Elsevier

Animal Behaviour

Volume 79, Issue 5, May 2010, Pages 1017-1023
Animal Behaviour

Natal dispersal and philopatry in a group-living but noncooperative passerine bird, the vinous-throated parrotbill

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.01.015Get rights and content

Dispersal is a key factor affecting the dynamics and genetic structure of populations. Patterns of natal dispersal vary widely depending on the selection pressures that each species encounters, but the underlying factors determining this variation are poorly understood. We studied the pattern of natal dispersal in a small passerine, the vinous-throated parrotbill, Paradoxornis webbianus, using both direct ringing data and indirect genetic methods. The social structure of this species is characterized by group living without apparent territorial behaviour. The dispersal rate of juveniles from their natal groups was moderate (about 40%) and dispersal distance was short, most individuals moving to neighbouring flocks. Sibling groups that included both sexes usually dispersed or were philopatric together so that they were found in the same winter flock where pairing occurs. Thus, the avoidance of inbreeding or intrasexual competition among siblings appears not to affect natal dispersal in this species. Instead, our results suggest that the benefits of dispersing in groups and/or selection of kin structure within social groups via kin-selected reproductive benefits may promote the observed dispersal pattern: sibling associations without separation of the sexes. This behaviour may have important implications for the kin structure of populations and the evolution of sociality.

Section snippets

Fieldwork

The fieldwork was carried out during two breeding seasons (April–August 2005 and 2006) and three wintering seasons (December–January) between December 2004 and January 2007 at Buyoung-ri, Yangpyeong-gun, Gyonggi-do, South Korea (37°32′N, 127°20′E). The study area is approximately 550 ha and consists of woodland with scrub and bush at its margins, reedbeds around a stream running through the study area, and farmland and gardens. We divided the study area into main and peripheral sites based on

Ringing Recoveries and Unringed Birds

During the two breeding seasons, we ringed 541 fledglings (2005: 314 fledglings; 2006: 227 fledglings) from 114 nests, including 250 males, 230 females (identified by genetic sexing) and 61 birds whose sex was not determined. Sixty-seven of them (12.4%, N = 541) were recaptured in the following winter (2005–2006 winter: 37 birds, 11.8%; 2006–2007 winter: 30 birds, 13.2%) and there was no significant difference in recapture rate between the sexes (male = 41/250, 16.4%; female = 25/230, 10.9%;

Discussion

We found a high rate of natal philopatry and short dispersal distances between flocks of a group-living passerine, the vinous-throated parrotbill. Siblings usually dispersed or were philopatric together, resulting in strong sibling association. Furthermore, there was no clear sex bias in dispersal so that siblings of both sexes were found together in the same winter flock, where pairing occurs. Consequently, natal dispersal did not reduce the risks of interactions with opposite-sex siblings and

Acknowledgments

We thank Andrew MacColl, Beth Woodward, Ki-Baek Nam, Michelle Simeoni, Stuart Sharp, Terry Burke and two anonymous referees for their valuable comments on the manuscript, and Shinichi Nakagawa for statistical advice. We are also indebted to Byoung-Soon Jang, Hee-Yoon Kim, Jeong-Chil Yoo and Myon-Sik Kim for their invaluable help in the field, and Chun-Geun Kim who kindly provided accommodation during fieldwork. Many residents in the study area also kindly allowed us to observe birds on their

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    1

    Y.-K. Lee is at the Ecology Research Department, National Institute of Environment Research, Environmental Research Complex, Incheon 404-708, Republic of Korea.

    2

    B. J. Hatchwell is at the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, U.K.

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