Extra-pair paternity in Wood Warblers: preliminary findings from the Pskov Region, Northwest Russia



Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Extra-pair paternity (EPP), where offspring are fathered by males outside of a primary pair bond, is common among avian species and challenges the idea of strict monogamy. It provides insights into sexual selection and reproductive strategies. While EPP is frequently documented in species such as the Willow Warbler, its occurrence and population variability in the closely related Wood Warbler remains poorly studied.

AIM: This study investigated the presence of EPP in a Wood Warbler population in the Pskov Region, Northwest Russia.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: During fieldwork, we collected 124 DNA samples from 27 adult males, 14 adult females, and 83 chicks from 14 families. To analyze EPP, we used three microsatellite loci (Ase5, Ase18, Ase27) suitable for this population.

RESULTS: Of the 14 socially monogamous families examined, EPP was found in one brood, where two of five chicks (40%) were sired by a male outside the social pair bond. The overall EPP rate was 2.5%, and 7.1% of nests contained extra-pair young. These rates are markedly lower compared to Central Russia, where EPP in Wood Warblers has been documented at 25%, with 41% of nests containing extra-pair offspring. However, due to the small number of markers used, our estimates may be conservative. These results are therefore preliminary and require further investigation.

CONCLUSIONS: The reduced incidence of EPP in the Pskov Region may be linked to lower breeding densities and fewer unmated males. It cannot be also ruled out that the EPO estimate is underestimated due to the use of an insufficient number of markers. Further studies are essential to assess EPP in various regions and to understand the ecological and behavioral factors that influence its prevalence.

Full Text

Restricted Access

About the authors

Sergey A. Simonov

Institute of Biology of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: ssaves@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6396-9335
SPIN-code: 2812-9860
Scopus Author ID: 24781331500
http://ib.krc.karelia.ru/member.php?id=905

Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Laboratory for Zoology, Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences (IB KarRC RAS)

Russian Federation, 185910, IB KarRC RAS, Pushkinskaya 11, Petrozavodsk, Russia

Ludmila V. Topchieva

Institute of Biology of Karelian Research Centre Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: topchieva67@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8697-2086
SPIN-code: 5343-0984
Scopus Author ID: 15137309400
http://www.krc.karelia.ru/member.php?id=243&plang=r

Cand. Sci. (Biology), Leading Researcher, Laboratory for Genetics, Institute of Biology, KarRC RAS

Russian Federation, 185910, IB KarRC RAS, Pushkinskaya 11, Petrozavodsk, Russia

Maria V. Matantseva

Institute of Biology of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IB KarRC RAS), Petrozavodsk, Russia

Email: MariaMatantseva@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5393-4144
SPIN-code: 8853-3674
Scopus Author ID: 24780802400
http://www.krc.karelia.ru/member.php?id=640&plang=r

Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Laboratory for Zoology, Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences (IB KarRC RAS)\

Russian Federation, 185910, IB KarRC RAS, Pushkinskaya 11, Petrozavodsk, Russia

Nikolay L. Rendakov

Institute of Biology KarSR RAS, Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia, RF

Email: nlrend@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5145-4470
SPIN-code: 1037-1448
http://www.krc.karelia.ru/member.php?id=894&plang=r

Ph.D., Research Fellow, Laboratory for Environmental Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, KarRC RAS

Russian Federation, 185910, IB KarRC RAS, Pushkinskaya 11, Petrozavodsk, Russia

References

  1. Petrie M., Kempenaers B. Extra-pair paternity in birds: Explaining variation between species and populations. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 1998;13(2):52–58. doi: 10.1016/S0169-5347(97)01232-9
  2. Griffith S.C., Owens I.P.F., Thuman K.A. Extra-pair paternity in birds: A review of interspecific variation and adaptive function. Molecular Ecology. 2002;11(11):2195–2212. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-294x.2002.01613.x
  3. Westneat D.F., Stewart I.R.K. Extra-pair paternity in birds: Causes, correlates, and conflict. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. 2003;34:365–396. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.34.011802.132439
  4. da Prato SRD. Polygamy by Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus). British Birds. 1982;(75):409–411.
  5. Lawn MR. Pairing systems and site tenacity of the Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus in Southern England. Ornis Scandinavica. 1982;13(3):193–199.
  6. Paevsky VA. Biologiya gnezdovaniya penochki-vesnichki (Phylloscopus trochilus) na Kurshskoi kose Baltiiskogo morya. Proceedings of the Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. 1991;239:108–114. (In Russ).
  7. Neergaard R, Arvidson BA. Polygyny in the Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus in Swedish Lapland. Ibis. 1995;137(1):64–69.
  8. Bjørnstad G, Lifjeld J. High frequency of extra-pair paternity in a dense and synchronous population of Willow Warblers Phylloscopus trochilus. Journal of Avian Biology. 1997;28(4):319–324.
  9. Fridolfsson A-K, Gyllensten UB, Jacobsson S. Microsatellite markers for paternity testing in the Willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus: high frequency of extra-pair young in an island population. Journal of Heredity. 1997;126:127–132.
  10. Gil D, Slater PJB, Graves JA. Extra-pair paternity and song characteristics in the willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus. Journal of Avian Biology. 2007;38(3):291–297. doi: 10.1111/j.2007.0908-8857.03868.x
  11. Lapshin NV, Matantseva MV, Simonov SA, Topchieva LV, Rendakov NL. Facultative polygamy and extrapair paternity of willow warblers in different parts of the species range. Proceedings of Petrozavodsk State University. 2017;8(169):59–64. (In Russ). doi: 10.24412/Fem6eH0sfmg
  12. Matantseva MV, Simonov SA, Kretova AYu. Extra-pair paternity rate of Willow Warblers on Kola Peninsula. Proceedings of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 2024. doi: 10.17076/eb1992
  13. Gyllensten UB, Jakobsson S, Temrin H. No evidence of illegitimate young in monogamous and polygynous warblers. Nature. 1990;343(6254):168–170. doi: 10.1038/343168a0
  14. Grendelmeier A, Arlettaz R, Olano-Marin J, Pasinelli G. Experimentally provided conspecific cues boost bird territory density but not breeding performance. Behavioral Ecology. 2017;28(1):174–185. doi: 10.1093/beheco/arw144
  15. Goretskaia MI, Belokon YS, Belokon MM. Extra-pair paternity in the Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) in Central Russia. Biology Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 2024;51:152–158. doi: 10.1134/S1062359023601489
  16. Richardson DS, Jury FL, Dawson DA, Salgueiro P, Komdeur J, Burke T. Fifty Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) microsatellite loci polymorphic in Sylviidae species and their cross-species amplification in other passerine birds. Molecular Ecology. 2000; 9(12):2226–2231. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-294X.2000.105338.x
  17. Primmer CR, Møller AP, Ellegren H. New microsatellites from the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca and the swallow Hirundo rustica genomes. Hereditas. 1996;124(3): 281–283. doi: 10.1111/j.1601-5223.1996.00281.x
  18. Leder E, Karaiskou N, Primmer CR. 70 new microsatellites for the pied flycatcher and amplification in other passerine birds. Molecular Ecology Resources. 2008,8(4):874–880. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2008.02096.x
  19. Primmer CR, Møller AP, Ellegren H. Resolving genetic relationships with microsatellite markers – a parentage testing system for the swallow Hirundo rustica. Molecular Ecology. 1995;4(4):493–498. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.1995.tb00243.x
  20. Bensch S, Price T., Kohn J. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in a Phylloscopus warbler. Molecular Ecology. 1997;6(1):91–92.
  21. Belokon MM, Belokon YuS. A study of the mating system in birds with the use of microsatellite loci: methodological approaches and typical errors. In: Ornitologicheskie issledovanija v stranah Severnoj Evrazii. Tezisy XV Mezhdunarodnoj ornitologicheskoj konferencii Severnoj Evrazii. Minsk: Belaruskaya navuka, 2020. P. 63–64. (In Russ).
  22. Smouse PE, Banks SC, Peakall R. Converting quadratic entropy to diversity: Both animals and alleles are diverse, but some are more diverse than others. PLOS ONE. 2017;12:e0185499. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185499
  23. Van Oosterhout C, Hutchinson W.F., Wills D.P.M., Shipley P. MICRO-CHECKER: Software for identifying and correcting genotyping errors in microsatellite data. Molecular Ecology Notes. 2004;4. doi: 535-538. 10.1111/j.1471-8286.2004.00684.x
  24. Danzmann RG. PROBMAX: A computer program for assigning unknown parentage in pedigree analysis from known genotypic pools of parents and progeny. Journal of Heredity. 1997;88(4):333. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a023112
  25. Matantseva MV, Simonov SA, Lapshin NV. Cases of conspecific brood parasitism in the Willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus, Passeriformes). Biology Bulletin. 2021;48:1075–1078. doi: 10.1134/S1062359021070207

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML

Copyright (c) Eco-Vector



СМИ зарегистрировано Федеральной службой по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций (Роскомнадзор).
Регистрационный номер и дата принятия решения о регистрации СМИ: серия ПИ № ФС 77 - 89324 от 21.04.2025.