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No evidence of extra-pair paternity or intraspecific brood parasitism in the Imperial Shag Phalacrocorax atriceps

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Abstract

In long-lived birds with significant paternal care contribution, as the case of seabirds, extra-pair paternity (EPP) is an infrequent phenomenon. Intriguingly, and in contrast to the general pattern exhibited by seabirds, EPP rates appear relatively high in the two species of cormorants and shags (Phalacrocoracidae family) analyzed so far. We test for EPP in the Imperial Shag Phalacrocorax atriceps, a medium-sized colonial seabird, using four DNA microsatellites originally developed for Great Cormorants P. carbo, and successfully cross-amplified in our focal species. We assessed the parentage of 110 chicks from 37 broods sampled at Punta León, Argentina, during the 2004 and 2005 breeding seasons. We found no evidence of EPP or intraspecific brood parasitism (IBP). Given our sample sizes, the upper 95% confidence limits for both EPP and IBP were estimated at 3.3% for the chicks and 8.4% for the broods. Our results did not agree with the previous reports of EPP within the family, probably as consequence of different copulation and courtship behaviours, mostly related to male’s solicitation display and females active search for extra pair copulations.

Zusammenfassung

Keine Belege für Fremdvaterschaft oder intraspezifischen Brutparasitismus bei der Blauaugenscharbe Phalacrocorax atriceps

Bei langlebigen Arten, bei denen die Männchen signifikant zur Brutpflege beitragen, wie es bei Seevögeln der Fall ist, ist Fremdvaterschaft (EPP) ein seltenes Phänomen. Interessanterweise sind die EPP-Raten bei den zwei bislang analysierten Kormoran- und Scharbenarten (Familie Phalacrocoracidae) anscheinend relativ hoch, im Gegensatz zum allgemein von Seevögeln gezeigten Muster. Wir haben EPP bei der Blauaugenscharbe Phalacrocorax atriceps, einem mittelgroßen koloniebrütenden Seevogel, mit Hilfe von vier DNA-Mikrosatelliten untersucht, die ursprünglich für den Kormoran (P. carbo) entwickelt und in unserer Untersuchungsart erfolgreich kreuzamplifiziert wurden. Wir haben die Elternschaft von 110 Küken aus 37 Bruten, die in Punta León, Argentinien, während der Brutsaisons 2004 und 2005 beprobt wurden, ermittelt. Wir haben keine Belege für EPP oder intraspeczifischen Brutparasitismus (IBP) gefunden. Für unsere Stichprobengrößen lagen die oberen 95%-Konfidenzintervalle für sowohl EPP als auch IBP bei 3.3% für die Küken und 8.4% für die Bruten. Unsere Ergebnisse stimmen nicht mit früheren Berichten über EPP in dieser Vogelfamilie überein, wahrscheinlich infolge unterschiedlichen Paarungs- und Balzverhaltens, hauptsächlich in Bezug auf das Werbungsverhalten der Männchen und das aktive Suchen von Kopulationen außerhalb des Paarbundes durch die Weibchen.

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Acknowledgments

Research was supported by Wildlife Conservation Society, The National Council of Research of Argentina (CONICET) (PIP No 5387/05 to F.Q. and PIP No 112-200801-00741 to P.L.T.) and UBACyT (X114 2008-2010 to P.L.T.). Laboratory work was supported by a Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery grant to S.C.L. V.E. Borrell, L.A. Silva, and M.C. Sueiro provided help in the field. L. Campagna supplied valuable advice during initial stages of laboratory work. We thank personnel from the Estancias ‘El Pedral’ and ‘Bahía Cracker’ for logistical support, and the Organismo Provincial de Turismo for permits to work in the area. The manuscript benefited from the constructive comments of R. Ležalová-Piálková and an anonymous referee. L.C. and W.S.S. were supported by doctoral fellowships from CONICET. All animal manipulations reported here were carried out in accordance with the legal standards of the Argentine government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. División de Ornitología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, CONICET, Av. Angel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Luciano Calderón & Pablo L. Tubaro

  2. Biología y Manejo de Recursos Acuáticos, Centro Nacional Patagónico, CONICET, Blvd. Brown 2915, U9120ACD, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    Walter S. Svagelj & Flavio Quintana

  3. Wildlife Conservation Society, Amenabar 1595, C1426AKC, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Flavio Quintana

  4. Department of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    Stephen C. Lougheed

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  1. Luciano Calderón
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  2. Walter S. Svagelj
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Correspondence to Luciano Calderón.

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Communicated by P. H. Becker.

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Calderón, L., Svagelj, W.S., Quintana, F. et al. No evidence of extra-pair paternity or intraspecific brood parasitism in the Imperial Shag Phalacrocorax atriceps . J Ornithol 153, 399–404 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0754-6

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