The evolution of delayed dispersal and different routes to breeding in social birds

Kingma, Sjouke A.; Bebbington, Kat; Teunissen, Niki; Komdeur, Jan

doi:10.1016/bs.asb.2021.03.003

Cited by 12 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 223 publications

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“…In addition, acceptance of unrelated helpers, and the subsequent success of many as breeders add to increasing evidence that factors apart from kin selection help explain the evolution of cooperative breeding and complex social structures. Overall, our results highlight the importance of investigating proximate and ultimate drivers of subordinate dispersal, considering cost–benefits at each dispersal stage, and comparing lifetime fitness (Kingma et al, 2021), in order to understand why individuals form non‐kin‐based social groups even within a predominantly kin‐based social system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Overall, our results highlight the importance of investigating proximate and ultimate drivers of subordinate dispersal, considering cost-benefits at each dispersal stage, and comparing lifetime fitness (Kingma et al, 2021), in order to understand why individuals form non-kin-based social groups even within a predominantly kin-based social system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…As these cost–benefit trade‐offs at each dispersal stage are context dependent (Matthysen, 2012), identifying the specific drivers associated with dispersal decisions at each stage can shed light on conditions that promote different dispersal strategies. Furthermore, comparing lifetime fitness benefits of alternative dispersal strategies can reveal why individuals move to join unrelated groups rather than help kin on their natal territory, thereby ultimately uncovering the evolutionary basis of mixed‐kin social structures (Kingma et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Staging to join non‐kin groups in a classical cooperative breeder, the Florida scrub‐jay

Suh

Bowman

Fitzpatrick

2022

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Why unrelated members form groups in animal societies remains a pertinent topic in evolutionary biology because benefits for group members often are not obvious. We studied subordinates that disperse to join unrelated social groups in the Florida scrub‐jay Aphelocoma coerulescens, a cooperative breeding species mainly composed of kin‐based groups. We evaluated potential adaptive benefits of dispersing to become an unrelated helper (staging) versus remaining home and dispersing only to pair and breed (direct dispersal) to understand why non‐kin‐based groups form. Using 35 years of demographic data, we quantified life‐history aspects of staging individuals and tested associations between social and ecological factors on the natal and staging territories. We compared fitness outcomes between dispersal strategies by analysing survival, breeding recruitment and direct reproductive output. We tested for sexual asymmetry potentially driven by differences in territory acquisition patterns and female‐biased dispersal for this species. Of birds that reached 1 year, 28% staged at a non‐natal territory before breeding or disappearing. Staging dispersers departed at younger ages and moved greater distances than direct dispersers. When looking at proximate factors on the natal territory associated with staging, males left groups with many same‐sex helpers, while females often left when their father disappeared. For both sexes, staging individuals more likely came from high‐quality territories and joined groups with fewer same‐sex helpers than in their natal group. While staging and direct dispersers did not differ in survival or likelihood of becoming a breeder, staging males became breeders later and had lower lifetime reproductive success than direct dispersers. In Florida scrub‐jays, staging appears to be an alternative strategy for female helpers, but a best‐of‐a‐bad‐situation for males. This sexual asymmetry is consistent with males having more options than females to achieve higher reproductive success by breeding near home. Trade‐offs in cost–benefits of departing the natal territory and joining unrelated groups as a helper seem to best explain alternative dispersal patterns, with optimal social queues primarily driving the benefits. This research highlights plasticity in dispersal behaviour in response to social and environmental conditions and offers a new perspective in our understanding of non‐kin‐based social groups.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Staging to join non‐kin groups in a classical cooperative breeder, the Florida scrub‐jay

Suh

Bowman

Fitzpatrick

2022

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…Delayed dispersal of juveniles and forgoing the direct fitness benefits of breeding at the first opportunity is often attributed to potentially greater indirect benefits of helping parents to raise younger siblings [1][2][3][4][5][6]. However, there are some species where juveniles delay dispersal but show little or no helping behaviour [7][8][9][10], suggesting that direct fitness benefits, such as accessing limited resources or using the natal territory as a safe haven while searching for breeding vacancies [9,11], are sufficient to explain delayed dispersal [12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early-life sibling conflict in Canada jays has lifetime fitness consequences

Fuirst

Strickland²,

Freeman

et al. 2023

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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While delaying natal dispersal can provide short-term benefits for juveniles, lifetime fitness consequences are rarely assessed. Furthermore, competition for limited positions on a natal territory could impose an indirect fitness cost on the winner if the outcome has negative effects on its siblings. We use radio-tracking and 58 years of nesting data in Ontario, Canada to examine the lifetime fitness consequences of sibling expulsion in the Canada jay ( Perisoreus canadensis ). Six weeks after fledging, intra-brood dominance struggles result in one ‘dominant juvenile’ (DJ) remaining on the natal territory after expelling its subordinate siblings, the 'ejectees' (EJs). Despite an older age-at-first-reproduction, DJs produced more recruits over their lifetime and had higher first-year survival than EJs, leading to substantially higher direct fitness. Even though DJs incurred an indirect fitness cost by expelling their siblings and there was no evidence that their presence on the natal territory increased their parents' reproductive output the following year, they still had substantially higher inclusive fitness than EJs. Our results demonstrate how early-life sibling conflict can have lifetime consequences and that such fitness differences in Canada jays are driven by the enhanced first-year survival of DJs pursuant to the early-summer expulsion of their sibling competitors.

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“…Nevertheless, dispersal is the only possibility to expand one's range beyond the natal territory and to potentially access new resources such as breeding positions. Elucidating why, when and where individuals disperse is hence crucial if we aim to comprehend the evolution of complex sociality and cooperative breeding (Koenig and Dickinson, 2016;Rubenstein and Abbot, 2017;Kingma et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex-Specific Routes to Independent Breeding in a Polygynous Cooperative Breeder

et al. 2021

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How can individuals obtain a breeding position and what are the benefits associated with philopatry compared to dispersal? These questions are particularly intriguing in polygamous cooperative breeders, where dispersal strategies reflect major life history decisions, and routes to independent breeding may utterly differ between the sexes. We scrutinized sex-dependent life-history routes by investigating dispersal patterns, growth rates and mortality in a wild colony of the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus savoryi. Our data reveal that female helpers typically obtain dominant breeding positions immediately after reaching sexual maturity, which is associated with strongly reduced growth. In contrast, males obtain breeder status only at twice the age of females. After reaching sexual maturity, males follow one of two strategies: (i) they may retain their subordinate status within the harem of a dominant male, which may provide protection against predators but involves costs by helping in territory maintenance, defence and brood care; or (ii) they may disperse and adopt a solitary status, which diminishes survival chances and apparently reflects a best-of-a-bad-job strategy, as there are no obvious compensating future fitness benefits associated with this pathway. Our study illustrates that sex-dependent life history strategies strongly relate to specific social structures and mating patterns, with important implications for growth rates, the age at which breeding status is obtained, and survival.

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The evolution of delayed dispersal and different routes to breeding in social birds

Cited by 12 publications

References 223 publications

Staging to join non‐kin groups in a classical cooperative breeder, the Florida scrub‐jay

Staging to join non‐kin groups in a classical cooperative breeder, the Florida scrub‐jay

Early-life sibling conflict in Canada jays has lifetime fitness consequences

Sex-Specific Routes to Independent Breeding in a Polygynous Cooperative Breeder

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