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Evolution of extreme-mating behaviour: patterns of extrapair paternity in a species with forced extrapair copulation

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Abstract

Sexual conflict can result in the evolution of extreme mating strategies, including forced copulation. Forced extrapair copulation (FEPC) is generally rare among birds, but is common in re-introduced populations of the hihi (Notiomystis cincta), a socially monogamous, New Zealand endemic, endangered passerine. The aim of this study was to understand the patterns of extrapair paternity in a population where the majority of EPC is forced and to examine the factors, in particular female-specific, influencing the proportion of offspring fathered by extrapair males (EPP—extrapair paternity) and the number of males siring extrapair offspring within a brood (EPM) in this species. Using 8 years of comprehensive paternity, life-history and demographic information for 485 breeding attempts, we show that the frequency of EPP is dependent on (1) social male and female age, (2) the month the female fledged, (3) breeding density and (4) whether it was their first or second reproductive event of the season. In addition, we show that both EPP and EPM are negatively associated with breeding synchrony and clutch size is the most important predictor of EPM. Understanding the drivers of EPP and EPM in species with FECP is important because these are strong determinants of variance in reproductive success and the maintenance of extreme mating behaviour.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the continuing support of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation and Hihi Recovery Group. We also thank Leila Walker for help with field work. Valuable comments on the manuscript were provided by T. R. Birkhead, P. Brennan and an anonymous reviewer. This work was supported by an AXA Fellowship grant to PB. A Leverhulme Trust Research Grant and NERC MGF Grant to JGE. JGE is supported by a RCUK Fellowship. PC is an ARC Future Fellow (FT0991420).

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None.

Ethical standards

All sampling reported in this article comply with the current laws of New Zealand, the country in which they were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK

    Patricia Brekke & John G. Ewen

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

    Phillip Cassey

  3. Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK

    Cristina Ariani

Authors
  1. Patricia Brekke
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  2. Phillip Cassey
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  3. Cristina Ariani
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  4. John G. Ewen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patricia Brekke.

Additional information

Communicated by D. Rubenstein

Appendix

Appendix

Table 2 Sample sizes per breeding season
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Table 3 Sample size for each explanatory variable included in the top model (except clutch number and yearly density shown above)
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Table 4 Proportion of extrapair offspring (EPO) per clutch per breeding season
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Brekke, P., Cassey, P., Ariani, C. et al. Evolution of extreme-mating behaviour: patterns of extrapair paternity in a species with forced extrapair copulation. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 67, 963–972 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-013-1522-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-013-1522-9

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