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Cooperative breeding in Hawaiian Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni)
José Luis Copete June 15, 2021
Cooperative breeding is a common phenomenon in birds where nonbreeding individuals assist other birds with reproduction, potentially delaying or even foregoing their own breeding to engage in these behaviors (Koenig & Dickinson 2004). About 3 percent (approximately 300 species) of bird species worldwide are cooperative breeders.
There are two types of cooperative behaviors: those in which mature nonbreeders (“helpers-at-the-nest” or “auxiliaries”) help protect and rear the young, but are not parents of any of them, and those where there is some degree of shared parentage.
Cooperative helpers are often closely related to the breeding individuals; they may be previous offspring of one or both breeders (half or full siblings of the brood) or siblings of one of the breeders (uncle/aunt of the brood), therefore receiving indirect fitness benefits from this behavior. Cooperative breeders could also exhibit shared maternity, shared paternity, or both.
In North America, some well-known cooperative breeders include the Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) and the Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus). In the order Charadriiformes, where waders are placed, biparental care is the typical breeding strategy, with cooperative breeding only a facultative behavior, whereby pairs and cooperative groups coexist and dispute territories.
Two male Hawaiian Stilts foraging near a nest site, while one female incubates a nest with three eggs in the Waiawa wetland unit of the Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuge on O'ahu on 25 May 2019. Photograph taken from a nest camera
(a) Hawaiian Stilt nest found with five eggs on 25 April 2020 in wetlands in the Marine Corps Base Hawaii—Kaneohe Bay on O‘ahu. Photograph taken by JLI. (b) Two female Hawaiian Stilts standing over the nest with five eggs found in the Marine Corps Base Hawaii—Kaneohe Bay on O‘ahu. Photograph taken from a nest camera. (c ) One female Hawaiian Stilt incubating the nest with five eggs, while one female and one male forage near the nest site in the Marine Corps Base Hawaii—Kaneohe Bay on O‘ahu. Photograph taken from a nest camera
Link to the article | Alternate link (research paper)
(photos from the research paper)
Cooperative breeding in Hawaiian Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni)
José Luis Copete June 15, 2021
Cooperative breeding is a common phenomenon in birds where nonbreeding individuals assist other birds with reproduction, potentially delaying or even foregoing their own breeding to engage in these behaviors (Koenig & Dickinson 2004). About 3 percent (approximately 300 species) of bird species worldwide are cooperative breeders.
There are two types of cooperative behaviors: those in which mature nonbreeders (“helpers-at-the-nest” or “auxiliaries”) help protect and rear the young, but are not parents of any of them, and those where there is some degree of shared parentage.
Cooperative helpers are often closely related to the breeding individuals; they may be previous offspring of one or both breeders (half or full siblings of the brood) or siblings of one of the breeders (uncle/aunt of the brood), therefore receiving indirect fitness benefits from this behavior. Cooperative breeders could also exhibit shared maternity, shared paternity, or both.
In North America, some well-known cooperative breeders include the Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) and the Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus). In the order Charadriiformes, where waders are placed, biparental care is the typical breeding strategy, with cooperative breeding only a facultative behavior, whereby pairs and cooperative groups coexist and dispute territories.
Two male Hawaiian Stilts foraging near a nest site, while one female incubates a nest with three eggs in the Waiawa wetland unit of the Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuge on O'ahu on 25 May 2019. Photograph taken from a nest camera
(a) Hawaiian Stilt nest found with five eggs on 25 April 2020 in wetlands in the Marine Corps Base Hawaii—Kaneohe Bay on O‘ahu. Photograph taken by JLI. (b) Two female Hawaiian Stilts standing over the nest with five eggs found in the Marine Corps Base Hawaii—Kaneohe Bay on O‘ahu. Photograph taken from a nest camera. (c ) One female Hawaiian Stilt incubating the nest with five eggs, while one female and one male forage near the nest site in the Marine Corps Base Hawaii—Kaneohe Bay on O‘ahu. Photograph taken from a nest camera
Link to the article | Alternate link (research paper)
(photos from the research paper)
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