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157 results for “breeders”
Data for: Kinship, dear enemies, and costly combat: The effects of relatedness on territorial overlap and aggression in a cooperative breeder
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Experimental predator intrusions in a cooperative breeder reveal threat-dependent task partitioning
In cooperatively breeding species, non-breeding individuals provide alloparental care and help in territory maintenance and defence. Antipredator behaviours of subordinates can enhance offspring survival, which may provide direct and indirect fitness benefits to all group members. Helping abilities and involved costs and benefits, risks and outside options (e.g. breeding independently) usually diverge between group members, which calls for status-specific differentiated behavioural responses. Such role differentiation within groups may generate task-specific division of labour, as exemplified by eusocial animals. In vertebrates, little is known about such task differentiation among group members. We show how breeders and helpers of the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus savoryi partition predator defence depending on intruder type and the presence of dependent young. In the field, we experimentally simulated intrusions by different fish species posing a risk either specifically to eggs, young, or adults. We used intrusions by harmless algae-eaters as a control. Breeders defended most when dependent young were present, while helper investment hinged mainly on their body size and on the potential threat posed by the respective intruders. Breeders and helpers partitioned defence tasks primarily when dependent young were exposed to immediate risk, with breeders investing most in antipredator defence, while helpers increased guarding and care in the breeding chamber. Breeders' defence likely benefits helpers as well, as it was especially enhanced in the treatment where helpers were also at risk. These findings illustrate that in a highly social fish different group members exhibit fine-tuned behavioural responses in dependence of ecological and reproductive parameter variation.
Data From: Breeders are less active foragers than non-breeders in wild Damaraland mole-rats
<p>Eusocial insect societies are characterised by a clear division of labour between non-breeding workers and breeding queens and queens often do not contribute to foraging, defence and other maintenance tasks. It has been suggested that the structure and organisation of social mole-rat groups resembles that of eusocial insect societies. However, the division of labour has rarely been investigated in wild mole-rats and it is unknown whether breeders show decreased foraging activity compared to non-breeding helpers in natural groups. Here we show that, in wild Damaraland mole-rats (Fukomys damarensis), breeding males and females show lower activity in foraging areas than non-breeding group members. Both breeders and non-breeders displayed variation in activity across the different seasons. Our results suggest that group living allows social mole-rat breeders to reduce their investment in energetically costly and potentially risky foraging tasks which could contribute to the extended life-span of breeding individuals in this species and other social mole-rats.</p>
Data from: Interannual variation in effective number of breeders and estimation of effective population size in long-lived iteroparous lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)
Quantifying interannual variation in effective adult breeding number (Nb) and relationships between Nb, effective population size (Ne), adult census size (N) and population demographic characteristics are important to predict genetic changes in populations of conservation concern. Such relationships are rarely available for long-lived iteroparous species like lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). We estimated annual Nb and generational Ne using genotypes from 12 microsatellite loci for lake sturgeon adults (n = 796) captured during ten spawning seasons and offspring (n = 3925) collected during larval dispersal in a closed population over 8 years. Inbreeding and variance Nb estimated using mean and variance in individual reproductive success derived from genetically identified parentage and using linkage disequilibrium (LD) were similar within and among years (interannual range of Nb across estimators: 41–205). Variance in reproductive success and unequal sex ratios reduced Nb relative to N on average 36.8% and 16.3%, respectively. Interannual variation in Nb/N ratios (0.27–0.86) resulted from stable N and low standardized variance in reproductive success due to high proportions of adults breeding and the species' polygamous mating system, despite a 40-fold difference in annual larval production across years (437–16 417). Results indicated environmental conditions and features of the species' reproductive ecology interact to affect demographic parameters and Nb/N. Estimates of Ne based on three single-sample estimators, including LD, approximate Bayesian computation and sibship assignment, were similar to annual estimates of Nb. Findings have important implications concerning applications of genetic monitoring in conservation planning for lake sturgeon and other species with similar life histories and mating systems.
Data from: Environmental and demographic drivers of male mating success vary across sequential reproductive episodes in a polygynous breeder
Ecological and social factors underpinning the inequality of male mating success in animal societies can be related to sex ratio, sexual conflict between breeders, effects of non-breeders, resource dispersion, climatic conditions, and the various sequential stages of mating competition that constitute the sexual selection process. Here, we conducted an individual-based study to investigate how local resource availability and demography interact with annual climate conditions to determine the degree of male mating inequality, and thus opportunity for sexual selection across two sequential reproductive episodes (harem and subsequent mate acquisition) in a naturally regulated (feral) horse population in Sable Island National Park Preserve, Canada. Using a 5-year, spatially explicit, mark-resight dataset and hierarchical mixed-effects linear modelling, we evaluated the influence of adult sex ratio (ASR) on mating success, and then tested for effects of freshwater availability, density, unpaired male abundance, and precipitation during each breeding season. Unpaired male abundance, freshwater availability, and ASR differed in their effects on male mating success according to year and selection episode. Opportunity for sexual selection in males associated with harem acquisition increased with ASR, and unpaired male abundance further explained weather-related inter-annual variation after accounting for ASR. In contrast, once a harem was secured, ASR had little effect on male mating inequality in regards to acquiring additional females, while inter-annual variation in mating inequality increased with decreasing freshwater availability. Our findings show that local demography, resource availability, and weather effect opportunity for sexual selection in males differently depending on selection episode, and can attenuate or accentuate effects of ASR.
Data from: Benefits of coloniality: communal defence saves anti-predator effort in cooperative breeders
1. Many anti-predator benefits of group living are predicted to scale with prey density. Nevertheless, evidence for a general density-dependent increase of prey survival is scarce. A possible reason for this discrepancy is the reduction of costly anti-predator behaviour of prey with increasing density, which may offset density-dependent survival gains. Benefits of group living might hence accrue by saved investment into anti-predator behaviours rather than by increased survival rates. 2. Here, we experimentally presented predators in a colony of the cooperatively breeding cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher to study density dependence of their anti-predator defences. Predation is a driver of the formation and stability of breeding groups in this species, but potential benefits of coloniality are yet unclear. We hypothesised that increased density of breeding groups would either increase total anti-predator behaviour or allow individuals to reduce their anti-predator effort due to enhanced predator deterrence from neighbours. 3. Confirming predictions from the second hypothesis, our results show that focal groups invested less into anti-predator behaviour at higher densities, while neighbouring groups' behaviour compensated for this reduced effort. This resulted in stable levels of anti-predator behaviours over the entire range of natural densities. Thus, aggregating in colonies allows these fish to save investment in anti-predator behaviour. 4. These results suggest that the formation of both breeding groups and colonies reflects adaptive responses to high predation pressure in this species. Two different levels of sociality seem to be favoured by the same selective force. 5. Our study provides experimental evidence in nature for an important benefit of coloniality that may explain the concomitant existence of different levels of sociality in many highly social taxa.
Data from: Strategic reduction of help before dispersal in a cooperative breeder
In cooperative breeders, sexually mature subordinates can either queue for chances to inherit the breeding position in their natal group, or disperse to reproduce independently. The choice of one or the other option may be flexible, as when individuals respond to attractive dispersal options, or they may reflect fixed life-history trajectories. Here, we show in a permanently marked, natural population of the cooperatively breeding cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher that subordinate helpers reduce investment in territory defence shortly before dispersing. Such reduction of effort is not shown by subordinates who stay and inherit the breeding position. This difference suggests that subordinates ready to leave reduce their investment in the natal territory strategically in favour of future life-history perspectives. It seems to be part of a conditional choice of the dispersal tactic, as this reduction in effort appears only shortly before dispersal, whereas philopatric and dispersing helpers do not differ in defence effort earlier in life. Hence, cooperative territory defence is state-dependent and plastic rather than a consistent part of a fixed life-history trajectory.
Data from: Group-size dependent punishment of idle subordinates in a cooperative breeder where helpers pay to stay
In cooperative breeding systems, dominant breeders sometimes tolerate unrelated individuals even if they inflict costs on the dominants. According to the 'pay-to-stay' hypothesis, (i) subordinates can outweigh these costs by providing help and (ii) dominants should be able to enforce help by punishing subordinates that provide insufficient help. This requires that dominants can monitor helping and can recognize group members individually. In a field experiment, we tested whether cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher subordinates increase their help after a forced 'idle' period, how other group members respond to a previously idle helper, and how helper behaviour and group responses depend on group size. Previously, idle helpers increased their submissiveness and received more aggression than control helpers, suggesting that punishment occurred to enforce help. Subordinates in small groups increased their help more than those in large groups, despite receiving less aggression. When subordinates were temporarily removed, dominants in small groups were more likely to evict returning subordinates. Our results suggest that only in small groups do helpers face a latent threat of punishment by breeders as predicted by the pay-to-stay hypothesis. In large groups, cognitive constraints may prevent breeders from tracking the behaviour of a large number of helpers.
Data from: Joint care can outweigh costs of nonkin competition in communal breeders
Competition between offspring can greatly influence offspring fitness and parental investment decisions, especially in communal breeders where unrelated competitors have less incentive to concede resources. Given the potential for escalated conflict, it remains unclear what mechanisms facilitate the evolution of communal breeding among unrelated females. Resolving this question requires simultaneous consideration of offspring in noncommunal and communal nurseries, but such comparisons are missing. In the Seychelles warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis, we compare nestling pairs from communal nests (2 mothers) and noncommunal nests (1 mother) with singleton nestlings. Our results indicate that increased provisioning rate can act as a mechanism to mitigate the costs of offspring rivalry among nonkin. Increased provisioning in communal broods, as a consequence of having 2 female parents, mitigates any elevated costs of offspring rivalry among nonkin: per-capita provisioning and survival was equal in communal broods and singletons, but lower in noncommunal broods. Individual offspring costs were also more divergent in noncommunal broods, likely because resource limitation exacerbates differences in competitive ability between nestlings. It is typically assumed that offspring rivalry among nonkin will be more costly because offspring are not driven by kin selection to concede resources to their competitors. Our findings are correlational and require further corroboration, but may help explain the evolutionary maintenance of communal breeding by providing a mechanism by which communal breeders can avoid these costs.
Data from: Sex-biased dispersal at different geographical scales in a cooperative breeder from fragmented rainforest
Dispersal affects both social behavior and population structure and is therefore a key determinant of long-term population persistence. However, dispersal strategies and responses to spatial habitat alteration may differ between sexes. Here we analyzed spatial and temporal variation in ten polymorphic microsatellite DNA loci of male and female Cabanis's greenbuls (Phyllastrephus cabanisi), a cooperative breeder of Afrotropical rainforest, to quantify rates of gene flow and fine-grained genetic structuring within and among fragmented populations. We found genetic evidence for female-biased dispersal at small spatial scales, but not at the landscape level. Local autocorrelation analysis provided evidence of positive genetic structure within 300 m distance ranges, which is consistent with behavioral observations of short-distance natal dispersal. At a landscape scale, individual-based autocorrelation values decreased over time while levels of admixture increased, possibly indicating increased gene flow over the past decade.
Data from: Effective number of breeders provides a link between interannual variation in stream flow and individual reproductive contribution in a stream salmonid
The effective number of breeders that give rise to a cohort (Nb) is a promising metric for genetic monitoring of species with overlapping generations; however, more work is needed to understand factors that contribute to variation in this measure in natural populations. We tested hypotheses related to interannual variation in Nb in two long-term studies of brook trout populations. We found no supporting evidence for our initial hypothesis that inline image reflects inline image (defined as the number of adults in a population at the time of reproduction). inline image was stable relative to inline image and did not follow trends in abundance (one stream negative, the other positive). We used stream flow estimates to test the alternative hypothesis that environmental factors constrain Nb. We observed an intermediate optimum autumn stream flow for both inline image (R2 = 0.73, P = 0.02) and full-sibling family evenness (R2 = 0.77, P = 0.01) in one population and a negative correlation between autumn stream flow and full-sib family evenness in the other population (r = −0.95, P = 0.02). Evidence for greater reproductive skew at the lowest and highest autumn flow was consistent with suboptimal conditions at flow extremes. A series of additional tests provided no supporting evidence for a related hypothesis that density-dependent reproductive success was responsible for the lack of relationship between Nb and NC (so-called genetic compensation). This work provides evidence that Nb is a useful metric of population-specific individual reproductive contribution for genetic monitoring across populations and the link we provide between stream flow and Nb could be used to help predict population resilience to environmental change.
Data for: Living fast, dying young: anthropogenic habitat modification influences the fitness and life history traits of a cooperative breeder
<p>Datasets and scripts for the study: Living fast, dying young: anthropogenic habitat modification influences the fitness and life history traits of a cooperative breeder</p>
Physiology and acclimation potential are tuned with phenology in larvae of a prolonged breeder amphibian
Due to the speed of climate changes, rapid buffering mechanisms such as phenotypic plasticity – which may depend on breeding phenology – could be key to avoid extinction. The links between phenology and plasticity, however, remain understudied. Here we explored the matching between phenology and the thermal sensitivity of standard (SMR) and routine metabolic rates (RMR), metabolic scope (i.e. the difference between RMR and SMR), survival and growth-development trajectories in larvae of a prolonged breeder amphibian (Alytes almogavarii) acclimated to 10 and 20ºC, belonging to three cohorts: autumn pre-overwintering, autumn overwintering and spring tadpoles. At 20ºC, survival of autumn pre-overwintering larvae was lower than for the rest. Although all cohorts showed acclimation potential, patterns for SMR and RMR differed, leading to differences in metabolic scope. Regardless of temperature, overwintering tadpoles arrested growth and development, while pre-overwintering and spring tadpoles showed higher growth and development at 20ºC. At 10ºC pre-overwintering tadpoles allocated more energy to development compared to spring tadpoles to advance development before winter. Overall, we demonstrate that the effects of temperature depend on phenology, consistent with future, expected thermal regimes. This suggests that extreme events can yield different vulnerability to climate change within populations (e.g., associated to discrete within-year cohorts), and not only between species or populations.
Datafiles and code for Covas et al: The oxidative cost of helping and its minimisation in a cooperative breeder
<p>Cooperative actions are beneficial to the group, but presumably costly to the individual co-operators. In cooperatively breeding species, helping to raise young is thought to involve important energetic costs, which could lead to elevated exposure to reactive oxygen species, resulting in oxidative stress. However, identifying such costs can be difficult if individuals adjust their investment in helping in relation to environmental conditions or their own physiological condition. Experimental approaches are therefore required to quantify the costs of helping but, to date, these have been infrequent. Here, we combined correlational and experimental data to investigate the oxidative cost of helping-at-the-nest and how this affects helping decisions in wild sociable weavers <i>Philetairus socius</i>, a colonial cooperatively breeding bird. At the correlational level, we found that the probability of helping was influenced by the interaction of an individual's oxidative state and age: compared to younger birds, older individuals were more likely to help when they had higher oxidative damage, and the opposite trend was found for younger individuals. After experimentally increasing the energetic cost of flight, manipulated helpers in breeding colonies decreased nestling feeding rates and incurred an increase in oxidative damage, which was not present in manipulated helpers in non-breeding colonies. This indicates that individuals decreased their helping behaviour to minimise the associated costs. These results suggest <span>that oxidative stress can influence helping decisions and underlie a trade-off between cooperation and self-maintenance, which is central to understanding when helping might take place in this and other species.</span></p>
Data from: The prediction of adaptive evolution: empirical application of the secondary theorem of selection and comparison to the breeder's equation
Adaptive evolution occurs when fitness covaries with genetic merit for a trait (or traits). The breeder's equation (BE), in both its univariate and multivariate forms, allows us to predict this process by combining estimates of selection on phenotype with estimates of genetic (co)variation. However, predictions are only valid if all factors causal for trait-fitness covariance are measured. While this requirement will rarely (if ever) be met in practice, it can be avoided by applying Robertson's secondary theorem of selection (STS). The STS predicts evolution by directly estimating the genetic basis of trait-fitness covariation with out any explicit model of selection. Here we apply the BE and STS to four morphological traits measured in Soay sheep (Ovis aries) from St. Kilda. Despite apparently positive selection on heritable size traits, sheep are not getting larger. However, while the BE predicts increasing size the STS does not, a discrepancy that suggests unmeasured factors are upwardly biasing our estimates of selection on phenotype. We suggest this is likely to be a general issue, and that wider application of the STS could offer at least a partial resolution to the common discrepancy between naive expectations and observed trait dynamics in natural populations.
Data from: Factors influencing dispersal initiation and timing in a facultative cooperative breeder
<p>Natal dispersal is a high-risk endeavor where decisions on whether and when to disperse have long-term consequences. Among facultative cooperative breeders, juveniles often forego dispersal and remain philopatric for one or more breeding seasons. This decision is key to the formation of cooperative breeding groups and could have significant effects on reproductive success. We investigated the probability and initiation of dispersal in the cooperatively breeding Brown-headed Nuthatch (<em>Sitta pusilla</em>) to determine the influence that social environments had on dispersal. This study was concurrent with another study where manipulation of population sex ratios increased the prevalence and size of cooperative groups. The concurrent manipulations enabled us to evaluate social effects on dispersal as a plausible mechanism driving the relationship between adult sex ratios and cooperation. We evaluated which factors best predicted whether males dispersed, and the timing of dispersal for both sexes. We considered variables related to the immediate nesting environment as well as characteristics of the local population. Social environments were related to dispersal for both males and females. Juvenile males dispersed earlier when a helper was present in the natal group. Females dispersed earlier in settings with more adult neighbors and when a lower proportion of those neighbors were males. Females with shorter tarsi relative to their siblings dispersed earlier, suggesting that size-based competitive interactions may also affect dispersal decisions. Our results suggest juveniles disperse more readily when they fledge in constrained social environments, and that competition with conspecifics is a major driver of dispersal in the Brown-headed Nuthatch.</p>
FIG. 10 in A Lentic Breeder in Lotic Waters: Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog (Rana sierrae) Habitat Suitability in Northern Sierra Nevada Streams
FIG. 10. Distribution of depth and velocity values over time within cascade (CAS), riffle (LGR), and pool (POO) geomorphic unit types at (A) Lone Rock Creek and (B) South Fork Tributary. Dashed and shaded box in lower left corner of each panel represents high suitability microhabitat for adults (includes subadults) of velocity,0.1 m s–1 and depth,0.3 m.
FIG. 8 in A Lentic Breeder in Lotic Waters: Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog (Rana sierrae) Habitat Suitability in Northern Sierra Nevada Streams
FIG. 8. Mean predicted probability of microhabitat use by tadpoles of R. sierrae for all study sites combined for all possible values from a given predictor variable from 1,000 bootstrapped logistic regression models. Shading and bars represent 95% credible intervals. Substrate categories are silt (Slt), sand (Snd), fine gravel (FGrav), coarse gravel (CGrav), cobble (Cob), boulder (Bld), and bedrock (Bed).
FIG. 6 in A Lentic Breeder in Lotic Waters: Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog (Rana sierrae) Habitat Suitability in Northern Sierra Nevada Streams
FIG. 6. Mean predicted probability of microhabitat use by adult R. sierrae (includes subadults) for all study sites combined for all possible values from a given predictor variable from the 1,000 bootstrapped logistic regression models. Shading and bars represent 95% credible intervals. Substrate categories are silt (Slt), sand (Snd), fine gravel (FGrav), coarse gravel (CGrav), cobble (Cob), boulder (Bld), and bedrock (Bed).
FIG. 4 in A Lentic Breeder in Lotic Waters: Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog (Rana sierrae) Habitat Suitability in Northern Sierra Nevada Streams
FIG. 4. Distribution of use and available microhabitat points within each substrate category for locations of (A) adult (includes subadults) and (B) tadpoles of R. sierrae at each study site. To better visualize the number of points within each substrate category, violin boxplots were overlaid onto jittered points for each substrate category. The overlay shows a mirrored kernel density estimation for all substrate size categories to illustrate the distribution of the data. IND ¼ Independence Creek, LRC ¼ Lone Rock Creek, SFRC ¼ South Fork Rock Creek, SFT ¼ South Fork Tributary, SFTT ¼ South Fork Tadpole Tributary.
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