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The effects of genetic relatedness on mate choice and territorial intrusions in a monogamous raptor

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Abstract

Kin recognition has been shown in some bird species, suggesting that birds might be able to actively avoid inbreeding through mate choice. However, the evidence for such behaviour in wild bird populations is scarce. Intrusions performed by conspecifics could be part of the breeding strategy of a territorial bird species: an intruder might find the opportunity to replace a resident individual and acquire its territory. If intruders seek the opportunity to breed, their relatedness to the opposite-sex resident could influence their nest site intrusions similarly to mate choice. Observations of intrusions also revealed that vagrant juveniles of long-lived raptors repeatedly visit their natal population before maturation. The present study focused on the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla): a territorial, long-lived, monogamous raptor species. We investigated whether (1) relatedness is considered in mate choice in this species, based on noninvasively collected DNA samples. (2) We furthermore addressed whether nest site intrusions could be explained by any of the following three nonexclusive hypotheses: (i) finding a mate, (ii) acquiring a good-quality territory, or (iii) visiting the natal area. Our results suggest that White-tailed Eagles avoid kin in mate choice. Although a considerable proportion of the intruders were juveniles, none of them was likely to be offspring of resident pairs of the study population. We found a nonsignificant trend towards lower relatedness than expected from random intrusions in both sexes. The revealed intrusion events suggest a sex bias: males seem to prefer better-quality territories more than females do.

Zusammenfassung

Effekte der genetischen Verwandtschaft auf die Partnerwahl und auf territoriales Eindringen bei einem monogamen Greifvogel

Verwandtenerkennung ist bei einigen Vogelarten nachgewiesen, was darauf hindeutet, dass Vögel fähig, sind Inzucht durch Partnerwahl aktiv zu verhindern. Dennoch verfügen wir nur über vereinzelte Beweise für solch ein Verhalten in wildlebenden Populationen. Eindringen auf das Territorium von Artengenossen kann als Teil der Paarungsstrategie von territorialen Vögeln funktionieren: der Eindringling kann dadurch das ansässige Tier ersetzen und sein Territorium übernehmen. Falls Eindringlinge Paarungsgelegenheiten suchen, kann ihre Verwandtschaft mit den Residenten des anderen Geschlechts die Eindringungen am Neststandort ähnlich wie bei der Partnerwahl beeinflussen. Beobachtungen haben auch gezeigt, dass umherstreifende Jungtiere langlebiger Greifvögel vor der Geschlechtsreife ihre Geburtspopulation wiederholt aufsuchen. Wir gingen dieser Frage am Seeadler (Haliaeetus albicilla) nach, einer territorialen, langlebigen, monogamen Greifvogelart. Erstens untersuchten wir mittels nichtinvasiv-gesammelten DNS Proben, ob Verwandtschaft in der Partnerwahl bei dieser Art berücksichtigt wird. Zusätzlich haben geprüft, ob Eindringungen am Neststandort erklärt werden können durch (i) Partnersuche, (ii) Erlangung eines Territoriums von guter Qualität, oder (iii) Aufsuchen der Geburtsgebietes. Unsere Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass Seeadler ihre nahen Verwandten während der Partnerwahl vermeiden. Obwohl eine beträchtlicher Anteil der Eindringlinge Jungtiere waren, waren diese wahrscheinlich nicht der Nachwuchs der residenten Paare. Wir fanden eine nicht signifikante Tendenz zu niedrigerer Verwandtschaft als bei zufälligen Eindringungen der beiden Geschlechter zu erwarten wäre. Die aufgedeckten Eindringungsereignisse deuten auf einen Unterschied zwischen den Geschlechtern hin: Männchen schienen Territorien von besserer Qualität mehr zu bevorzugen als Weibchen.

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Acknowledgements

Tamás Nyemcsok and Andrea Schulcz helped to collect moulted feathers at the Boronka Landscape Protection Area. Some samples from southwestern Hungary were collected by Attila Mórocz and most from eastern Hungary were collected by Gábor Tihanyi. Zsolt Lang and Szilvia Pásztory-Kovács helped with insightful ideas for the statistics. Data collection on territory occupancy across Boronka Forest since 1987 was coordinated by Tibor Tömösváry and András Pintér. Veronika Bókony contributed useful comments on the manuscript before submission. The study was funded by the Normative Research Funding Committee of Szent István University. Sample collection was approved by the Hungarian National Inspectorate for Environment, Nature and Water.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Rottenbiller u. 50, 1077, Budapest, Hungary

    Edina Nemesházi, Krisztián Szabó & Szilvia Kövér

  2. Lendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Herman Ottó út 15, 1022, Budapest, Hungary

    Edina Nemesházi

  3. Danube-Drava National Park Directorate, Tettye tér 9, 7625, Pécs, Hungary

    Zoltán Horváth

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  1. Edina Nemesházi
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  2. Krisztián Szabó
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  3. Zoltán Horváth
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  4. Szilvia Kövér
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Correspondence to Edina Nemesházi.

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Communicated by O. Krüger.

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Nemesházi, E., Szabó, K., Horváth, Z. et al. The effects of genetic relatedness on mate choice and territorial intrusions in a monogamous raptor. J Ornithol 159, 233–244 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-017-1494-z

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