Parental genetic similarity and offspring performance in blue tits in relation to brood size manipulation

Arct, Aneta; Drobniak, Szymon M.; Mellinger, Samantha; Gustafsson, Lars; Cichoń, Mariusz

doi:10.1002/ece3.5367

Cited by 8 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(58 reference statements)

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“…In line with other studies (Brinkhof et al 1999, Garvin et al 2006, Arct et al 2019), we found that nestling body mass and environmental factors were significantly associated with the skin swelling following the first and second PHA injections, respectively. The body mass effect on the skin swelling after the initial PHA injection could simply reflect the development of the immune function in nestlings, since their body mass at this stage of rapid growth is dependent on hatching order (Smiseth et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…extra‐pair offspring or within‐pair offspring) was added as a fixed effect. Mean ambient temperature during the nestling period and body mass on the day of the respective PHA injections were also entered as fixed effects, according to the previously shown effect of temperature and body mass on the PHA response (Brinkhof et al 1999, Garvin et al 2006, Fossøy 2007, Arct et al 2019). Additionally, because female condition has been correlated with yolk hormones (Verboven et al 2003) which again can affect the PHA response in the nestlings (Andersson et al 2004), we entered female body mass and tarsus length as fixed effects in the model, as an approximation of maternal effects.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elevated phytohaemagglutinin‐induced skin‐swelling response at an intermediate number of MHC class II alleles in bluethroat nestlings

Rekdal

Anmarkrud

Lifjeld

et al. 2021

Journal of Avian Biology

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Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are crucial for adaptive immunity, and theory predicts that the optimal number of alleles is intermediate rather than maximal. Support for such an intermediate optimum in MHC allele count has mainly been demonstrated in studies on parasite load and reproductive traits. In this study we tested if an intermediate number of MHC class II (MHCII) alleles based on positively selected sites was correlated with an increased skin-swelling response to two consecutive injections of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) in bluethroat Luscinia svecica nestlings. We found that nestlings that were closer to the population mean in their number of alleles had a higher response to the first injection, supporting an intermediate, optimal number of alleles. After the second PHA injection, we found that the skin swelling was associated with MHCII allele count only at the among-brood level, and with paternity (extra-pair offspring had a larger swelling than within-pair offspring). We therefore conclude that the PHA response is partly correlated with MHCII allele count, but that additional factors must be involved in both the PHA response and in female extra-pair mate choice in this species.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated phytohaemagglutinin‐induced skin‐swelling response at an intermediate number of MHC class II alleles in bluethroat nestlings

Rekdal

Anmarkrud

Lifjeld

et al. 2021

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…Our previous results may indicate that in this study population, avoidance of mating with genetically similar individuals should be favoured (Arct et al . 2017, 2019). Specifically, we showed that the genetic similarity of social parents negatively affected offspring performance (Arct et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, we showed that the genetic similarity of social parents negatively affected offspring performance (Arct et al . 2019) because genetic similarity of parents negatively affected offspring immune responses. Moreover, we found a positive relationship between individual heterozygosity and body mass of female nestlings 14 days after hatching (Arct et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extra‐pair paternity in Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) depends on the combination of social partners' age

Arct

Drobniak

Mellinger³

et al. 2021

Ibis

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There is growing evidence that engaging in extra‐pair copulations may be a strategy by which females can modify their initial mate choice if they are constrained by primary choice of the social mate. Several factors such as genetic similarity and adult phenotypic traits can affect extra‐pair paternity (EPP) patterns, but the relative importance of these factors may vary among species. Moreover, interactive effects of male and female characteristics have rarely been considered. Here, we aimed to study how multiple parameters characterizing a breeding pair (i.e. genetic similarity between mates, partners’ age and laying date) predict the occurrence of EPP at the brood level. The study uses 4 years of data from a wild population of Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus. Contrary to predictions of the inbreeding avoidance hypothesis, we did not find a positive relationship between the occurrence of EPP and the relatedness of social mates. We also found that the probability of EPP was unrelated to laying date. However, EPP was predicted by an interaction of social partners' ages. Specifically, EPP was less likely when old females were paired with old males in comparison to old females paired to young males. Our study suggests that the occurrence of EPP may be the result of behavioural interactions in which both male and female age are important for determining the outcome. Our results confirm the importance of considering the interactions of male and female characteristics in studies investigating EPP patterns.

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“…The genetic similarity of social mates not only can predict hatching success but also may affect offspring fitness of later life stages, including during the nestling period and beyond. As the genetic similarity of pairs increases, the weight and growth rate of offspring [ 93 ], fledging success [ 34 ], and offspring immunocompetence [ 94 ] significantly decline. Therefore, double-breeding females prefer to choose genetically dissimilar males.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mate Choice in Double-Breeding Female Great Tits (Parus Major): Good Males or Compatible Males

Fan

Mingju

Wei

et al. 2021

Animals

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Producing two broods within the same season may be a good strategy by which short-lived species can maximize reproductive success. To produce two clutches in the same breeding season and to ensure offspring quality, choosing a good mate is important for females. Previous studies on double breeding focused on the associated influencing factors, and few studies examined how females choose social mates. Good genes and genetic compatibility are the two main hypotheses of the genetic benefit that females obtain from choosing mates. Uncovering the method used in mate choice for genetic benefits adopted by double-breeding females would provide a better understanding of the life history and rules of female choice. The great tit is an optionally double-breeding species in temperate-latitude populations. Here, we used a dataset for a Chinese population monitored between 2014 and 2016 to test two hypotheses on double-breeding female mate choice. A total of 30.1% of the breeding pairs initiated second breeding attempts, always remating with the same mate. The date of the first egg of the first brood did not affect initiation of a second brood, and female individual heterozygosity slightly influenced initiation of a second breeding. Female great tits choose males with both compatible genes and good genes in double-breeding mating. Double-breeding females prefer males with large breast stripes, high heterozygosity, and lower relatedness, while tarsus length, repertoire size, and individual F are not the main factors considered by females when selecting males for double breeding. The number of offspring of the first clutch did not affect the pairing status of male great tits in double breeding. The genetic quality of offspring from double-breeding pairs was higher than that of those from single-breeding pairs (higher heterozygosity and lower individual F). Taken together, our results showed that double breeding female great tits adopt multiple methods for genetic benefits to choose mates.

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Parental genetic similarity and offspring performance in blue tits in relation to brood size manipulation

Cited by 8 publications

References 46 publications

Elevated phytohaemagglutinin‐induced skin‐swelling response at an intermediate number of MHC class II alleles in bluethroat nestlings

Elevated phytohaemagglutinin‐induced skin‐swelling response at an intermediate number of MHC class II alleles in bluethroat nestlings

Extra‐pair paternity in Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) depends on the combination of social partners' age

Mate Choice in Double-Breeding Female Great Tits (Parus Major): Good Males or Compatible Males

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