Interspecific competition influences fitness benefits of assortative mating for territorial aggression in eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis).

Territorial aggression influences fitness and, in monogamous pairs, the behavior of both individuals could impact reproductive success. Moreover, territorial aggression is particularly important in the context of interspecific competition. Tree swallows and eastern bluebirds are highly aggressive, s...

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Main Authors:	Morgan R Harris, Lynn Siefferman
Format:	article
Language:	EN
Published:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014
Subjects:	Medicine R Science Q
Online Access:	https://doaj.org/article/992fc9d7221d483d836e17ef508a6f08
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:992fc9d7221d483d836e17ef508a6f082021-11-18T08:33:22ZInterspecific competition influences fitness benefits of assortative mating for territorial aggression in eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis).1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0088668https://doaj.org/article/992fc9d7221d483d836e17ef508a6f082014-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24516672/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Territorial aggression influences fitness and, in monogamous pairs, the behavior of both individuals could impact reproductive success. Moreover, territorial aggression is particularly important in the context of interspecific competition. Tree swallows and eastern bluebirds are highly aggressive, secondary cavity-nesting birds that compete for limited nesting sites. We studied eastern bluebirds at a field site in the southern Appalachian Mountains that has been recently colonized (<40 yr) by tree swallows undergoing a natural range expansion. The field site is composed of distinct areas where bluebirds compete regularly with tree swallows and areas where there is little interaction between the two species. Once birds had settled, we measured how interspecific competition affects the relationship between assortative mating (paired individuals that behave similarly) and reproductive success in eastern bluebirds. We found a strong tendency toward assortative mating throughout the field site. In areas of high interspecific competition, pairs that behaved the most similarly and displayed either extremely aggressive or extremely non-aggressive phenotypes experienced higher reproductive success. Our data suggest that interspecific competition with tree swallows may select for bluebirds that express similar behavior to that of their mate. Furthermore, animal personality may be an important factor influencing the outcome of interactions between native and aggressive, invasive species.Morgan R HarrisLynn SieffermanPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 2, p e88668 (2014)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Morgan R Harris Lynn Siefferman Interspecific competition influences fitness benefits of assortative mating for territorial aggression in eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis).
description	Territorial aggression influences fitness and, in monogamous pairs, the behavior of both individuals could impact reproductive success. Moreover, territorial aggression is particularly important in the context of interspecific competition. Tree swallows and eastern bluebirds are highly aggressive, secondary cavity-nesting birds that compete for limited nesting sites. We studied eastern bluebirds at a field site in the southern Appalachian Mountains that has been recently colonized (<40 yr) by tree swallows undergoing a natural range expansion. The field site is composed of distinct areas where bluebirds compete regularly with tree swallows and areas where there is little interaction between the two species. Once birds had settled, we measured how interspecific competition affects the relationship between assortative mating (paired individuals that behave similarly) and reproductive success in eastern bluebirds. We found a strong tendency toward assortative mating throughout the field site. In areas of high interspecific competition, pairs that behaved the most similarly and displayed either extremely aggressive or extremely non-aggressive phenotypes experienced higher reproductive success. Our data suggest that interspecific competition with tree swallows may select for bluebirds that express similar behavior to that of their mate. Furthermore, animal personality may be an important factor influencing the outcome of interactions between native and aggressive, invasive species.
format	article
author	Morgan R Harris Lynn Siefferman
author_facet	Morgan R Harris Lynn Siefferman
author_sort	Morgan R Harris
title	Interspecific competition influences fitness benefits of assortative mating for territorial aggression in eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis).
title_short	Interspecific competition influences fitness benefits of assortative mating for territorial aggression in eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis).
title_full	Interspecific competition influences fitness benefits of assortative mating for territorial aggression in eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis).
title_fullStr	Interspecific competition influences fitness benefits of assortative mating for territorial aggression in eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis).
title_full_unstemmed	Interspecific competition influences fitness benefits of assortative mating for territorial aggression in eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis).
title_sort	interspecific competition influences fitness benefits of assortative mating for territorial aggression in eastern bluebirds (sialia sialis).
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2014
url	https://doaj.org/article/992fc9d7221d483d836e17ef508a6f08
work_keys_str_mv	AT morganrharris interspecificcompetitioninfluencesfitnessbenefitsofassortativematingforterritorialaggressionineasternbluebirdssialiasialis AT lynnsiefferman interspecificcompetitioninfluencesfitnessbenefitsofassortativematingforterritorialaggressionineasternbluebirdssialiasialis
_version_	1718421636545249280

Interspecific competition influences fitness benefits of assortative mating for territorial aggression in eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis).

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