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Delayed juvenile dispersal and monogamy, but no cooperative breeding in white-breasted mesites (Mesitornis variegata)

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Abstract

Although cooperative breeding is known from only about 9 % of bird species, it has received substantial attention because individuals foregoing their own reproduction to help others represent a long-standing evolutionary puzzle. We studied group formation, breeding system, spatial distribution and several life-history traits of white-breasted mesites (Mesitornis variegata). Based on field observations across 3 years, we found that white-breasted mesites live in year-round stable pairs, and that groups are formed by juvenile philopatry. As other family-living birds, M. variegata exhibit a slow pace-of-life, characterized by high annual adult survival, low productivity, long chick dependence and extended parental care. However, although reproduction is monogamous and juveniles showed interest in their parents’ nests, we found no evidence of cooperative breeding. We suggest that slow life-histories, extended parental care and year-round territoriality predispose juvenile mesites to delay dispersal. However, adult intolerance toward older juveniles may prevent them from adopting a cooperative lifestyle. Comparisons with other species of mesite indicate that monogamy and delayed juvenile dispersal are necessary, but not sufficient for the evolution of cooperative breeding in this family of birds, and that particular ecological and social conditions have facilitated the transition from pair-living to a type of group that may represent a stepping stone in the evolution of cooperative breeding in mesites and other birds.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to T. Andrianjanahary, P. Lehikoinen, A. Nickel, J. Ramírez, A. Szabadvari, M. Razafindrasamba, J.P. Tolojanahary, M. Markolf, C. Oberdieck and S. Schliehe-Diecks for their help in the field and in the lab. This research was founded by Volkswagen Stiftung (I/84849) research project, Deutsches Primatenzentrum and the University of Göttingen. We thank the CNFEREF in Morondava, the Ministére d’Eaux et Forêt of Madagascar and the Département Biologie Animale of the University of Antananarivo for the authorization and support for the field work in Kirindy. We thank D. Rubenstein and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on a previous version of the manuscript.

Ethical statement

All procedures were approved by the Ministére d’Eaux et Forêt of Madagascar (210/09, 184/10, 342/10, 237/11, 056/12).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

    Anna Gamero, Tamás Székely & Peter M. Kappeler

  2. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Centre, Göttingen, Germany

    Anna Gamero & Peter M. Kappeler

  3. Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, UK

    Tamás Székely

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  1. Anna Gamero
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  2. Tamás Székely
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Correspondence to Anna Gamero.

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Communicated by D. Rubenstein

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Gamero, A., Székely, T. & Kappeler, P.M. Delayed juvenile dispersal and monogamy, but no cooperative breeding in white-breasted mesites (Mesitornis variegata). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 68, 73–83 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-013-1624-4

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