Mixed reproductive strategies of the Common moorhen on a microscale as revealed by genetic data

Abstract

External factors shaping reproductive strategies within a population are still poorly understood. How individuals use space and where they decide to build a nest may influence reproductive strategies, as individuals that are close in space may more frequently interact socially. Here, we investigated a population (n=58 from 15 nests) of the Common moorhen in the Loir river (Western France) using microsatellite data (54 alleles). We found a surprisingly low level of genetic monogamy, a low relatedness among offspring in some nests and a low relatedness between the social parents and the offspring. Nest heterozygosity was highest close to the geographic center of the population. The mating strategies of the Common moorhen were highly variable, despite the social monogamy of the species, and were, to some extent, influenced by the microspatial structure. We discuss how our results contribute to the understanding of parent–offspring and offspring–offspring relationships.