Skip to main content
WCS
Menu
Library
Library Catalog
eJournals & eBooks
WCS Research
Archives
Research Use
Finding Aids
Digital Collections
WCS History
WCS Research
Research Publications
Science Data
Services for WCS Researchers
Archives Shop
Bronx Zoo
Department of Tropical Research
Browse By Product
About Us
FAQs
Intern or Volunteer
Staff
Donate
Search WCS.org
Search
search
Popular Search Terms
WCS History
Library and Archives
Library and Archives Menu
Library
Archives
WCS Research
Archives Shop
About Us
Donate
en
fr
Title
No evidence of extra-pair paternity or intraspecific brood parasitism in the Imperial Shag Phalacrocorax atriceps
Author(s)
Calderón, L.;Svagelj, W. S.;Quintana, F.;Lougheed, S. C.;Tubaro, P. L.
Published
2012
Publisher
Journal of Ornithology
Published Version DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0754-6
Abstract
In long-lived birds with significant paternal care contribution, as the case of seabirds, extra-pair paternity (EPP) is an infrequent phenomenon. Intriguingly, and in contrast to the general pattern exhibited by seabirds, EPP rates appear relatively high in the two species of cormorants and shags (Phalacrocoracidae family) analyzed so far. We test for EPP in the Imperial Shag Phalacrocorax atriceps, a medium-sized colonial seabird, using four DNA microsatellites originally developed for Great Cormorants P. carbo, and successfully cross-amplified in our focal species. We assessed the parentage of 110 chicks from 37 broods sampled at Punta León, Argentina, during the 2004 and 2005 breeding seasons. We found no evidence of EPP or intraspecific brood parasitism (IBP). Given our sample sizes, the upper 95% confidence limits for both EPP and IBP were estimated at 3. 3% for the chicks and 8. 4% for the broods. Our results did not agree with the previous reports of EPP within the family, probably as consequence of different copulation and courtship behaviours, mostly related to male's solicitation display and females active search for extra pair copulations. © 2011 Dt. Ornithologen-Gesellschaft e.V.
Keywords
Cormorants;Genetic parents;Microsatellites;Phalacrocoracidae;Seabirds
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB13490