Second North American Sea Duck Conference - Patuxent Wildlife ...
Second North American Sea Duck Conference - Patuxent Wildlife ...
Second North American Sea Duck Conference - Patuxent Wildlife ...
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SECOND NORTH AMERICAN SEA DUCK CONFERENCE<br />
FEMALE-BASED KIN GROUPS<br />
IN THE COMMON EIDER<br />
Laura McKinnon, Kim Scribner, and Grant Gilchrist<br />
Department of Zoology, Michigan State University; l_mck@hotmail.com, mckinn98@msu.edu<br />
The adaptiveness of social behaviors such as group living can be explained by the concept of inclusive<br />
fitness when kin relationships exist between individuals within groups. We investigated the presence<br />
of kin-based female sociality in the common eider (Somateria mollisima). Previous studies of female<br />
sociality in common eiders have been restricted to observations during colony departure and brood<br />
rearing, despite the fact that females may associations occur at several previous stages including colony<br />
arrival and nest site selection. Here we provide a novel, empirical framework using molecular markers<br />
and field sampling to investigate female social groups at several stages of the common eider life cycle.<br />
Blood samples were collected from females captured in naturally occurring groups during colony<br />
arrival and colony departure. Genetic data for females was also collected during the nesting season<br />
via post-hatch collection of nesting material from monitored nests with known dates of nest initiation.<br />
When compared to mean estimates of inter-individual relatedness for the entire colony, significantly<br />
higher levels of relatedness were found between females within groups upon colony arrival, between<br />
females and nearest neighbors during nest site selection and between females within groups departing<br />
the colony with ducklings. Both full-sibling and half-sibling equivalent relationships were found within<br />
these groups at all three stages. Here we have provided the first genetically confirmed evidence of kinbased<br />
social groups in female common eiders and sea ducks in general. Further research directed at<br />
measuring fitness benefits of sociality in common eiders and other sea ducks could provide invaluable<br />
insight into the evolution of sociality in these species.<br />
NOV. 7-11, 2005 ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, USA<br />
67
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