Kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance in wild birds: the first evidence for individual kin-related odour recognition

Bonadonna, Francesco; Sanz‐Aguilar, Ana

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.06.014

Cited by 124 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Unfortunately, once in the maze, a large number of birds made no choice (56% in the Atlantic and 45% in the Mediterranean colonies). In all previous experiments performed on other petrel species with T-or Y-mazes, no-choice percentages ranged from 5% in Antarctic prions (Pachyptila desolata; mean no-choice in four published experiments was 19%) to 60% in common diving petrels (Pelecanoides urinatrix) probably because of the shy personality of some individuals (reviewed by Bonadonna and Sanz-Aguilar, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Olfactory foraging in temperate waters: Sensitivity to dimethylsulfide by shearwaters in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

Dell’Ariccia

Célérier

Gabirot

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many procellariiforms use olfactory cues to locate food patches over the seemingly featureless ocean surface. In particular, some of them are able to detect and are attracted by dimethylsulphide (DMS), a volatile compound naturally occurring over worldwide oceans in correspondence with productive feeding areas. However, current knowledge is restricted to sub-Antarctic species and to only one study realized under natural conditions at sea. Here, for the first time, we investigated the response to DMS in parallel in two different environments in temperate waters, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, employing Cory's (Calonectris borealis) and Scopoli's (Calonectris diomedea) shearwaters as models. To test whether these birds can detect and respond to DMS, we presented them with this substance in a Y-maze. Then, to determine whether they use this molecule in natural conditions, we tested the response to DMS at sea. The number of birds that chose DMS in the Y-maze and that were recruited at DMS-scented slicks at sea suggests that these shearwaters are attracted to DMS in both non-foraging and natural contexts. Our findings show that the use of DMS as a foraging cue may be a strategy adopted by procellariiforms across oceans but that regional differences may exist, giving a worldwide perspective to previous hypotheses concerning the use of DMS as a chemical cue.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Olfactory foraging in temperate waters: Sensitivity to dimethylsulfide by shearwaters in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

Dell’Ariccia

Célérier

Gabirot

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The ability of fathers to identify their own offspring, while intriguing, has received very little empirical support. Some birds, at least, have a sense of smell (Steiger et al 2008), and it may be possible that birds can use this sense to discern kinship or genetic similarity (Bonadonna and Sanz-Aguilar 2012;Krause et al 2012). The general consensus, however, is that parents are unable to assess relatedness directly by any mechanism (Amo et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictably Philandering Females Prompt Poor Paternal Provisioning

Schroeder

Hsu

Winney

et al. 2016

The American Naturalist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dryad data: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0t313.abstract: One predicted cost of female infidelity in socially monogamous species is that cuckolded males should provide less parental care. This relationship is robust across species, but evidence is ambiguous within species. We do not know whether individual males reduce their care when paired with cheating females compared with when paired with faithful females (within-male adjustment) or, alternatively, if the males that pair with cheating females are the same males that provide less parental care in general (between-male effect). Our exceptionally extensive long-term data set of repeated observations of a wild passerine allows us to disentangle paternal care adjustment within males-within pairs and between males-while accounting for environmental variables. We found a within-male adjustment of paternal provisioning, but not incubation effort, relative to the cuckoldry in their nest. This effect was mainly driven by females differing consistently in their fidelity. There was no evidence that this within-male adjustment also took place across broods with the same female, and we found no between-male effect. Interestingly, males that gained more extrapair paternity provided less care. Data from a cross-foster experiment suggested that males did not use kin recognition to assess paternity. Our results provide insight into the role of individual variation in parental care and mating systems.

show abstract

“…For instance, in species as diverse as humans, bank voles (Myodes glareolus), sand lizards (Lazerta agilis) and house mice (Mus musculus), females prefer the scent of MHC-dissimilar males [6,10,11,13]. In birds, although European storm petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus), Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) and zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) can discriminate kinship based on odour cues [14][15][16] and the scent secretions of black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) covary with MHC similarity [17], the ability of birds to assess MHC similarity using olfactory cues has not yet been explored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Odour-based discrimination of similarity at the major histocompatibility complex in birds

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many animals are known to preferentially mate with partners that are dissimilar at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in order to maximize the antigen binding repertoire (or disease resistance) in their offspring. Although several mammals, fish or lizards use odour cues to assess MHC similarity with potential partners, the ability of birds to assess MHC similarity using olfactory cues has not yet been explored. Here we used a behavioural binary choice test and high-throughput-sequencing of MHC class IIB to determine whether blue petrels can discriminate MHC similarity based on odour cues alone. Blue petrels are seabirds with particularly good sense of smell, they have a reciprocal mate choice and are known to preferentially mate with MHC-dissimilar partners. Incubating males preferentially approached the odour of the more MHC-dissimilar female, whereas incubating females showed opposite preferences. Given their mating pattern, females were, however, expected to show preference for the odour of the more MHC-dissimilar male. Further studies are needed to determine whether, as in women and female mice, the preference varies with the reproductive cycle in blue petrel females. Our results provide the first evidence that birds can use odour cues only to assess MHC dissimilarity.

show abstract

Kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance in wild birds: the first evidence for individual kin-related odour recognition

Cited by 124 publications

References 40 publications

Olfactory foraging in temperate waters: Sensitivity to dimethylsulfide by shearwaters in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

Olfactory foraging in temperate waters: Sensitivity to dimethylsulfide by shearwaters in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

Predictably Philandering Females Prompt Poor Paternal Provisioning

Odour-based discrimination of similarity at the major histocompatibility complex in birds

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About