Electrophoretic variants of egg white transferrin indicate a low rate of intraspecific brood parasitism in colonial cliff swallows in the Sierra Nevada,California |
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| Authors: | Adrianna P Smyth Bruce K Orr Robert C Fleischer |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, 97331 Corvallis, OR, USA;(2) Department of Entomology, University of California, 94720 Berkeley, CA, USA;(3) Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, 58202 Grand Forks, ND, USA;(4) Present address: Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 94132 San Francisco, CA, USA;(5) Present address: EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, 41 Lafayette Circle, 94549 Lafayette, CA, USA;(6) Present address: National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, 20008 Washington, DC, USA |
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| Abstract: | Summary The frequency of intraspecific brood parasitism in two colonies of cliff swallows (Hirundo pyrrhonota) nesting in the eastern Sierra Nevada in California was assessed through an electrophoretic analysis of egg white (albumin) proteins. Albumin proteins are maternally derived and are presumed to directly reflect maternal genotype. Thus, a comparison of protein banding patterns produced by eggs collected from a single clutch allows any egg laid by a female other than the putative mother to be detected. Eggs were collected from 13 cliff swallow nests in 1984 and 41 nests in 1987, a total of 54 nests. Of the clutches collected in 1984, one showed evidence of intraspecific brood parasitism, giving a nest parasitism rate of 7.6%. In 1987, one of 41 nests contained a parasitic egg, for a parasitism rate of 2.4%. Over both years combined the rate of intraspecific brood parasitism was 2 of 54 nests, or 3.7%. These parasitism rates are much lower than those estimated for Nebraskan cliff swallows (22–43%) and 2nd-year purple martins (36%). Possible explanations for the discrepancy between parasitism rates in Sierran cliff swallows and other groups of swallows are discussed.Correspondence to: A.P. Smyth |
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