
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crwiley:10.1111/j.1365-294x.2007.03377.x 2024-06-02T08:05:26+00:00 Decoding dumping ducks DICKINSON, JANIS L. 2007 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2007.03377.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-294X.2007.03377.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03377.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Molecular Ecology volume 16, issue 13, page 2610-2612 ISSN 0962-1083 1365-294X journal-article 2007 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2007.03377.x 2024-05-03T11:45:08Z Abstract Conspecific brood parasitism, where females of the same species lay eggs in each other's nests, is common in waterfowl, and is usually considered costly to host females, which are stuck looking after eggs and chicks that are not their own. However, since female waterfowl often exhibit an unusual propensity to nest near where they were born, there has been some uncertainty over whether, in ducks and geese, laying in nests of conspecifics really is parasitism. Do parasitic and host females tend to be related? And is parasitism actually a form of cooperation in disguise? In a population in Hudson Bay, Andersson & Waldeck (this issue) found that ‘parasitic’ eggs in nests of the common eider, Somateria mollissima sedentaria , are more closely related to host eggs than expected by chance. In fact, host and ‘donor’ eggs are more closely related than are females breeding at neighbouring nests. The Hudson Bay population of common eiders is unusual, because unlike in more benign climates, females do not tend to breed near their natal nest. Spatial proximity alone cannot account for the high relatedness between host eggs and ‘dumped’ or donor eggs. Instead, the high relatedness values are probably the result of active recognition, where females favour kin, either when dumping or accepting eggs. These new data, along with evidence indicating that the donor lays the first egg in the nest nearly half the time, suggest that what appears to be parasitism in common eiders may be a form of kin‐based cooperation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common Eider Hudson Bay Somateria mollissima Wiley Online Library Hudson Hudson Bay Molecular Ecology 16 13 2610 2612 |
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English |
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Abstract Conspecific brood parasitism, where females of the same species lay eggs in each other's nests, is common in waterfowl, and is usually considered costly to host females, which are stuck looking after eggs and chicks that are not their own. However, since female waterfowl often exhibit an unusual propensity to nest near where they were born, there has been some uncertainty over whether, in ducks and geese, laying in nests of conspecifics really is parasitism. Do parasitic and host females tend to be related? And is parasitism actually a form of cooperation in disguise? In a population in Hudson Bay, Andersson & Waldeck (this issue) found that ‘parasitic’ eggs in nests of the common eider, Somateria mollissima sedentaria , are more closely related to host eggs than expected by chance. In fact, host and ‘donor’ eggs are more closely related than are females breeding at neighbouring nests. The Hudson Bay population of common eiders is unusual, because unlike in more benign climates, females do not tend to breed near their natal nest. Spatial proximity alone cannot account for the high relatedness between host eggs and ‘dumped’ or donor eggs. Instead, the high relatedness values are probably the result of active recognition, where females favour kin, either when dumping or accepting eggs. These new data, along with evidence indicating that the donor lays the first egg in the nest nearly half the time, suggest that what appears to be parasitism in common eiders may be a form of kin‐based cooperation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
DICKINSON, JANIS L. |
spellingShingle |
DICKINSON, JANIS L. Decoding dumping ducks |
author_facet |
DICKINSON, JANIS L. |
author_sort |
DICKINSON, JANIS L. |
title |
Decoding dumping ducks |
title_short |
Decoding dumping ducks |
title_full |
Decoding dumping ducks |
title_fullStr |
Decoding dumping ducks |
title_full_unstemmed |
Decoding dumping ducks |
title_sort |
decoding dumping ducks |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2007.03377.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-294X.2007.03377.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03377.x |
geographic |
Hudson Hudson Bay |
geographic_facet |
Hudson Hudson Bay |
genre |
Common Eider Hudson Bay Somateria mollissima |
genre_facet |
Common Eider Hudson Bay Somateria mollissima |
op_source |
Molecular Ecology volume 16, issue 13, page 2610-2612 ISSN 0962-1083 1365-294X |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2007.03377.x |
container_title |
Molecular Ecology |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
13 |
container_start_page |
2610 |
op_container_end_page |
2612 |
_version_ |
1800750237191503872 |