Extrapair paternity in relation to sexual ornamentation, arrival date, and condition in a migratory bird |
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| Authors: | Moller A P; Brohede J; Cuervo J J; de Lope F; Primmer C |
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| Institution: | a Laboratoire de Parasitologie Evolutive, CNRS UMR 7103, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 7 quai St. Bernard, Case 237, F-75252 Paris Cedex 05, France
b Department of Population Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
c Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Calle General Segura 1, E-04001 Almería, Spain
d Departamento de Biología Animal, Universidad de Extremadura, E-06071 Badajoz, Spain
e Department of Ecology and Systematics, P.O. Box 17, FIN-00014 Helsinki University, Finland |
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| Abstract: | We tested the novel hypothesis that arrival date in migratorybirds represents a reliable indicator of male quality that canbe used by females as a cue in extrapair mating decisions. Secondarysexual characters are often condition-dependent, and competitionfor early arrival leads to condition-dependent migration. Hence,both secondary sexual characters and arrival date are predictedto be condition-dependent indicators of male phenotypic quality.We studied the relationship between expression of a secondarysexual character, arrival date, and condition, respectively,and extrapair paternity in a Spanish population of barn swallows,Hirundo rustica. By using microsatellite markers to determinepaternity, we showed that 17.8% of all offspring (N = 674) and32.4% of all broods (N = 170) were due to extrapair paternity.Quasi-parasitism (in which the male nest owner fathered theoffspring, but the eggs were laid by another female) occurredin 2.6% of all nestlings and 2.9% of all broods. Individualswere consistent in the frequency of extrapair paternity amongfirst, second, and third broods. Males with long outermost tailfeathers, arriving early and in prime body condition, had littleextrapair paternity in their nests. This was also the case whencontrolling for the confounding effects of male age. Partialcorrelation analysis was used to investigate the direct andindirect effects of tail length, arrival date, and body conditionon extrapair paternity. Body condition accounted for most ofthe variance in extrapair paternity, whereas tail length andarrival date accounted for a smaller proportion of the variance.Body condition was strongly correlated with tail length andarrival date. However, because females cannot directly assesscondition or arrival date (males arrive before females), femalesmay obtain an indirect measure of condition and migration abilityfrom tail length and other phenotypic traits of males. Thissuggests that extrapair paternity depends on the effects ofcondition, through its indirect effects on arrival date, taillength, and other variables. |
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| Keywords: | barn swallow condition-dependent migration condition-dependent secondary sexual character Hirundo rustica |
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