Female sociality and kin discrimination in brood parasitism: Unrelated females fight over egg laying
In conspecific brood parasitism, some females (“parasites”) lay eggs in nests of other females of the same species (“hosts”). This reproductive tactic is particularly common in waterfowl, in which studies suggest that parasites are often related to the host. Here, we test the hypothesis that hosts m...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3076587 https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arv007 |
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ftninstnf:oai:brage.nina.no:11250/3076587 2023-07-30T04:02:07+02:00 Female sociality and kin discrimination in brood parasitism: Unrelated females fight over egg laying Andersson, Malte Waldeck, Peter Hanssen, Sveinn Are Moe, Børge 2015 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3076587 https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arv007 eng eng Norges forskningsråd: 176046 Behavioral Ecology. 2015, 26 (3), 755-762. urn:issn:1045-2249 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3076587 https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arv007 cristin:1229596 Navngivelse-Ikkekommersiell 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.no © 2015 The Authors 755-762 26 Behavioral Ecology 3 aggression common eider conflict cooperation inclusive fitness kin recognition matriarchal mammals parental care relatedness reproductive strategy social insects waterfowl VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 Peer reviewed Journal article 2015 ftninstnf https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arv007 2023-07-12T22:48:35Z In conspecific brood parasitism, some females (“parasites”) lay eggs in nests of other females of the same species (“hosts”). This reproductive tactic is particularly common in waterfowl, in which studies suggest that parasites are often related to the host. Here, we test the hypothesis that hosts may discriminate and reject unrelated parasites. Based on observations and >4100 h of digital video film, we analyze behavioral interactions at 65 nests of High Arctic common eiders during the laying sequence. We also estimate parasitism and host–parasite relatedness by albumen fingerprinting of 975 eggs from 232 nests. Among the video-filmed nests in which interactions were recorded during the egg-laying period, 11 had eggs from 2 females. At 8 of these 11 nests, there was overt female aggression and significantly lower host–parasite relatedness (mean coefficient of relationship r = −0.40) than in the nests with tolerant or no interactions (r = 0.91). The results demonstrate active female kin discrimination in common eiders, used against nonrelatives that try to lay eggs in the nest. Other females trying to access the nest were often prevented from doing so: in 65% of 34 such attempts, the sitting female rejected the intruder. Brood “parasitism” in eiders and other waterfowl is complex, ranging from violent female conflict and parasitic exploitation of the host’s parental care to nest takeover and potential kin selection favoring acceptance of related parasites. These and other aspects of female sociality in eiders are discussed; in some respects, they may resemble certain long-lived matriarchal mammals. aggression, common eider, conflict, cooperation, inclusive fitness, kin recognition, matriarchal mammals, parental care, relatedness, reproductive strategy, social insects, waterfowl. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Common Eider Norwegian Institute for Nature Research: Brage NINA Arctic Behavioral Ecology 26 3 755 762 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Norwegian Institute for Nature Research: Brage NINA |
op_collection_id |
ftninstnf |
language |
English |
topic |
aggression common eider conflict cooperation inclusive fitness kin recognition matriarchal mammals parental care relatedness reproductive strategy social insects waterfowl VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 |
spellingShingle |
aggression common eider conflict cooperation inclusive fitness kin recognition matriarchal mammals parental care relatedness reproductive strategy social insects waterfowl VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 Andersson, Malte Waldeck, Peter Hanssen, Sveinn Are Moe, Børge Female sociality and kin discrimination in brood parasitism: Unrelated females fight over egg laying |
topic_facet |
aggression common eider conflict cooperation inclusive fitness kin recognition matriarchal mammals parental care relatedness reproductive strategy social insects waterfowl VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 |
description |
In conspecific brood parasitism, some females (“parasites”) lay eggs in nests of other females of the same species (“hosts”). This reproductive tactic is particularly common in waterfowl, in which studies suggest that parasites are often related to the host. Here, we test the hypothesis that hosts may discriminate and reject unrelated parasites. Based on observations and >4100 h of digital video film, we analyze behavioral interactions at 65 nests of High Arctic common eiders during the laying sequence. We also estimate parasitism and host–parasite relatedness by albumen fingerprinting of 975 eggs from 232 nests. Among the video-filmed nests in which interactions were recorded during the egg-laying period, 11 had eggs from 2 females. At 8 of these 11 nests, there was overt female aggression and significantly lower host–parasite relatedness (mean coefficient of relationship r = −0.40) than in the nests with tolerant or no interactions (r = 0.91). The results demonstrate active female kin discrimination in common eiders, used against nonrelatives that try to lay eggs in the nest. Other females trying to access the nest were often prevented from doing so: in 65% of 34 such attempts, the sitting female rejected the intruder. Brood “parasitism” in eiders and other waterfowl is complex, ranging from violent female conflict and parasitic exploitation of the host’s parental care to nest takeover and potential kin selection favoring acceptance of related parasites. These and other aspects of female sociality in eiders are discussed; in some respects, they may resemble certain long-lived matriarchal mammals. aggression, common eider, conflict, cooperation, inclusive fitness, kin recognition, matriarchal mammals, parental care, relatedness, reproductive strategy, social insects, waterfowl. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Andersson, Malte Waldeck, Peter Hanssen, Sveinn Are Moe, Børge |
author_facet |
Andersson, Malte Waldeck, Peter Hanssen, Sveinn Are Moe, Børge |
author_sort |
Andersson, Malte |
title |
Female sociality and kin discrimination in brood parasitism: Unrelated females fight over egg laying |
title_short |
Female sociality and kin discrimination in brood parasitism: Unrelated females fight over egg laying |
title_full |
Female sociality and kin discrimination in brood parasitism: Unrelated females fight over egg laying |
title_fullStr |
Female sociality and kin discrimination in brood parasitism: Unrelated females fight over egg laying |
title_full_unstemmed |
Female sociality and kin discrimination in brood parasitism: Unrelated females fight over egg laying |
title_sort |
female sociality and kin discrimination in brood parasitism: unrelated females fight over egg laying |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3076587 https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arv007 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Common Eider |
genre_facet |
Arctic Common Eider |
op_source |
755-762 26 Behavioral Ecology 3 |
op_relation |
Norges forskningsråd: 176046 Behavioral Ecology. 2015, 26 (3), 755-762. urn:issn:1045-2249 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3076587 https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arv007 cristin:1229596 |
op_rights |
Navngivelse-Ikkekommersiell 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.no © 2015 The Authors |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arv007 |
container_title |
Behavioral Ecology |
container_volume |
26 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
755 |
op_container_end_page |
762 |
_version_ |
1772812838038929408 |