Engagement in extra-pair copulations is an example of the abundant conflicting interests between males and females over reproduction. Potential benefits for females and the risk of cuckoldry for males are expected to have important implications on the evolution of parental care. However, whether parents adjust parental care in response to parentage remains unclear. In Eurasian penduline tits Remiz pendulinus, which are small polygamous songbirds, parental care is carried out either by the male or by the female. In addition, one third of clutches is deserted by both male and female. Desertion takes place during the egg-laying phase. Using genotypes of nine microsatellite loci of 443 offspring and 211 adults, we test whether extra-pair paternity predicts parental care. We expect males to be more likely to desert cuckolded broods, whereas we expect females, if they obtain benefits from having multiple sires, to be more likely to care for broods with multiple paternity. Our results suggest that parental care is not adjusted to parentage on an ecological timescale. Furthermore, we found that male attractiveness does not predict cuckoldry, and we found no evidence for indirect benefits for females (i.e., increased growth rates or heterozygosity of extra-pair offspring). We argue that male Eurasian penduline tits may not be able to assess the risk of cuckoldry; thus, a direct association with parental care is unlikely to evolve. However, timing of desertion (i.e., when to desert during the egg-laying phase) may be influenced by the risk of cuckoldry. Future work applying extensive gene sequencing and quantitative genetics is likely to further our understanding of how selection may influence the association between parentage and parental care.
SummaryTo investigate whether nest predation can influence the breeding success of Ferruginous Ducks Aythya nyroca, artificial nests were used in Nagyberek, the strictly protected swamp pond of the Juniper Woodland Nature Conservation Area (Somogy county, south Hungary). Experimentation lasted for 4 weeks, a similar length of time to the incubation period of Ferruginous Ducks. After 1 week, 80% of nests were intact, after 2 weeks only 46%, and after 3 and 4 weeks only 2% remained undamaged. Nest survival rates were not affected by the width of the sedge stands, but as water levels surrounding nests decreased, nests became more accessible to Wild Boar Sus scrofa and other land mammal predators, which increased the rate of predation. Artificially maintaining water levels would not only decrease the predation rate of nests, but would also maintain feeding areas for ducks. Wild Boar were the main cause of clutch loss in this area, and therefore by management measures, such as a reduction in their abundance or attracting them away from potential nesting sites by providing food elsewhere, the breeding success of the Ferruginous Ducks may be further improved.
Nest‐sites often have a major influence on avian reproductive success. The use of reliable cues that assist nest‐site selection should thus be favoured by natural selection. The old nests have been known to serve as a cue in nest‐site selection in several species. To find out whether the old nests act as cue in nest‐site selection in the Eurasian penduline tit Remiz pendulinus, we carried out two experiments in southern Hungary, where the penduline tits breed around fishponds and build sophisticated pendulous nests on tree branches that often hang over water. In April 2006, we choose 20 groups of two nearby trees, and hung an old nest on one of the trees in each group. The male penduline tits choose 12 of these groups to build a new nest, and every of the twelve nests were built on trees with an old nest. This suggests that the old nests serve as a cue in the selection of breeding sites for males when they enter a habitat. To find out whether the old nests are cues of plentiful nest building material, or to signal high quality breeding areas, we carried out a second experiment in 2007 by selecting 13 groups of three nearby trees. A “worn‐out” old nest was hung on one of the trees, a “re‐utilize” type of old nest on another tree, whereas the third tree was left without an old nest in each group. The rationale was that while the worn‐out material of the old nests is of no use in building the new nests, material of the “re‐utilize” nests is good enough to be used for building new nests. Males built a new nest in 10 of the 13 groups, and eight of the new nests were built on trees with an old nest. Of the eight new nests, five were built on trees with a “worn‐out” old nest and three on trees with a “re‐utilize” type of old nest. It appears that for the penduline tit males it is the presence of an existing old nest and not the quality of the old nest material that serves as cue during the selection of the suitable breeding sites.
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