Multiple hypotheses explain variation in extra-pair paternity at different levels in a single bird family

Brouwer, Lyanne, van de Pol, Martijn, Aranzamendi, Nataly Hidalgo, Bain, Glen, Baldassarre, Daniel T., Brooker, Lesley C., Brooker, Michael G., Colombelli-Négrel, Diane, Enbody, Erik, Gielow, Kurt, Hall, Michelle L., Johnson, Allison E., Karubian, Jordan, Kingma, Sjouke A., Kleindorfer, Sonia, Louter, Marina, Mulder, Raoul A., Peters, Anne, Pruett-Jones, Stephen, Tarvin, Keith A., Thrasher, Derrick J., Varian-Ramos, Claire W., Webster, Michael S., and Cockburn, Andrew (2017) Multiple hypotheses explain variation in extra-pair paternity at different levels in a single bird family. Molecular Ecology, 26 (23). pp. 6717-6729.

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Abstract

Extra-pair paternity (EPP), where offspring are sired by a male other than the social male, varies enormously both within and among species. Trying to explain this variation has proved difficult because the majority of the interspecific variation is phylogenetically based. Ideally, variation in EPP should be investigated in closely related species, but clades with sufficient variation are rare. We present a comprehensive multifactorial test to explain variation in EPP among individuals in 20 populations of nine species over 89 years from a single bird family (Maluridae). Females had higher EPP in the presence of more helpers, more neighbours or if paired incestuously. Furthermore, higher EPP occurred in years with many incestuous pairs, populations with many helpers and species with high male density or in which males provide less care. Altogether, these variables accounted for 48% of the total and 89% of the interspecific and interpopulation variation in EPP. These findings indicate why consistent patterns in EPP have been so challenging to detect and suggest that a single predictor is unlikely to account for the enormous variation in EPP across levels of analysis. Nevertheless, it also shows that existing hypotheses can explain the variation in EPP well and that the density of males in particular is a good predictor to explain variation in EPP among species when a large part of the confounding effect of phylogeny is excluded.

Item ID: 69636
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1365-294X
Keywords: fairy-wrens, Malurus, polyandry, promiscuity
Copyright Information: © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Funders: Australian Research Council (ARC)
Projects and Grants: ARC DE130100174, ARC FT120100204, ARC DP150100298, ARC DP150100298, ARC DP150103595, ARC DP110103120, ARC DP150101652
Date Deposited: 29 Jun 2022 05:52
FoR Codes: 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310301 Behavioural ecology @ 100%
SEO Codes: 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences @ 100%
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