Internal relatedness and standardized heterozygosity in Fan-tailed Gerygone nestlings in New Caledonia grouped by skin coloration (49 bright and 15 dark), based on analysis of all 17 microsatellite loci and seven loci associated with skin colour.

<p>Internal relatedness and standardized heterozygosity in Fan-tailed Gerygone nestlings in New Caledonia grouped by skin coloration (49 bright and 15 dark), based on analysis of all 17 microsatellite loci and seven loci associated with skin colour.</p

Mating system and extra-pair paternity in the Fan-tailed Gerygone <i>Gerygone flavolateralis</i> in relation to parasitism by the Shining Bronze-cuckoo <i>Chalcites lucidus</i> - Fig 2

<p><b>Genetic constitution of 127 Fan-tailed Gerygones of 36 breeding attempts in New Caledonia with single (a) and mixed (b) paternity.</b> First two columns consist of broods with bright skin coloration, third column–dark skin coloration, and fourth column–polymorphic broods. The number in upper left corner of each plot corresponds to breeding attempt ID in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0194059#pone.0194059.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1</a> and <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0194059#pone.0194059.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>. Squares indicate females, triangles males, and circles offspring. Position of the individuals within the graph is determined by two first Principal Coordinates calculated based on Euclidean distances. The colours correspond to the three first Principal Coordinates transformed into RGB.</p

Locations of sampled Fan-tailed Gerygone nests in the Parc des Grandes Fougères and surroundings.

<p>The colours of dots indicate the mean genetic constitution of breeding attempts, based on Principal Coordinates calculated on Euclidean distances and transformed into RGB values. White background indicates open areas, grey forest.</p

Number (proportion) of bright, dark and polymorphic Fan-tailed Gerygone broods and number of bright and dark nestlings in single-paternity broods and mixed-paternity broods.

<p>Number (proportion) of bright, dark and polymorphic Fan-tailed Gerygone broods and number of bright and dark nestlings in single-paternity broods and mixed-paternity broods.</p

Mating system and extra-pair paternity in the Fan-tailed Gerygone <i>Gerygone flavolateralis</i> in relation to parasitism by the Shining Bronze-cuckoo <i>Chalcites lucidus</i>

<div><p>Extra-pair copulation can increase genetic diversity and offspring fitness. However, it may also increase intra-nest variability in avian hosts of brood parasites, which can decrease the discrimination ability of host parents towards the parasite. In New Caledonia, the Fan-tailed Gerygone (<i>Gerygone flavolateralis</i>), which is parasitized by the Shining Bronze-cuckoo (<i>Chalcites lucidus</i>), has two nestling morphs, dark and bright, that can occur in monomorphic and polymorphic broods. Gerygone parents recognize and eject parasite nestlings from their nest, but the presence of polymorphic broods may increase the chances of recognition errors. Using 17 microsatellite markers, we investigated the mating system of the Fan-tailed Gerygone to understand the mechanisms underlying nestling polymorphism. We hypothesised that extra-pair copulations would lead to a higher proportion of polymorphic broods caused by higher genetic variability, thus creating a trade-off between genetic benefits and host defence reliability. Extra-pair paternity occurred in 6 of 36 broods, which resulted in 6 of 69 offspring sired by extra-pair males. Broods with and without mixed paternity were comparably often parasitized. Extra-pair paternity did not influence the proportions of bright, dark and polymorphic broods. Compared to bright siblings in polymorphic broods, dark nestlings tended to have lower heterozygosity, particularly in loci associated with skin coloration. The results also suggested that there is no obstacle for genetic exchange between individuals from forest and savannah, possibly due to dispersal of offspring. We conclude that the Fan-tailed Gerygone is a socially monogamous species with a low rate of extra-pair paternity compared to closely related species. Extra-pair paternity increased offspring genetic variability without measurable associated costs by brood parasitism. The results highlight the importance of studying host mating systems to assess the trade-offs between host defence and offspring fitness in co-evolutionary arms races.</p></div

Genetic diversity measures of 17 microsatellite markers in 69 Fan-tailed Gerygone nestlings and the results of association analysis performed in CLUMP 2.4 with skin coloration of the offspring.

<p>HE: unbiased expected heterozygosity; HO: observed heterozygosity; p: level of significance of the chi-squared value from the table obtained by comparing χ² of the allele frequencies in dark and bright chicks with χ² calculated based on simulated (100x) tables with the same row and column totals, after collapsing low allele frequencies (<5%, [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0194059#pone.0194059.ref045" target="_blank">45</a>]). Significant results (loci associated with skin coloration) after Bonferroni correction (adjusted P < 0.003) are marked with asterisk.</p

Internal relatedness and standardized heterozygosity in Fan-tailed Gerygone nestlings from six mixed-paternity broods (offspring sired either by an extra-pair father (n = 6) or by their social father (n = 6)) and in single-paternity broods (n = 57) based on the analysis of 17 microsatellite loci.

<p>Internal relatedness and standardized heterozygosity in Fan-tailed Gerygone nestlings from six mixed-paternity broods (offspring sired either by an extra-pair father (n = 6) or by their social father (n = 6)) and in single-paternity broods (n = 57) based on the analysis of 17 microsatellite loci.</p

Individual values and averages (with 95% confidence intervals) for 36 breeding attempts of 29 Fan-tailed Gerygone pairs in New Caledonia, during the breeding seasons from 2011/12 to 2015/16, based on 17 microsatellite markers.

<p>ID: number of breeding attempt (corresponding to <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0194059#pone.0194059.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1</a>); Pair: number of breeding pair; N: number of sampled individuals in the breeding attempt (including the breeding pair); Allele number: mean number of alleles per locus; Allelic richness: mean allelic richness per locus; HE: unbiased expected heterozygosity; HO: observed heterozygosity, F value: relatedness between individuals; Paternity: all offspring sired by one male (within-pair: WP) or two males (extra-pair: EP); offspring skin colour (poly means both colours occur in a brood); Parasitism: whether a brood was parasitized by Shining Bronze-cuckoo (1 –parasitized, 0 –not parasitized); Genetic constitution: colour based on the first three Principal Coordinates calculated on Euclidean distances and transformed into RGB values.</p

Additional file 2: of Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes?

Figure S1. Locations of the sampled population at Rasa I., Palawan, Philippines, in the Indo-Malayan zoogeographical region. Figure S2. Locations of the sampled populations in New Caledonia, Australasian zoogeographical region. Figure S3. Locations of the sampled population in the Chatham Is., Australasian zoogeographical region. Figure S4. Locations of the sampled populations in New Zealand, Australasian zoogeographical region. Figure S5. Locations of the sampled populations in the Neotropical zoogeographical region. (PDF 1271 kb

Additional file 1: of Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes?

Table S1. Hemoparasites in wild Psittaciformes. Malaria parasites (Plasmodium), related intracellular haemosporidians (Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon), the unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoans (Trypanosoma), and microfilaria reported in wild populations of Psittaciformes. The probability of detection for adults is based on a simulation (see Additional file 4) of the probability that the parasites will actually be detected given the sample size and an expected true prevalence based on the prevalences observed in wild Psittaciformes. The habitat and climate classification follow the references in Table 1. (XLSX 34 kb