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Fortuna R, Paquet M, Biard C, Élard L, Ferreira AC, Leroux-Coyaux M, Parenteau C, Silva LR, Théron F, Covas R, Doutrelant C. Egg components and offspring survival vary with group size and laying order in a cooperative breeder. Oecologia 2023; 202:129-142. [PMID: 37148378 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05379-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Prenatal resource allocation to offspring can be influenced by maternal environment and offspring value, and affect offspring survival. An important pathway for flexible maternal allocation is via egg components such as nutrients and hormones. In cooperative breeders, females with helpers may increase resource allocation to eggs-'differential allocation'-or reduce it-'load-lightening'. Yet, helper effects on egg composition have been poorly studied. Moreover, it is unknown how helpers' presence modulates laying order effects on egg content and survival. Here, we investigated how maternal allocation varied with group size and laying order in the cooperatively breeding sociable weaver (Philetairus socius). We estimated interactive effects of helpers and laying order on allocation to egg mass, yolk nutrients-yolk mass, proteins, lipids, carotenoids, vitamin A and vitamin E-and hormones-testosterone, androstenedione, and corticosterone. Results concurred with the 'differential allocation' predictions. Females with more helpers produced later-laid eggs with heavier yolks and more lipids, and laid eggs overall richer in lipids. Proteins, antioxidants, and hormones were not found to vary with helper number. We then analyzed how helper number modulated laying order effects on survival. Females with more helpers did not specifically produce later-laid eggs with higher survival, but eggs laid by females with more helpers were overall more likely to fledge. These findings show that some egg components (yolk mass, lipids) can positively vary according to females' breeding group size, which may improve offspring fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita Fortuna
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal.
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4099-002, Porto, Portugal.
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal.
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, EPHE, IRD, 34293, Montpellier, France.
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Institutt for Biologi, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Matthieu Paquet
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7044, 75007, Uppsala, Sweden
- Institute of Mathematics of Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, Talence, France
| | - Clotilde Biard
- Sorbonne Université, UPEC, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d'Écologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, IEES, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Loïc Élard
- Sorbonne Université, UPEC, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d'Écologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, IEES, 75005, Paris, France
| | - André C Ferreira
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, EPHE, IRD, 34293, Montpellier, France
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mathieu Leroux-Coyaux
- Sorbonne Université, UPEC, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d'Écologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, IEES, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Charline Parenteau
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS-La Rochelle Université, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Liliana R Silva
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Franck Théron
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, EPHE, IRD, 34293, Montpellier, France
| | - Rita Covas
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Claire Doutrelant
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, EPHE, IRD, 34293, Montpellier, France
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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Kürten N, Schmaljohann H, Bichet C, Haest B, Vedder O, González-Solís J, Bouwhuis S. High individual repeatability of the migratory behaviour of a long-distance migratory seabird. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2022; 10:5. [PMID: 35123590 PMCID: PMC8817581 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00303-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding the evolution of migration requires knowledge of the patterns, sources, and consequences of variation in migratory behaviour, a need exacerbated by the fact that many migratory species show rapid population declines and require knowledge-based conservation measures. We therefore need detailed knowledge on the spatial and temporal distribution of individuals across their annual cycle, and quantify how the spatial and temporal components of migratory behaviour vary within and among individuals. METHODS We tracked 138 migratory journeys undertaken by 64 adult common terns (Sterna hirundo) from a breeding colony in northwest Germany to identify the annual spatiotemporal distribution of these birds and to evaluate the individual repeatability of eleven traits describing their migratory behaviour. RESULTS Birds left the breeding colony early September, then moved south along the East Atlantic Flyway. Wintering areas were reached mid-September and located at the west and south coasts of West Africa as well as the coasts of Namibia and South Africa. Birds left their wintering areas late March and reached the breeding colony mid-April. The timing, total duration and total distance of migration, as well as the location of individual wintering areas, were moderately to highly repeatable within individuals (repeatability indexes: 0.36-0.75, 0.65-0.66, 0.93-0.94, and 0.98-1.00, respectively), and repeatability estimates were not strongly affected by population-level inter-annual variation in migratory behaviour. CONCLUSIONS We found large between-individual variation in common tern annual spatiotemporal distribution and strong individual repeatability of several aspects of their migratory behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Kürten
- Institute of Avian Research, An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
- Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany.
| | - Heiko Schmaljohann
- Institute of Avian Research, An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
- Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Coraline Bichet
- Institute of Avian Research, An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372, CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Birgen Haest
- Department of Bird Migration, Swiss Ornithological Institute, 6204, Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Oscar Vedder
- Institute of Avian Research, An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Jacob González-Solís
- Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat and Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sandra Bouwhuis
- Institute of Avian Research, An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
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3
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Vedder O, Pen I, Bouwhuis S. How fitness consequences of early-life conditions vary with age in a long-lived seabird: A Bayesian multivariate analysis of age-specific reproductive values. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:1505-1514. [PMID: 33694165 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary theory suggests that individuals can benefit from deferring the fitness cost of developing under poor conditions to later in life. Although empirical evidence for delayed fitness costs of poor developmental conditions is abundant, individuals that die prematurely have not often been incorporated when estimating fitness, such that age-specific fitness costs, and therefore the relative importance of delayed fitness costs are actually unknown. We developed a Bayesian statistical framework to estimate age-specific reproductive values in relation to developmental conditions. We applied it to data obtained from a long-term longitudinal study of common terns Sterna hirundo, using sibling rank to describe variation in developmental conditions. Common terns have a maximum of three chicks, and later hatching chicks acquire less food, grow more slowly and have a lower fledging probability than their earlier hatched siblings. We estimated fitness costs in adulthood to constitute c. 45% and 70% of the total fitness costs of hatching third and second, respectively, compared to hatching first. This was due to third-ranked hatchlings experiencing especially high pre-fledging mortality, while second-ranked hatchlings had lower reproductive success in adulthood. Both groups had slightly lower adult survival. There was, however, no evidence for sibling rank-specific rates of senescence. We additionally found years with low fledgling production to be associated with particularly strong pre-fledging selection on sibling rank, and with increased adult survival to the next breeding season. This suggests that adults reduce parental allocation to reproduction in poor years, which disproportionately impacts low-ranked offspring. Interpreting these results, we suggest that selection at the level of the individual offspring for delaying fitness costs is counteracted by selection for parental reduction in brood size when resources are limiting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar Vedder
- Institute of Avian Research, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ido Pen
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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4
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Bichet C, Bouwhuis S, Bauch C, Verhulst S, Becker PH, Vedder O. Telomere length is repeatable, shortens with age and reproductive success, and predicts remaining lifespan in a long‐lived seabird. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:429-441. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.15331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Christina Bauch
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | | | - Oscar Vedder
- Institute of Avian Research Wilhelmshaven Germany
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
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5
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Kloskowski J. An avian equivalent of selective abortion: postlaying clutch reduction under resource limitation. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Janusz Kloskowski
- Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland
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6
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Braasch A, Becker PH. Maternal investment in last-laid eggs does not compensate for hatching asynchrony in a seabird. Oecologia 2019; 190:47-58. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04399-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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7
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Vedder O, Zhang H, Dänhardt A, Bouwhuis S. Age-Specific Offspring Mortality Economically Tracks Food Abundance in a Piscivorous Seabird. Am Nat 2019; 193:588-597. [DOI: 10.1086/702304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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8
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Wilson KM, Tatarenkov A, Burley NT. Early life and transgenerational stressors impact secondary sexual traits and fitness. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kerianne M Wilson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Andrey Tatarenkov
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Nancy Tyler Burley
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
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9
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Bichet C, Vedder O, Sauer‐Gürth H, Becker PH, Wink M, Bouwhuis S. Contrasting heterozygosity‐fitness correlations across life in a long‐lived seabird. Mol Ecol 2019; 28:671-685. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.14979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2018] [Revised: 12/09/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Oscar Vedder
- Institute of Avian Research Wilhelmshaven Germany
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Hedwig Sauer‐Gürth
- Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany
| | | | - Michael Wink
- Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany
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10
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Hamel S, Gaillard JM, Yoccoz NG. Introduction to: Individual heterogeneity - the causes and consequences of a fundamental biological process. OIKOS 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Hamel
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology; UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway; Tromsø Norway
| | | | - Nigel G. Yoccoz
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology; UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway; Tromsø Norway
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11
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Vedder O, Zhang H, Bouwhuis S. Early mortality saves energy: estimating the energetic cost of excess offspring in a seabird. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2016.2724. [PMID: 28202814 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2016] [Accepted: 01/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Offspring are often produced in excess as insurance against stochastic events or unpredictable resources. This strategy may result in high early-life mortality, yet age-specific mortality before offspring independence and its associated costs have rarely been quantified. In this study, we modelled age-specific survival from hatching to fledging using 24 years of data on hatching order (HO), growth and age of mortality of more than 15 000 common tern (Sterna hirundo) chicks. We found that mortality peaked directly after hatching, after which it declined rapidly. Mortality hazard was best described with the Gompertz function, and was higher with later HO, mainly due to differences in baseline mortality hazard, rather than age-dependent mortality. Based on allometric mass-metabolism relationships and detailed growth curves of starving chicks, we estimated that the average metabolizable energy intake of non-fledged chicks was only 8.7% of the metabolizable energy intake of successful chicks during the nestling phase. Although 54% of hatchlings did not fledge, our estimates suggest them to have consumed only 9.3% of the total energy consumption of all hatched chicks in the population before fledging. We suggest that rapid mortality of excess offspring is part of an adaptive brood reduction strategy to the benefit of the parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar Vedder
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands .,Institute of Avian Research 'Vogelwarte Helgoland', An der Vogelwarte 21, D-26386 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - He Zhang
- CHIP, Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sandra Bouwhuis
- Institute of Avian Research 'Vogelwarte Helgoland', An der Vogelwarte 21, D-26386 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
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12
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Vedder O, Bouwhuis S. Heterogeneity in individual quality in birds: overall patterns and insights from a study on common terns. OIKOS 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.04273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Oscar Vedder
- Inst. of Avian Research ‘Vogelwarte Helgoland’, An der Vogelwarte 21, DE-26386; Wilhelmshaven Germany
- Groningen Inst. for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Univ. of Groningen, PO Box 11103; NL-9700 CC Groningen the Netherlands
| | - Sandra Bouwhuis
- Groningen Inst. for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Univ. of Groningen, PO Box 11103; NL-9700 CC Groningen the Netherlands
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13
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Monclús R, Muriel J, Pérez-Rodríguez L, Møller AP, Gil D. The role of the mating system and intraspecific brood parasitism in the costs of reproduction in a passerine bird. Oecologia 2017; 185:629-639. [PMID: 29018951 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-3977-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Limited resources trigger trade-offs in resource allocation. Reproduction is one of the most demanding activities in terms of energy, and costs related to reproduction can be apparent either as reduced future reproduction or as survival. However, costs are not always detected, because individual heterogeneity in quality and resource acquisition may explain variation in costs among individuals. We conducted a comprehensive study in spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor) nesting in Central Spain to determine whether costs of reproduction could be detectable in the short and/or long term and whether prenatal or postnatal investment were driving these costs. We took into account the life history of the species, where egg volume is highly repeatable, males are facultatively polygynous, and intraspecific brood parasitism occurs. Females with a high reproductive effort in a breeding event also had a high reproductive effort in the second event of the season. The mating system and maternal age were reliable predictors of breeding success within a breeding event: monogamous and primary females, as well as older mothers, raised more nestlings than secondary females and 1-year-old females, respectively. However, when high-investing females suffered intra-brood parasitism in 1 year, we found a negative correlation between current and future reproduction. These results suggest that, under some circumstances, females are able to skip the short-term costs of reproduction, but when extra effort is added, trade-offs arise. While most studies have focused on different aspects of individual quality on costs, the ecological context seems to represent an important component that should be taken into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel Monclús
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 91400, Orsay, France.
| | - Jaime Muriel
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Lorenzo Pérez-Rodríguez
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avda. Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja, 41092, Seville, Spain
| | - Anders P Møller
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Diego Gil
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
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14
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Vedder O, Verhulst S, Bauch C, Bouwhuis S. Telomere attrition and growth: a life-history framework and case study in common terns. J Evol Biol 2017; 30:1409-1419. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Revised: 05/11/2017] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- O. Vedder
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences; University of Groningen; Groningen The Netherlands
- Institute of Avian Research; Wilhelmshaven Germany
| | - S. Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences; University of Groningen; Groningen The Netherlands
| | - C. Bauch
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences; University of Groningen; Groningen The Netherlands
| | - S. Bouwhuis
- Institute of Avian Research; Wilhelmshaven Germany
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