Extra-pair paternity in a long-distance migratory songbird beyond neighbors’ borders and across male age classes

Abstract

Roughly 90% of socially monogamous bird species exhibit some degree of extra-pair paternity (EPP), although the extent and the underlying mechanisms vary among species. We analyzed spatial and demographic patterns of EPP over a 6 year period (2005–2010) as part of a long-term population study of Canada Warblers (Cardellina canadensis (L., 1766)). We identified 12 microsatellite loci used to assess paternity for 185 nestlings from 61 nests. Extra-pair young (EPY) accounted for 41.6% of all nestlings and 57.4% of nests contained at least one EPY. Fewer than half of EPY were sired by males who shared territorial boundaries, and some males sired young in nests 1 km from their territory. The age of social males did not differ from males who cuckolded them. The majority (83%) of EPY were sired by males in older age classes (2+ years old), while <17% were sired by 1 year olds. Of the young sired by older males, 58.5% were sired by males 3–7 years old. Males that sired more EPY sired fewer within-pair young (WPY); those without EPY sired more WPY suggesting a possible fitness trade-off between these two strategies. Our findings suggest multiple age-based strategies within a single breeding population, as well as potential strategy shifts to maximize lifetime fitness as they age.