Cooperative parental performance at chick provisioning in a small passerine, the Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Abstract

Sexual conflict has long been perceived as a solid background for the evolution of parental care. Recent studies, however, highlight the importance of cooperation between the parents, especially in socially monogamous systems. Here, we examined parental performance of a small monogamous passerine with bi-parental care, the Eurasian Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus, RW), looking at the issue from the perspective of parents’ cooperation. Using accurate and non-invasive video data on parent chick provisioning from 78 nests varying in brood size, we found some evidence of parents cooperation: both parents similarly adjusted their feeding rate to brood size, and the higher was their both contribution, the better was chicks condition (expressed by defecation rate). However, contrary to our expectations (based on premises from similar studies on other bird species) we did not find evidence for frequent and active synchronisation of nest visits. Importantly, we found a negative relationship between synchronisation level and chick body condition, suggesting that synchronisation may actually not be that beneficial in the study system. The results are surprising and highlight the importance of studying various species to understand mechanisms behind cooperation of partners in the bi-parental care system.Significance statementBiparental care has long been viewed in the context of conflict between the breeding partners, and only recently they are considered cooperating agents caring together for the common offspring. Nevertheless, studies applying such a perspective are still scarce and there is a pressing need to test different species. Using video data on chick provisioning by Reed Warbler parents, we found evidence of partner cooperation: both parents adjusted their feeding rate to the number of nestlings, and the higher was their joint contribution, the better was offspring condition. Parents did not synchronise their nest visits more compared to randomly generated visits, but we found that synchronisation level negatively affected chick condition. Our results highlight the need to consider various species to fully understand mechanisms behind cooperation of breeding partners.