Divorce in cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits: a consequence of inbreeding avoidance?
Proc Biol Sci
; 267(1445): 813-9, 2000 Apr 22.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-10819152
ABSTRACT
The decision of whether to divorce a breeding partner between reproductive attempts can significantly affect individual fitness. In this paper, we report that 63% of surviving pairs of long-tailed tits Aegithalos caudatus divorced between years. We examine three likely explanations for the high divorce rate in this cooperative breeder. The 'better option' hypothesis predicts that divorce and re-pairing increases an individual's reproductive success. However, divorcees did not secure better partners or more helpers and there was no improvement in their reproductive success following divorce. The 'inbreeding avoidance' hypothesis predicts that females should disperse from their family group to avoid breeding with philopatric sons. The observed pattern of divorce was consistent with this hypothesis because, in contrast to the usual avian pattern, divorce was typical for successful pairs (81%) and less frequent in unsuccessful pairs (36-43%). The 'forced divorce' hypothesis predicts that divorce increases as the number of competitors increases. The pattern of divorce among failed breeders was consistent with this hypothesis, but it fails to explain the overall occurrence of divorce because divorcees rarely re-paired with their partners' closest competitors. We discuss long-tailed tits' unique association between divorce and reproductive success in the context of dispersal strategies for inbreeding avoidance.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Conducta Sexual Animal
/
Cruzamiento
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Pájaros Cantores
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Endogamia
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Proc Biol Sci
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
Año:
2000
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Reino Unido