High levels of extra-pair paternity in Superb Fairy-wrens in South Australia despite low frequency of auxiliary males

Colombelli‐Négrel, Diane; Schlotfeldt, Beth; Kleindorfer, Sonia

doi:10.1071/mu09035

Cited by 28 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…; Dunn & Cockburn ; Double & Cockburn ), NHCP = Newland Head Conservation Park (Colombelli‐Negrel et al . ) and other studies on species in linear habitat: purple‐crowned fairy‐wrens ( PCFW , Kingma et al . ) and red‐winged fairy‐wrens ( RWFW , Brouwer et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Territory configuration moderates the frequency of extra‐group mating in superb fairy‐wrens

2014

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The frequency of extra-pair paternity (EPP) in socially monogamous birds varies substantially between and within species, but ecological drivers of this variation remain poorly understood. Habitat configuration could influence EPP by moderating access to extra-pair mates, because species occupying territories in a clustered 'honeycomb' configuration have a larger pool of potential extra-group mates in their immediate neighbourhood than those living in linearly arranged territories (e.g. along narrow strips of riparian or fragmented habitat). We exploited variation in the spatial arrangement of territories due to anthropogenic modification of habitat of the cooperatively breeding superb fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus to test whether habitat configuration influenced the frequency of EPP. In this species, most paternity is obtained by males outside the social group [extra-group paternity (EGP)]. We found that the frequency of EGP among groups living in linear strips of roadside vegetation (41% of 44 offspring) was lower than it was for groups living in clustered territories within continuous habitat (59% of 70 offspring). Differences in group size and pair relatedness did not explain differences in EGP associated with territory configuration, although the frequency of EGP was negatively correlated with pair relatedness. Our finding suggests that territory configuration can influence rates of EGP and that anthropogenic habitat fragmentation has the potential to limit access to extra-pair mates, affecting mating systems and ultimately fitness.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…; Colombelli‐Negrel et al . ) from up to five territories away (84% from one or two territories away, Double & Cockburn ). Like M. elegans , M. cyaneus naturally occupies open woodlands to form mosaics of clustered territories where one group may be surrounded by up to eight neighbouring groups (Rowley & Russell ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Territory configuration moderates the frequency of extra‐group mating in superb fairy‐wrens

2014

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“…The species is characterised by a cooperative breeding system, but the number of auxiliary males per territory (0–9) differs across study populations and has been low (0–1) in South Australia since 2005 [85-88]. The species has extraordinarily high levels of extra-pair fertilisations whereby 70-95% of nests contain extra-pair young [85,89,90], but there was no significant association between the number of auxiliary males and the proportion of extra-pair young [90]. The peak breeding season in South Australia is between August-February [91].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host response to cuckoo song is predicted by the future risk of brood parasitism

et al. 2013

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IntroductionRisk assessment occurs over different temporal and spatial scales and is selected for when individuals show an adaptive response to a threat. Here, we test if birds respond to the threat of brood parasitism using the acoustical cues of brood parasites in the absence of visual stimuli. We broadcast the playback of song of three brood parasites (Chalcites cuckoo species) and a sympatric non-parasite (striated thornbill, Acanthiza lineata) in the territories of superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) during the peak breeding period and opportunistic breeding period. The three cuckoo species differ in brood parasite prevalence and the probability of detection by the host, which we used to rank the risk of parasitism (high risk, moderate risk, low risk).ResultsHost birds showed the strongest response to the threat of cuckoo parasitism in accordance with the risk of parasitism. Resident wrens had many alarm calls and close and rapid approach to the playback speaker that was broadcasting song of the high risk brood parasite (Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo, C. basalis) across the year (peak and opportunistic breeding period), some response to the moderate risk brood parasite (shining bronze-cuckoo, C. lucidus) during the peak breeding period, and the weakest response to the low risk brood parasite (little bronze-cuckoo, C. minutillus). Playback of the familiar control stimulus in wren territories evoked the least response.ConclusionHost response to the threat of cuckoo parasitism was assessed using vocal cues of the cuckoo and was predicted by the risk of future parasitism.

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“…While the function of dialects is still under discussion, cultural evolution of song has been mainly found in mating signals (Searcy and Andersson 1986;Nowicki et al 2001;Derryberry 2007). Untangling the roles of Superb Fairywren vocalisations is complicated by the intricate mating system of this species: (1) males remain in the territory in which they hatched (Mulder 1995) and females disperse to a territory where males are unlikely to be relatives , and (2) extra-pair copulations are common, and about 90% of all nests contain at least one offspring sired by another male (Mulder et al 1994;Dunn and Cockburn 1998;Colombelli-Négrel et al 2009). This species thus offers an unusual opportunity to understand the evolution and function of geographic variation in song given pronounced differences within and between groups as found in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…They are opportunistic cooperative breeders (Dow 1980), and some pairs are assisted by one or more auxiliary individuals (Nias 1987;Pruett-Jones and Lewis 1990;Ligon et al 1991;Cockburn et al 2003 that are usually sons from previous broods (Mulder et al 1994;Mulder 1997). In addition, up to 95% of all Superb Fairywren broods contain at least one nestling that was fathered by a male other than the pair male (Mulder et al 1994;Cockburn 1998, 1999;Double and Cockburn 2003;Colombelli-Négrel et al 2009). In addition to the alarm song, they have two different alarm calls: (1) a terrestrial alarm calls ('chits' call) that is evoked by any predator, including birds that are on the ground or perched (Rowley and Russell 1997;Higgins et al 2001;Colombelli-Négrel 2008;, and (2) Fig.…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Risky revelations: Superb Fairy-wrens Malurus cyaneus respond more strongly to their mate’s alarm song

2010

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The study of animal communication during predator encounters has provided insights into the function of kin selection, the ontogeny of vocal development, and the mechanism of predator recognition. Less attention has been devoted to the study of geographic variation in alarm vocalisation behaviour. Here, we describe an alarm song produced by Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) under immediate threat of predation. We quantify geographic and individual variation in alarm song. Next, we used playback experiments to measure the effect of familiar versus unfamiliar alarm song on the response of the pair partner to its mate's alarm song. We found both geographic (element frequencies across sites) and sex-based (females had larger bandwidth) differences in alarm song. Playback of the alarm song evoked distinct anti-predator behavioural responses, whereby the alarm song of mates evoked stronger alarm responses (faster latency to respond, longer latency to feed, more head movements, and change in vocalisation types) than those of unfamiliar birds. We discuss the benefits of geographic and individual variation in alarm song, which may be particularly favoured in longlived sedentary species that form pair bonds.

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High levels of extra-pair paternity in Superb Fairy-wrens in South Australia despite low frequency of auxiliary males

Cited by 28 publications

References 47 publications

Territory configuration moderates the frequency of extra‐group mating in superb fairy‐wrens

Territory configuration moderates the frequency of extra‐group mating in superb fairy‐wrens

Host response to cuckoo song is predicted by the future risk of brood parasitism

Risky revelations: Superb Fairy-wrens Malurus cyaneus respond more strongly to their mate’s alarm song

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