scholarly journals Vocal Transmission of Breeding Status May Facilitate Dispersal in a Cooperative Breeding Primate

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efstathia Robakis ◽  
Gideon Erkenswick ◽  
Mrinalini Watsa
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Partner Choice ◽  
Reproductive Suppression ◽  
Neighboring Group ◽  
Vocal Signals ◽  
Mating Opportunities ◽  
One Year ◽  
Sexually Mature ◽  
Breeding Status

Social complexity may drive complexity in communicative systems due to an individual's need to navigate unpredictable interactions with multiple conspecifics. Cooperative breeding primates (marmosets and tamarins; family: Callitrichidae) live in groups with moderate to high reproductive skew, particularly in females, whereby sexually mature individuals are frequently prevented from breeding. Remarkably, dispersal from natal groups is not stereotyped upon reaching reproductive maturity. Individuals are often observed remaining in their natal groups until the same-sex breeder in their group or a neighboring group dies, experiencing hormonal reproductive suppression, aggression, and limited access to potential mates. Here we examined whether emperor tamarins (Saguinus imperator) might use vocal signals to reduce dispersal risks and maximize the likelihood of attaining a breeding position. Using six consecutive years of mark-recapture data, we showed that sexually mature non-breeders (herein "secondary breeders") are more likely to leave their groups from one year to the next than sexually mature breeders ("primary breeders"). This confirmed that, unlike primary breeders who do not need to disperse in order to reproduce, secondary breeders are choosing to accept the risks associated with dispersal and emigrating from their natal groups. We used neural networks to classify vocalizations according to individual breeding status, and conducted a series of playback experiments which demonstrated that tamarins discriminated between the calls of primary and secondary breeders. Our data support the hypotheses that secondary breeders disperse to increase mating opportunities and use vocalizations to signal their availability to potential mates. This species of cooperative breeder appears to use vocalization to navigate its social and reproductive systems, minimizing risks of dispersal and in turn increasing the likelihood of reproductive success. This research has important implications for our understanding of sexual signaling, partner choice, and reproductive success in cooperative breeders.

Breeding biology of the Critically Endangered Tahiti MonarchPomarea nigra, a bird with a low productivity

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 606-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
CAROLINE BLANVILLAIN ◽  
THOMAS GHESTEMME ◽  
TEHANI WITHERS ◽  
MARK O’BRIEN
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Breeding Biology ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Tropical Island ◽  
Island Endemics ◽  
Nest Activity ◽  
Considerable Length ◽  
One Year

SummaryWe studied the breeding biology of Tahiti MonarchPomarea nigra, a ‘Critically Endangered’ forest bird endemic to Tahiti (French Polynesia). Nest activity was monitored from 1998 to 2002, and again from 2008 to 2015. During these 12 years, only 2–13 breeding pairs per year produced hatchlings. Egg-laying occurred all year, but usually increased between August and January, peaking around November. Of the 200 nests monitored, 33 (16%) were abandoned shortly after construction, 71 had an egg laid immediately after the nest were completed (34 %) and 96 nests (46 %) had a pre-incubation phase of 18.9 ± 1.9 days (3–62 days;n= 47 nests), during which the birds visited the nest on an irregular basis. Half (49 of 96) of these nests were abandoned before an egg was laid, with incubation subsequently commencing at the remaining nests (n= 47). Although both sexes incubated for an average of 13.6 ± 0.3 days (range 13–15), the female usually spent more time incubating than the male. Only one young per nest was ever observed. The average nestling phase was 15.5 ± 0.7 days (range 13 to 20 days). Parents continue to feed the young after fledging for 74 ± 4.7 days (range 42–174). As with many tropical island endemics, the Tahiti Monarch has low reproductive productivity as indicated by the fact that: 1) only 56% of pairs attempt to lay an egg in any one year, 2) most pairs attempt only one brood per year and 3) the considerable length of the nesting and fledging phases. Because of its low productivity, maximising the reproductive success of the Tahiti Monarch is essential to secure its recovery.

Annual Reproductive Yield in the Cooperative Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea)

The Auk ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Sydeman ◽  
Marcel Güntert ◽  
Russell P. Balda
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Breeding Birds ◽  
Overwinter Survival ◽  
Northern Arizona ◽  
Floral Diversity ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract We studied cooperative-breeding Pygmy Nuthatches (Sitta pygmaea) for 4 yr in northern Arizona. Breeding units contained 2-5 birds. Helpers were found at about 30% of all nests. All helpers that later bred on the study area were male. Helpers were mostly yearlings, and offspring or siblings of the birds that they aided, but often aided at least one unrelated breeder. Breeding units with helpers produced significantly more young than those without helpers. Breeding units in habitats with the greatest floral diversity and structural maturity fledged significantly more young than those in other habitats. Habitat did not influence the effect of helpers. Year effects increased the strength of the relationship between helpers and annual reproductive output. Previous breeding experience and pair-bond duration were not related to reproductive success. Total brood loss, although rare, was responsible for the difference in reproductive output among pairs with and without helpers and between habitats. Breeding birds with helpers benefit by an increase in direct fitness. The advantage to the helpers is not clear but may be an increase in indirect fitness associated with aiding relatives. Helpers may benefit directly, however, by sharing roosting cavities on a group territory thereby enhancing overwinter survival.

On F2Echinus Hybrids

1914 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 464-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. M. Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Second Generation ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Hybrid Generation ◽  
Marine Biological Laboratory ◽  
Marine Biological ◽  
Biological Laboratory ◽  
The Cross ◽  
One Year ◽  
Sexually Mature ◽  
Made In

An investigation on inheritance in hybrids between the three English species of Echinus was carried out in the Marine Biological Laboratory, Plymouth, during 1909–1912 by C. Shearer, W. de Morgan, and H. M. Fuchs. In a paper published in the Phil. Trans. Royal Soo., Ser. B, Vol. CCIV., p. 255, the results of this work were described in detail. At the time of publication, E. miliaris had been raised from the egg to maturity in the laboratory, in the course of one year, and a second generation had been obtained from these individuals, but none of the hybrid urchins had as yet reached maturity. This year, however, some of the hybrids have become sexually mature, and from them a second hybrid generation has been raised.The urchins which have formed ripe genital products are four individuals of the cross E. esculentus X E. acutus (referred to below as EA) derived from fertilizations made in 1912. The largest of these urchins now measures 6 cm. in diameter, exclusive of the spines. On May 11th, 1914, two of these hybrids laid eggs in the tank in which they were kept. Naturally these eggs could not be used for experimental purposes, since they were deposited in the sea water of the aquarium circulation, and therefore not under sterile conditions. On June 6th I induced three of the four to deposit genital products without cutting them open, under conditions which excluded the possible presence of foreign eggs or spermatozoa. It is hardly necessary to mention here that, as in all the previous work on Echinus hybrids, the fact of the complete absence of such sperm was made certain by controls of unfertilized eggs, none of which segmented.

The Abundance and Distribution of the Northern Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubata) on the Coast of British Columbia

1958 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon C. Pike ◽  
Brian E. Maxwell
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Sea Otter ◽  
Sea Lion ◽  
Sea Lions ◽  
One Year ◽  
Abundance And Distribution ◽  
Pup Mortality ◽  
First Time ◽  
Sexually Mature

The abundance and distribution of the northern sea lion, Eumetopias jubata, in British Columbia are described chiefly on the basis of a survey conducted during the summer of 1956. Results of surveys and censuses made in the years 1913, 1916, 1938 and 1955 are included for comparison. Most major rookeries and hauling-out sites were visited in 1956. Some which were missed were surveyed by aircraft in 1957.The numbers of sea lions in British Columbia are estimated to be 11,000–12,000 in 1956–57. They have apparently changed little since 1913 and 1916 when the population is estimated less reliably to have been 12,000–13,000. Some changes have occurred in their distribution, mainly as a result of organized destruction of concentrations centred near to fishing areas. Numbers in the Sea Otter Group have been reduced to about one-quarter of their former abundance. Numbers on the Cape St. James rookery, where the population has seldom been molested, have doubled.Present rookeries include: Triangle, Sartine, and Beresford Islands, in the Scott Island group; Kerouard Islands off Cape St. James; and North Danger Rocks. The Virgin and Pearl Rocks in the Sea Otter Group are no longer rookeries. Sartine Island and North Danger Rocks are recorded for the first time as rookeries. The Scott Islands and Kerouard Islands rookeries accommodate approximately 70% of the entire population, and 90% of the pups during the summer breeding season.Destruction of approximately 1,000 sea lions annually, when many of these are pups, is shown to be ineffective in substantially reducing the total population. Where efforts are concentrated in one area such as the Sea Otter Group, however, a local population can be greatly reduced and pupping curtailed or stopped.Pups are born from late May until late June. Soon after giving birth, the cows are serviced by the harem bulls. The harem structure, which averages about 10 cows per harem bull on the rookeries, begins to disintegrate near the end of July when pups take to the water and dominant bulls are replaced by reserve bulls. Some cows, probably not more than 25% at any one time, may forgo the normal annual pregnancy and continue to nurse a pup for more than a year.It is calculated that more than 70% of the sexually mature females in this population are pregnant in any one year. Natural mortality among the pups appears to be slight, but severe storms in some years may cause heavy pup mortality and constitute an important check on population growth.

Alternative Reproductive Tactics and Reproductive Success in Male Rhesus Macaques

Behaviour ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 129 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 177-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Nurnberg ◽  
John D. Berard ◽  
Jorg T. Epplen ◽  
Jorg Schmidtke
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Alternative Reproductive Tactics ◽  
Alternative Tactics ◽  
Reproductive Tactics ◽  
High Ranking ◽  
One Year ◽  
Reproductive Tactic ◽  
Male Rhesus

AbstractMale rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago use rank-dependent alternative reproductive tactics. High-ranking males can form long-term consorts and guard female mates while low-ranking males frequently resort to quick copulations under the cover of vegetation. No single reproductive tactic provided the Group S males with a definitive reproductive advantage during the one-year study. Males using the long-term tactic and the quick, stealth tactic sired five offspring each, but fewer males used the long-term consort tactic. Males using the long-term reproductive tactic have significantly greater mating success than males using the quick, sneaky tactic, and may have greater reproductive success. The highest-ranking males who form long-term consorts had the greatest degree of reproductive success. This indicates that for the highest-ranking males, forming long-term consorts is the most effective reproductive tactic. The effectiveness of alternative tactics for high-ranking males (i.e. consort disruption and possessive following) was equivocal. Consort disruption had no immediate effect on reproductive success. Possessive following may have resulted in the siring of two offspring by the alpha male, but was ineffective in other cases, where the females were inseminated by subordinate males. The effectiveness of the quick, furtive tactic was demonstrated by the siring of 45% of the infants by males who used this tactic.

scholarly journals Temporal variability and cooperative breeding: testing the bet-hedging hypothesis in the acorn woodpecker

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1816) ◽  
pp. 20151742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter D. Koenig ◽  
Eric L. Walters
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Bet Hedging ◽  
Hedging Strategy ◽  
Ecological Conditions ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Melanerpes Formicivorus ◽  
Mean Fitness

Cooperative breeding is generally considered an adaptation to ecological constraints on dispersal and independent breeding, usually due to limited breeding opportunities. Although benefits of cooperative breeding are typically thought of in terms of increased mean reproductive success, it has recently been proposed that this phenomenon may be a bet-hedging strategy that reduces variance in reproductive success (fecundity variance) in populations living in highly variable environments. We tested this hypothesis using long-term data on the polygynandrous acorn woodpecker ( Melanerpes formicivorus ). In general, fecundity variance decreased with increasing sociality, at least when controlling for annual variation in ecological conditions. Nonetheless, decreased fecundity variance was insufficient to compensate for reduced per capita reproductive success of larger, more social groups, which typically suffered lower estimated mean fitness. We did, however, find evidence that sociality in the form of larger group size resulted in increased fitness in years following a small acorn crop due to reduced fecundity variance. Bet-hedging, although not the factor driving sociality in general, may play a role in driving acorn woodpecker group living when acorns are scarce and ecological conditions are poor.

scholarly journals Making the best of a bad job? Chick mortality and flexible female brood care in Snowy Plovers

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krisztina Kupán ◽  
Tamás Székely ◽  
Medardo Cruz-López ◽  
Keeley Seymour ◽  
Clemens Küpper
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Dynamic Modelling ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Brood Care ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Mating Opportunities ◽  
Breeding Attempt ◽  
Snowy Plover ◽  
Snowy Plovers ◽  
Female Brood

AbstractOffspring desertion represents a trade-off between current and future reproductive success. Its timing is crucial as the termination of parental care has profound consequences for the fitness of the parents and their offspring. However, the decision process involved with termination of care is still poorly understood. Snowy Plovers Charadrius nivosus show highly flexible brood care with females either deserting the brood early or providing care for an extended period. Deserting females often quickly remate and start a new breeding attempt. Using a dynamic modelling framework, we investigated the decision-making process for continuation or termination of care by females over a seven-year period. The length of female care increased over the season likely reflecting lower re-mating opportunities for deserting females late in the season. Present brood size, assessed daily during the brood care period, was strongly related to the length of female care: females were more likely to stay and care for larger than for smaller broods. Chick death and desertion frequently coincided, suggesting that poor offspring condition served as a trigger for female desertion. Overall, deserting females had a similar number of fledglings to caring females. This suggests that for many females, desertion was not a strategy to escape the shackles of monogamy and secure higher reproductive success through sequential polygamy. Rather, most deserting females made the best of a bad job when conditions were poor and their continued presence did not make a difference for the survival of their young. We conclude that when making the decision to continue or terminate care, Snowy Plover females monitor the condition of their offspring closely and adjust their care flexibly to the value and needs of their young.

scholarly journals Flowering phenology of Catopsis compacta (Bromeliaceae), a dioecious epiphyte in an oak forest

2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 736
Author(s):  
Jeanett Escobedo-Sarti ◽  
Demetria Mondragón
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Flowering Phenology ◽  
Oak Forest ◽  
Flowering Period ◽  
Sexual System ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Flowering Synchrony ◽  
Flowering Season ◽  
Female Flowering ◽  
One Year

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Knowledge of the flowering phenology of species with an epiphytic habit and a dioecious sexual system is scarce.</p><p><strong>Questions:</strong> We studied the flowering phenology of a population of the dioecious epiphytic bromeliad, <em>Catopsis</em> <em>compacta</em>, in an oak forest in Oaxaca, Mexico, to answer the following questions: 1) what type of flowering period is exhibited by this population of <em>C. compacta</em>? 2) what is the degree of synchrony between the male and female flowering periods? and 3) what is the flowering synchrony index of the population?</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> In February 2006, in a 20 m × 20 m plot, we marked and measured 151 individuals of <em>C. compacta</em> ≥ 10 cm in height (minimum reproductive size). We recorded the number of flowers and fruits present in each individual every month for one year.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Our results showed that the flowering period in both sexes lasted for three months (May–July). Only 23 marked individuals flowered (15.23 %): of these 12 (52.17 %) were female and 11 (47.83 %) were male. The index of synchrony between females and males was 0.958 ± 0.013 and the flowering synchrony index of the population was 0.833 ± 0.189.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The high flowering synchrony between the sexes, together with a flowering season that coincided with the period of highest rainfall when the number of arthropods (potential pollinators) is the highest, could favor breeding and, therefore, reproductive success.</p>

Impact of female mating status and female familiarity with remating interval on the reproductive success of Propylea dissecta (Mulsant) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-287
Author(s):  
Priya Singh ◽  
Geetanjali Mishra ◽  
Omkar
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Fundamental Parameter ◽  
Egg Viability ◽  
Mating Status ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
Female Mating ◽  
Propylea Dissecta ◽  
Sperm Expenditure ◽  
Mating Opportunities

Abstract Remating rate is a fundamental parameter that acts on disease transmission, sexual dimorphism, and the rate of evolution of species. Recent studies have indicated that sperm production can be costly. It is thus likely that males may tailor their sperm expenditure according to female mating status and the remating interval between successive matings. In this study, we investigated the effects of male remating interval, female mating status and familiarity of females in the ladybird beetle Propylea dissecta (Mulsant). Ten-day-old adults were allowed to mate and, post disengagement, these adults were exposed to second mating opportunities, either immediately after the first mating, or 6, 18 or 24 h later. To assess the effect of female mating status, the males were subjected to mating with virgin and mated females. Similarly, for assessing the effects of female familiarity, males were subjected to mating with either familiar or unfamiliar females. With increasing remating interval individuals mated for longer, resulting in higher fecundity. Percent egg viability increased with increased remating interval and was highest at 24 h. Mated and unfamiliar females were found to be more fecund than virgin females. Mated females produced a higher number of viable eggs than virgins, suggesting that multiple mating and promiscuity are essential for maximizing the reproductive success of both sexes.

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