Home range overlap and its genetic correlates in an avian brood parasite, the lesser cuckoo Cuculus poliocephalus

The absence of parental care is of importance in the evolution of mating and breeding systems. However, its importance in the evolution of these systems in higher vertebrates, such as birds and mammals, has not been well defined since nearly all of them exhibit some form of parental care. Avian broo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of ethology Vol. 37; no. 3; pp. 271 - 281
Main Authors Yun, Seongho, Kim, Heeyoung, Moon, Hye-Kyoung, Lee, Jin-Won, Yoo, Jeong-Chil
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Tokyo Springer Japan 13.09.2019
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Animal behavior
Animal Ecology
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Cuculus poliocephalus
Evolutionary Biology
Genetic analysis
Home range
Life Sciences
Mating
Parasites
Sympatric populations
Zoology
Parental care
Mating system
Radio-tracking
Scramble competition
Breeding system
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Summary:The absence of parental care is of importance in the evolution of mating and breeding systems. However, its importance in the evolution of these systems in higher vertebrates, such as birds and mammals, has not been well defined since nearly all of them exhibit some form of parental care. Avian brood parasites thus provide a unique opportunity to explore the effect of a lack of parental care in higher vertebrates because they shift care for their progeny onto other species. We investigated the social system of an avian brood parasite, the lesser cuckoo ( Cuculus poliocephalus ), by using a comprehensive approach that included field observation, radio-tracking, and genetic analyses. We found that genetically unrelated, multiple males and females coexist in a single area; radio-tracking confirmed that this co-occurrence was neither temporary nor arbitrary. Instead, sympatric cuckoos appeared to share their home ranges and often chased each other for mating without antagonistic physical interaction. We conclude that the lesser cuckoo may employ a scramble competition mating system without territoriality, and that this mating system, which is unusual in higher vertebrates, may have arisen due to the absence of parental care. Future studies assessing the parentage of nestlings are needed to establish the genetic basis of this social system.
ISSN:0289-0771
1439-5444
DOI:10.1007/s10164-019-00598-2