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Genetic paternity analyses in Little Owls (Athene noctua): does the high rate of paternal care select against extra-pair young?

Genetische Vaterschaftsanalysen bei Steinkäuzen (Athene noctua): Beeinflußt der hohe elterliche Aufwand der Männchen das Auftreten von Vaterschaften außerhalb des Paarbundes?

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Summary

Previous studies have shown that extra-pair fertilizations are much less frequent in Non-Passeriformes, especially in raptors, than in Passeriformes. Low breeding densities, high breeding synchrony and high rates of paternal effort have been discussed as possible causes of these low extra-pair fertilization rates. Using DNA fingerprinting, we studied the mating system of Little Owls (Athene noctua) in a population of relatively high breeding density and comparatively low breeding synchrony. We found no cases of extra-pair fertilization among 53 nestlings of 16 breeding pairs. We conclude that paternal effort is probably the most important factor in preventing extra-pair fertilizations in Little Owls.

Zusammenfassung

Zahlreiche Untersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass Befruchtungen außerhalb des Paarbundes bei Nicht-Singvogelarten wesentlich seltener vorkommen als bei Singvögeln. Dies gilt insbesondere auch für Greifvögel. Als Ursache für das seltene Auftreten von Befruchtungen außerhalb des Paarbundes in dieser Gruppe werden niedrige Brutpaardichten, eine hohe Brutsynchronisation und ein hoher elterlicher Aufwand auf Seiten der Männchen diskutiert. In der vorliegenden Studie haben wir das Paarungssystem des Steinkauzes (Athene noctua) in einer Population im Kreis Viersen (Niederrhein) mit Hilfe des DNA-Fingerprinting untersucht. Diese Population wies eine relativ hohe Brutpaardichte und eine vergleichsweise niedrige Brutsynchronisation auf. Bei der Analyse von 16 Bruten, die insgesamt 53 Nestlinge enthielten, konnte kein einziger Fall einer Befruchtung außerhalb des Paarbundes nachgewiesen werden. Dies führt uns zu dem Schluss, dass der wichtigste Faktor für die genetische Monogamie — zumindest beim Steinkauz — das hohe Maß des väterlichen Aufwandes bei der Brutversorgung ist.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Evolutionsbiologie und Ökologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, An der Immenburg 1, D-53121, Bonn, Germany

    Wendt Müller & Thomas Lubjuhn

  2. Molekulare Humangenetik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, D-44780, Bochum, Germany

    Jörg Thomas Epplen

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  1. Wendt Müller
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Müller, W., Epplen, J.T. & Lubjuhn, T. Genetic paternity analyses in Little Owls (Athene noctua): does the high rate of paternal care select against extra-pair young?. J Ornithol 142, 195–203 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01651787

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