Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0058624

Publication Title

PLoS One

Volume

8

Issue

3

Pages

1-6

Abstract

Cooperative breeding is generally associated with increased philopatry and sedentariness, presumably because short-distance dispersal facilitates the maintenance of kin groups. There are, however, few data on long-distance dispersal in cooperative breeders-the variable likely to be important for genetic diversification and speciation. We tested the hypothesis that cooperative breeders are less likely to engage in long-distance dispersal events by comparing records of vagrants outside their normal geographic range for matched pairs (cooperatively vs. non-cooperatively breeding) of North American species of birds. Results failed to support the hypothesis of reduced long-distance dispersal among cooperative breeders. Thus, our results counter the conclusion that the lower rate of speciation among cooperative breeding taxa found in recent analyses is a consequence of reduced vagility.

Original Publication Citation

Rusk, C. L., Walters, E. L., & Koenig, W. D. (2013). Cooperative breeding and long-distance dispersal: A test using vagrant records. PLoS One, 8(3), 1-6. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058624

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