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Territory Inheritance And The Evolution Of Cooperative Breeding In The Acorn Woodpecker, Walter D. Koenig, Joseph Haydock, Hannah L. Dugdale, Eric L. Walters
Territory Inheritance And The Evolution Of Cooperative Breeding In The Acorn Woodpecker, Walter D. Koenig, Joseph Haydock, Hannah L. Dugdale, Eric L. Walters
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
There are two main hypotheses for why offspring in cooperatively breeding taxa delay dispersal and remain on their natal territory rather than disperse. First, ecological constraints may force offspring to remain on their natal territory until a reproductive opportunity presents itself in an otherwise saturated habitat. Alternatively, delaying dispersal and helping kin may increase an offspring's inclusive fitness. One means by which offspring might enhance their direct fitness by delaying dispersal is by inheriting breeding status on their natal territory. Such territory inheritance regularly occurs in acorn woodpeckers, Melanerpes formicivorus, a species whose social groups consist of a cooperatively …
Habitat Saturation Results In Joint-Nesting Female Coalitions In A Social Bird, Sahas Barve, Walter D. Koenig, Joseph Haydock, Eric L. Walters
Habitat Saturation Results In Joint-Nesting Female Coalitions In A Social Bird, Sahas Barve, Walter D. Koenig, Joseph Haydock, Eric L. Walters
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Joint nesting by females and cooperative polyandry—cooperatively breeding groups with a male-biased breeder sex ratio—are little-understood, rare breeding systems. We tested alternative hypotheses of factors potentially driving these phenomena in a population of joint-nesting acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus). During periods of high population density and thus low independent breeding opportunities, acorn woodpecker females formed joint-nesting coalitions with close kin. Coalitions were typically associated with groups with a male bias. We found strong evidence for both inter- and intrasexual conflict, as joint nesting conferred a fitness benefit to some males, a significant fitness cost to females, and no gain in per …