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Indirect estimates of breeding and natal philopatry in an obligate avian brood parasite

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Abstract

In theory, obligate brood parasitic birds are freed from several of the temporal and spatial constraints of parental care for dependent young. Yet, similar to parental bird species, adults in several avian brood parasites show a territorial spacing system while breeding, including site fidelity within and across years. Banding-based capture and sighting studies are also suggestive of non-parasite-like lower levels of natal philopatry in avian brood parasites. We analyzed the potential correlation of physical distance with genetic structure of a Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater population, sampling parasitic chicks from nests across different temporal and spatial scales of its common host, the Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe, near Ithaca, New York, USA. In support of extensive breeding but not historical patterns of natal philopatry, we detected no significant covariation of genetic similarity by distance of nestling parasites at the scale beyond that of individual host nest sites. These results contribute towards a baseline for future behavioral and genetic comparisons of whether and how parasitic versus parental reproductive strategies impact patterns of avian population genetic structure across space and time.

Zusammenfassung

Indirekte Bewertung von Brüten und angeborener Ortstreue bei einem obligatorischen Brutparasiten

Theoretisch unterliegen obligate Brutparasiten nicht all‘ den zeitlichen und räumlichen Zwängen von Vögeln, die für ihre Jungen Brutpflege leisten. Dennoch zeigen adulte Tiere einiger Brutparasiten-Arten während der Brutzeit ein territoriales Verhalten, zu dem, ähnlich den brutpflegenden Vogelarten, Ortstreue innerhalb eines Jahres und über mehrere Jahre hinweg gehört. Auch Beobachtungen und Fänge beringter Tiere weisen auf niedrigere Stufen angeborener Ortstreue bei Brutparasiten hin. In unserer Studie analysierten wir für Populationen des Braunkopf-Kuhstärlings (Molothrus ater) mögliche Korrelationen von räumlichen Abständen mit genetischer Ähnlichkeit, indem wir in der Nähe von Ithaca, New York, in unterschiedlichen räumlichen und zeitlichen Maßstäben Parasiten-Küken aus Nestern ihres üblichen Wirtsvogels, des Weißbauch-Phoebetyranns (Sayornis phoebe), untersuchten. Wir fanden keine signifikante Kovarianz von genetischer Ähnlichkeit mit räumlicher Verteilung. Dieses Ergebnis bildet einen Ausgangspunkt für zukünftige vergleichende verhaltensbiologische und genetische Untersuchungen der Frage, ob und inwieweit parasitische versus brutpflegerische Fortpflanzungsstrategien einen Einfluss auf die genetische Struktur von Vogelpopulationen in Zeit und Raum haben.

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Acknowledgments

Funding was provided by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (to M.E.H.), the Human Frontier Science Program (to M.E.H. and P.C.), the Miller Institute of UC Berkeley (to M.E.H.) and the PSC-CUNY grant award scheme (to M.E.H.). Molecular work was conducted in the Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution, operated with support from the Pritzker Foundation. For discussions and comments we are grateful to C. Tonra, R. Fleischer, S. Heath, E. A. Lacey, C. Millar, J. Oursler, and many other colleagues. This research was approved by federal, state, and institutional animal ethics protocols.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Mark E. Hauber

  2. Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution, The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA

    Bill M. Strausberger & Kevin A. Feldheim

  3. Smithsonian Institution, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, 20008, USA

    Justin Lock

  4. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Phillip Cassey

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  1. Mark E. Hauber
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  2. Bill M. Strausberger
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Correspondence to Mark E. Hauber.

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Communicated by P. H. Becker.

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Hauber, M.E., Strausberger, B.M., Feldheim, K.A. et al. Indirect estimates of breeding and natal philopatry in an obligate avian brood parasite. J Ornithol 153, 467–475 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0762-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0762-6

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