Publication Type: | Journal Article |
Year of Publication: | 1996 |
Authors: | Barber, CA, Robertson, RJ, Boag, PT |
Journal: | Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
Volume: | 38 |
Issue: | 6 |
Date Published: | 1996 |
ISBN Number: | 03405443 |
Keywords: | Hirundinidae, Hirundo, Hirundo rustica, Tachycineta, Tachycineta bicolor |
Abstract: | A common criticism of nestbox studies is one of creating artificial nesting conditions and breeding behavior different from what would be seen under natural conditions. We assessed the frequency of extra-pair paternity (percentage of broods with at least one extra-pair young) in 25 families of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting in natural cavities and compared it to that in a nestbox population. We found that 84% of females nesting in natural cavities obtained fertilizations from extra-pair males. These extra-pair males fathered 69% of all nestlings. Studies of tree swallows breeding in nestboxes have shown that 50-87% of broods contained extra-pair young, with extra-pair males fathering 38-53% of all the young. In broods with extra-pair paternity, natural cavities contained a significantly greater proportion of extra-pair young than did nestboxes. Despite differences in nesting habitat and female age structure, the frequency of extra-pair paternity did not differ significantly between the natural-cavity and nestbox populations. Therefore, the presence of extra-pair paternity in tree swallows is not an artifact of nestboxes or of artificial nesting conditions. |
URL: | http://www.jstor.org/stable/4601225 |
Short Title: | Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
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