Abstract
The functions of display between breeding pairs of animals have been given little attention outside of sexual selection. Yet evidence suggests that display between partners is in fact most commonly observed following mate choice, and is often just as elaborate. In many bird species, allopreening, when one member of a pair preens the other, is a major component of display both pre‐ and post‐pair formation. Despite this, there has been little investigation into its functions. Explanations that have been put forward tend to focus on its role in feather hygiene, which has limited phylogenetic support, or its function in the maintenance of the pair bond, though how this might occur or indeed what this actually represents has not been adequately explained. Phylogenetic evidence reveals that allopreening is most commonly observed in those species exhibiting high levels of partner retention and biparental care, and it appears to be functional in maintaining cooperation in parental behaviour in at least one species. In our observational study, we explored the patterns and putative functions of allopreening during the nest‐relief displays of breeding pairs of Black‐browed AlbatrossesThalassarche melanophrisduring incubation and chick‐provisioning. Allopreening was an important feature of displays, constituting 30% of display time. We found that the bird returning from its foraging trip usually initiated allopreening, and preened more than its partner prior to change‐over of nesting duties. We further found a positive relationship between the amount of time the pair spent in display and the duration of the subsequent foraging trip, providing tentative support for a function in maintaining cooperative parental behaviour between the parents. Although we cannot be conclusive as to its exact functions, we add to a limited literature the first exploration of functions for this conspicuous behaviour in albatrosses.
Highlights
Despite more than a hundred years having passed since Huxley’s first observations that intra-pair display is more commonly observed after than before pair formation (Huxley 1914), pair display often remains viewed through the lens of sexual selection (Griffith 2019)
We investigated whether total allopreening time varied with breeding experience of the pair, historical breeding success or sex of the outgoing bird by fitting an linear mixed effects models (LMMs) (Table 1, Model 2) that included these variables as fixed effects
Position = whether the bird was ‘incoming’ or ‘outgoing’ from the nest; timing = timing in the display, either pre- or post-changeover; sex = male or female; breeding years = years individual observed breeding; experience = years pair observed breeding together; pair = pair identity; ring = bird identity; success = historical breeding success, number of chicks fledged per breeding attempt; stage = breeding stage, incubation vs chick brooding; total display time = time from arrival of incoming bird to cessation of pair interaction; age = age of offspring relative to hatch date in days; obs.ID = unique identity for each changeover display; previous trip = duration of foraging trip that ended in changeover; total allopreen time = total time spent preening during display; qual = qualitative weather
Summary
Despite more than a hundred years having passed since Huxley’s first observations that intra-pair display is more commonly observed after than before pair formation (Huxley 1914), pair display often remains viewed through the lens of sexual selection (Griffith 2019). One of the more common forms of post-pair formation display is the nest-relief ceremony (Wachtmeister 2001), in which one parent returns to the nest to relieve the other of its parenting duties These displays are common in socially monogamous, biparentally caring species. Phylogenetic analysis (Kenny et al 2017) reveals no association between allopreening and colonial living Both allopreening and its mammalian counterpart, allogrooming, have been found to reduce stress in a variety of taxa, including Bru€nnich’s Guillemot Uria lomvia (Kober & Gaston 2003), Common Guillemots Uria aalge (Lewis et al 2007), Ravens Corvus corax (Sto€we et al 2008), Horses Equus caballus (Feh & de Mazieres 1993) and Crested Black Macaques Macaca nigra (Aureli & Yates 2010). Using a field observation approach, we describe the patterns of allopreening observed between reuniting parent albatrosses during late incubation and early brood guarding and consider the potential drivers and functions of its observed variation
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