The degree of extra-pair paternity increases with genetic variability

The amount of extra-pair paternity in socially monogamous bird species varies from 0% to 76% extra-pair offspring. The causes of this remarkable interspecific variation are largely unknown, although intraspecific analyses suggest that females seek extra-pair matings to improve the genetic quality of their offspring. If this is a general explanation for the occurrence of extra-pair matings, then proportionally more females should seek to modify the paternity of their clutch when there is more variation among males in their genetic quality. Here we test this prediction in birds and show that interspecific variation in the proportion of extra-pair offspring is positively related to the proportion of polymorphic loci as measured by protein electrophoresis, even when controlling for potentially confounding variables. Genetic variability was also assessed, for sister pairs of species and populations differing significantly in extra-pair paternity, by using random priming, which provides an estimate of genome-wide diversity. We found that genetic diversity was higher in the populations with a higher level of extra-pair paternity. These results suggest that the amount of genetic variability in a population may be an important factor influencing mating patterns.

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Extra-pair paternity in a long-distance migratory songbird beyond neighbors’ borders and across male age classes

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2016-0277 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 96 (1) ◽

pp. 49-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Leonard R. Reitsma ◽

James A. Jukosky ◽

Alexi J. Kimiatek ◽

Marrisa L. Goodnow ◽

Michael T. Hallworth

Keyword(s):

Bird Species ◽

Breeding Population ◽

Age Classes ◽

Long Distance ◽

Extra Pair Paternity ◽

Socially Monogamous ◽

Migratory Songbird ◽

Potential Strategy ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

Demographic Patterns

Roughly 90% of socially monogamous bird species exhibit some degree of extra-pair paternity (EPP), although the extent and the underlying mechanisms vary among species. We analyzed spatial and demographic patterns of EPP over a 6 year period (2005–2010) as part of a long-term population study of Canada Warblers (Cardellina canadensis (L., 1766)). We identified 12 microsatellite loci used to assess paternity for 185 nestlings from 61 nests. Extra-pair young (EPY) accounted for 41.6% of all nestlings and 57.4% of nests contained at least one EPY. Fewer than half of EPY were sired by males who shared territorial boundaries, and some males sired young in nests 1 km from their territory. The age of social males did not differ from males who cuckolded them. The majority (83%) of EPY were sired by males in older age classes (2+ years old), while <17% were sired by 1 year olds. Of the young sired by older males, 58.5% were sired by males 3–7 years old. Males that sired more EPY sired fewer within-pair young (WPY); those without EPY sired more WPY suggesting a possible fitness trade-off between these two strategies. Our findings suggest multiple age-based strategies within a single breeding population, as well as potential strategy shifts to maximize lifetime fitness as they age.

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Incomplete Female Knowledge of Male Quality May Explain Variation in Extra-Pair Paternity in Birds

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853997x00584 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 134 (5-6) ◽

pp. 353-371 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Jan T. Lifjeld ◽

Tore Slagsvold

Keyword(s):

Mate Guarding ◽

Egg Laying ◽

Male Quality ◽

Essential Information ◽

Genetic Quality ◽

Extra Pair Paternity ◽

Early Arrival ◽

The Social ◽

Male Mate

AbstractWe present and discuss an hypothesis to explain inter- and intraspecific variation in levels of extra-pair paternity (EPP) in birds. In species with biparental care, females may be willing to engage in extra-pair copulation (EPC) to improve the genetic quality of the offspring. However, it may be costly to sample males and difficult to assess their genetic quality. Hence, we suggest that variation occurs in the extent of such knowledge between females, causing variation in the extent to which they are willing to engage in EPC. From the hypothesis we present nine predictions on occurrence of EPP in birds, e.g. cuckolders should mainly be resident, close neighbours; rate of EPP should be positively related to breeding density, to rate of male intrusion, to female opportunity to assess male quality from competitive interactions between males, to early arrival time of females relative to time of egg laying, and to breeding synchrony. Finally, we discuss implications on male behaviour. We suggest a new function of male mate guarding, namely that mate guarding is a means to prevent the social mate from obtaining essential information about the quality of potential extra-pair mates.

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EXTRA-PAIR PATERNITY IN GREAT TITS (PARUS MAJOR)-A LONG TERM STUDY

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853999501810 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 136 (9) ◽

pp. 1157-1172 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Jorg Brun ◽

Jorg Epplen ◽

Sabine Strohbach ◽

Thomas Lubjuhn ◽

Thomas Gerken

Keyword(s):

Parus Major ◽

Good Genes ◽

Term Study ◽

Extra Pair Paternity ◽

Long Term Study ◽

Socially Monogamous ◽

Social Father ◽

Local Recruitment

AbstractExtra-pair paternity is known to be common in many socially monogamous avian species. One question to which much attention has been paid is which benefits females might gain from copulations outside the pair bond. The 'good genes' hypothesis suggests that females obtain indirect benefits (i.e. good genes for at least part of their offspring). To test predictions from this hypothesis we analysed paternity in a study on great tits (Parus major) over 5 years. Each year 27.8-44.2% of broods contained at least one nestling that derived from a male other than its social father. 5.4-8.6% of all nestlings investigated were extra-pair sired. Males that were cuckolded survived with the same probability to the next year's breeding season as males whose broods did not contain extra-pair young. In addition there were no differences in local recruitment rates of offspring whether they were extra-pair sired or not. Our results do not fit the predictions of the 'good genes' hypothesis. Moreover, patterns of extra-pair paternity in successive years were highly inconsistent, suggesting that factors other than the genetic quality of males play an important role in determining if a particular female or male has extra-pair young in its brood.

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Heritability of the extra-pair mating behaviour of the pied flycatcher in Western Siberia

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.9571 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e9571

Author(s):

Vladimir G. Grinkov ◽

Andreas Bauer ◽

Helmut Sternberg ◽

Michael Wink

Keyword(s):

Western Siberia ◽

Mating Behaviour ◽

Bird Species ◽

Pied Flycatcher ◽

Point Estimate ◽

Extra Pair Paternity ◽

Monogamous Species ◽

Socially Monogamous ◽

Pair Mating ◽

Extra Pair Mating

Males and females take part in extra-pair copulations in most socially monogamous bird species. The mechanisms leading to the frequent occurrence of extra-pair offspring in socially monogamous couples are strongly debated and unresolved, and they are often difficult to distinguish from one another. Most hypotheses explaining the evolution of extra-pair reproduction suggest selective and adaptive scenarios for their origination and persistence. Is extra-pair paternity a heritable trait? We evaluated the heritability of extra-pair paternity in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) nesting in Western Siberia. Estimated heritability was low: depending on the model used, the point estimate of the heritability (mode) varied from 0.005 to 0.11, and the bounds of the 95% confidence interval are [0–0.16] in the widest range. Thus, it seems that extra-pair mating behaviour in the pied flycatchers is a plastic phenotypic mating tactic with a small or no genetic component. Our data can help to understand the evolution of extra-pair mating behaviour in socially monogamous species.

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Female need for paternal care shapes variation in extra-pair paternity in a cooperative breeder

Behavioral Ecology ◽

10.1093/beheco/arz215 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 548-558

Author(s):

Laurence Cousseau ◽

Dries Van de Loock ◽

Mwangi Githiru ◽

Carl Vangestel ◽

Luc Lens

Keyword(s):

Cooperative Breeding ◽

Paternal Care ◽

Social Partner ◽

Food Provisioning ◽

Male Population ◽

Genetic Quality ◽

Total Group ◽

Extra Pair Paternity ◽

Dominant Female ◽

Socially Monogamous

Abstract Socially monogamous females regularly mate with males outside the pair bond. The prevailing explanation for this behavior is that females gain genetic benefits resulting from increased fitness of extra-pair offspring. Furthermore, because of the risk of reduced paternal care in response to cuckoldry, females are expected to seek extra-pair copulations when they can rear offspring with little help from their social partner (“constrained female” hypothesis). We tested these hypotheses and analyzed variation in paternal care in the Afrotropical, facultative cooperative breeding placid greenbul (Phyllastrephus placidus). Overall, approximately 50% of the offspring resulted from extra-pair (and extra-group) mating. Identified extra-pair males were in most cases neighboring dominant males, yet never within-group subordinates. As predicted by the constrained female hypothesis, the occurrence of extra-pair paternity (EPP) increased with the number of cooperative helpers (and not with total group size). However, dominant males did not adjust their food provisioning rates in response to EPP. Although extra-pair males were more strongly related to the dominant female and less heterozygous than the latter’s social mate, this did not result in more inbred extra-pair offspring, likely because identified extra-pair males were not representative of the extra-pair male population. While earlier studies on EPP mainly focused on male genetic quality, results from this study provide evidence that female’s social context may affect extra-pair strategies too.

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Pair identity — An important factor concerning variation in extra-pair paternity in the coal tit (Parus ater)

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539042265644 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 141 (7) ◽

pp. 817-835 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Thomas Lubjuhn ◽

Tim Schmoll ◽

Wolfgang Winkel ◽

Verena Dietrich ◽

Jörg Epplen

Keyword(s):

Bird Species ◽

Population Level ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Individual Level ◽

Extra Pair Paternity ◽

Coal Tit ◽

Mate Change ◽

Socially Monogamous ◽

Study Population ◽

Parus Ater

AbstractIn the majority of socially monogamous bird species, extra-pair paternity (EPP) has been shown to be common, while its frequency varies considerably among as well as within species. Our knowledge of factors affecting this variation, however, still remains comparatively poor. A thorough analysis of EPP patterns on an individual level may lead to a better understanding of the general diversity in EPP. Here, we analyse intra- and inter-annual as well as individual variation in the occurrence of EPP in first and second broods of coal tits (Parus ater) in three successive years. Based on a sample of 483 broods with 3559 offspring genotyped, we show that EPP was extraordinarily frequent in the study population, surpassing the values observed in other species of the genus Parus by far. On the population level, the rates of EPP were found to be remarkably similar between years, while there was pronounced intra-annual variation such that EPP rates increased significantly from first to second broods. Considering consecutive broods of individual females and males, the general occurrence of EPP was 'inconsistent' (i.e. EPP often affected only one of two broods), but the proportion of extra-pair young (EPY) per brood showed significant repeatability for both sexes in case of mate retention. When mate change occurred, repeatability collapsed, indicating that pair identity was more important in determining the repeatability of EPP than female or male identity alone. This was further supported by the fact that, besides female and male age, also their interaction (reflecting pair age combination) significantly predicted the proportion of EPY, though not in all breeding periods surveyed. Hence, the identity of the breeding pair (reflecting possible interactions of male and female characteristics) should be explicitly considered and accounted for in future studies investigating patterns of EPP on an individual level. Finally, we show that, depending on the boundary conditions, in principle, all coal tits experience EPP: When analysing three or more broods of the same individual, there were no completely 'faithful' females and also nearly no males, which were not cuckolded at least once.

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Response Behavior and Quality of Survey Data: Comparing Elderly Respondents in Institutions and Private Households

Sociological Methods & Research ◽

10.1177/0049124121995534 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 004912412199553

Author(s):

Jan-Lucas Schanze

Keyword(s):

Data Quality ◽

The Elderly ◽

Response Behavior ◽

Quality Of Data ◽

Social Surveys ◽

Private Households ◽

Confounding Variables ◽

Health Related ◽

Survey Interviews

An increasing age of respondents and cognitive impairment are usual suspects for increasing difficulties in survey interviews and a decreasing data quality. This is why survey researchers tend to label residents in retirement and nursing homes as hard-to-interview and exclude them from most social surveys. In this article, I examine to what extent this label is justified and whether quality of data collected among residents in institutions for the elderly really differs from data collected within private households. For this purpose, I analyze the response behavior and quality indicators in three waves of Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. To control for confounding variables, I use propensity score matching to identify respondents in private households who share similar characteristics with institutionalized residents. My results confirm that most indicators of response behavior and data quality are worse in institutions compared to private households. However, when controlling for sociodemographic and health-related variables, differences get very small. These results suggest the importance of health for the data quality irrespective of the housing situation.

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Genetic variability and genome-wide association analysis of flavor and texture in cooked beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Theoretical and Applied Genetics ◽

10.1007/s00122-020-03745-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Amber Bassett ◽

Kelvin Kamfwa ◽

Daniel Ambachew ◽

Karen Cichy

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variability ◽

Seed Coat ◽

Principal Component ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Flavor Intensity ◽

Genome Wide ◽

White Bean ◽

The Usa ◽

New Varieties ◽

End Use

Abstract Key message Cooked bean flavor and texture vary within and across 20 Andean seed types; SNPs are significantly associated with total flavor, beany, earthy, starchy, bitter, seed-coat perception, and cotyledon texture. Abstract Common dry beans are a nutritious food recognized as a staple globally, but their consumption is low in the USA. Improving bean flavor and texture through breeding has the potential to improve consumer acceptance and suitability for new end-use products. Little is known about genetic variability and inheritance of bean sensory characteristics. A total of 430 genotypes of the Andean Diversity Panel representing twenty seed types were grown in three locations, and cooked seeds were evaluated by a trained sensory panel for flavor and texture attribute intensities, including total flavor, beany, vegetative, earthy, starchy, sweet, bitter, seed-coat perception, and cotyledon texture. Extensive variation in sensory attributes was found across and within seed types. A set of genotypes was identified that exhibit extreme attribute intensities generally stable across all three environments. seed-coat perception and total flavor intensity had the highest broad-sense heritability (0.39 and 0.38, respectively), while earthy and vegetative intensities exhibited the lowest (0.14 and 0.15, respectively). Starchy and sweet flavors were positively correlated and highest in white bean genotypes according to principal component analysis. SNPs associated with total flavor intensity (six SNPs across three chromosomes), beany (five SNPs across four chromosomes), earthy (three SNPs across two chromosomes), starchy (one SNP), bitter (one SNP), seed-coat perception (three SNPs across two chromosomes), and cotyledon texture (two SNPs across two chromosomes) were detected. These findings lay a foundation for incorporating flavor and texture in breeding programs for the development of new varieties that entice growers, consumers, and product developers alike.

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Testing the Likeable, Therefore Abundant Hypothesis: Bird Species Likeability by Urban Residents Varies Significantly with Species Traits

Land ◽

10.3390/land10050487 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 487

Author(s):

Lillian Collins ◽

Grant D. Paton ◽

Sara A. Gagné

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Students ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Bird Species ◽

Bird Community ◽

Species Traits ◽

Community Change ◽

Habitat Availability ◽

Urban Residents ◽

Behavioral Traits

The urbanization of landscapes filters bird communities to favor particular species traits, driven in part by the changes that homeowners make to the amount and quality of habitat in yards. We suggest that an ultimate driver of these proximate mechanisms underlying bird community change with respect to urbanization is the likeability of species traits by urban residents. We hypothesize that bird species likeability, modulated by species traits, influences the degree to which homeowners alter the availability and quality of habitat on their properties and thereby affects species population sizes in urbanized landscapes. We refer to this new hypothesis as the Likeable, therefore Abundant Hypothesis. The Likeable, therefore Abundant Hypothesis predicts that (1) bird species likeability varies with species morphological and behavioral traits, (2) homeowners use trait-based likeability as a motivator to modify habitat availability and quality on their properties, and (3) residential habitat availability and quality influences species populations at landscape scales. We tested the first prediction of the Likeable, therefore Abundant Hypothesis using a survey of 298 undergraduate students at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte who were asked to rank their preferences for 85 forest generalist and edge/open country songbird species grouped according to 10 morphological and behavioral traits. Survey respondents preferred very small, primarily blue or black species that are insectivorous, aerial or bark foragers, residents, and culturally unimportant. On the other hand, respondents disliked large or very large, primarily yellow or orange species that forage on the ground and/or forage by flycatching, are migratory, and are culturally important. If the Likeable, therefore Abundant Hypothesis is true, natural resource managers and planners could capitalize on the high likeability of species that are nevertheless negatively affected by urbanization to convince homeowners and residents to actively manage their properties for species conservation.

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Genome-Wide Identification and Genetic Variations of the Starch Synthase Gene Family in Rice

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10061154 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 1154

Author(s):

Hongjia Zhang ◽

Seong-Gyu Jang ◽

San Mar Lar ◽

Ah-Rim Lee ◽

Fang-Yuan Cao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Family ◽

Catalytic Domain ◽

Amylose Content ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Starch Synthase ◽

Eating Quality ◽

Segmental Duplications ◽

Genome Wide ◽

The Relationship

Starch is a major ingredient in rice, and the amylose content of starch significantly impacts rice quality. OsSS (starch synthase) is a gene family related to the synthesis of amylose and amylopectin, and 10 members have been reported. In the present study, a synteny analysis of a novel family member belonging to the OsSSIV subfamily that contained a starch synthase catalytic domain showed that three segmental duplications and multiple duplications were identified in rice and other species. Expression data showed that the OsSS gene family is involved in diverse expression patterns. The prediction of miRNA targets suggested that OsSS are possibly widely regulated by miRNA functions, with miR156s targeted to OsSSII-3, especially. Haplotype analysis exhibited the relationship between amylose content and diverse genotypes. These results give new insight and a theoretical basis for the improved amylose content and eating quality of rice.

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