Mate-switching is not associated with offspring fitness in a socially monogamous bird

Speelman, Frigg, Burke, Terence, Komdeur, Jan, Richardson, David and Dugdale, Hannah L. (2025) Mate-switching is not associated with offspring fitness in a socially monogamous bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 292 (2047). ISSN 0962-8452

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Abstract

In many species, individuals form socially monogamous pair-bonds lasting multiple breeding seasons, or even whole lifetimes. Studies often suggest social monogamy to be adaptive, but this is usually quantified through the survival and annual reproductive success of the partners. However, beyond the number of offspring produced, parental partnerships may also affect their offspring's phenotype, health and ultimately fitness. Using multigenerational data on the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis), we investigated the impact of parental pair-bond tenure (pair-bond duration) and pair-bond ending (pair-bond ended across breeding seasons) on offspring fitness components. First, we addressed juvenile-stage fitness components using indicators reflecting physiological state (haematocrit, telomere length and body condition). Second, we assessed long-term fitness components using offspring lifespan and lifetime reproductive success (LRS). We found no consistent evidence of pair-bond tenure or pair-bond ending effects on short-term (telomere length, haematocrit and body condition) or long-term (lifespan and LRS) fitness components. To our knowledge, this is the first study quantifying long-term parental effects of pair-bond tenure and pair-bond ending on offspring fitness components in wild populations. This work provides insights into the lack of intergenerational implications of long-term socially monogamous partnerships.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	body mass,divorce,haematocrit,lifespan,pair bond,parental effects,reproductive success,telomere length,immunology and microbiology(all),biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology(all),environmental science(all),agricultural and biological sciences(all),3* ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2400
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	08 Jan 2026 15:30
Last Modified:	30 Jan 2026 12:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/101571
DOI:	10.1098/rspb.2025.0577

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