0394619 - ÚBO 2014 RIV DK eng J - Journal Article
Šťovíček, O. - Kreisinger, Jakub - Javůrková, V. - Albrecht, Tomáš
High rates of conspecific brood parasitism revealed by microsatellite analysis in a diving duck, the common pochard Aythya ferina.
Journal of Avian Biology. Roč. 44, č. 4 (2013), s. 369-375. ISSN 0908-8857. E-ISSN 1600-048X
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT EE2.3.20.0303
Institutional support: RVO:68081766
Keywords : intraspecific nest parasitism * mallards Anas platyrhynchos * extra-pair maternity * clutch size * wood ducks
Subject RIV: EG - Zoology
Impact factor: 2.235, year: 2013

Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) is a reproductive tactic whereby a parasitic female lays its eggs into the nests of other conspecifi c females. Genetic-based data on the occurrence of CBP in birds, however, is still relatively scarce. We analysed prevalence of CBP in a ground-nesting diving duck, the common pochard Aythya ferina, using a set of 17 microsatellites. Compared to related species, our population showed a relatively high level of CBP, with 39% of genotyped pochard eggs laid parasitically and 89% of nests containing more than 1 parasitic egg. In addition, we observed relatively high rates of interspecific brood parasitism (13% of eggs), caused predominantly by mallard Anas plathyrhynchos and tufted duck Aythya fuligula. CBP eggs had decreased hatching success compared to host eggs, with 65% of CBP and 95% of non-CBP genotyped eggs hatching successfully. Our data suggest that this was probably due to improper timing of parasitic egglaying, which compromised synchronised hatching of CBP and host-eggs. Despite high rates of CBP in our pochard popu lation, fi tness costs associated with this reproductive tactic appear to be low for host females since neither clutch size nor host-egg hatching probability were reduced due to CBP.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0222834