Publication
Title
Do sibling tits (**Parus major, P. caeruleus**) disperse over similar distances and in similar directions?
Author
Abstract
We studied dispersal movements by sibling pairs of great tits, Parus major, and blue tits, P. caeruleus, in a patchy environment, in order to test whether siblings are more similar in dispersal than expected by chance. Because of possible common environmental effects due to the heterogeneity and finiteness of the study area, we compared the similarity among siblings with the similarity between each sibling and an unrelated bird that fledged in the same patch and year, as close to the siblings nest as possible. Siblings of both species were not more similar in dispersal distance than they were to control birds. However, great tit siblings dispersed in similar directions compared to control birds, and this result was not affected by the degree of matching between sibling and control birds. As a consequence, siblings ended up breeding at closer distances from one another than control birds. Heritability values calculated from parent-offspring regressions were close to zero, suggesting that there is no additive genetic variance for dispersal distance or dispersal direction. We propose that similarity in dispersal direction originates from association of siblings during dispersal or during activities that influence the choice of direction, such as postfledging family movements. Our results show that non-independence in the choice of dispersal direction by siblings may influence small-scale kin structure in this population with high local recruitment.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Oecologia. - Berlin, 1968, currens
Publication
Berlin : 2005
ISSN
0029-8549 [print]
1432-1939 [online]
DOI
10.1007/S00442-004-1760-7
Volume/pages
143 :2 (2005) , p. 301-307
ISI
000227738400014
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 07.01.2010
Last edited 04.03.2024
To cite this reference