RSC Collection
FACETS is proud to be the official journal of the Royal Society of Canada’s Academy of Science. Founded in 1882, the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) comprises the Academy of Arts and Humanities, the Academy of Social Sciences, and the Academy of Science; in addition to Canada’s first national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership, the RSC College. The RSC’s mission is to recognize scholarly, research and artistic excellence, to advise governments and organizations, and to promote a culture of knowledge and innovation in Canada and with other national academies around the world. This collection is a display of all published papers authored by at least one Member from the RSC
- OPEN ACCESS
- Christine Fahim,
- Danielle Kasperavicius,
- Robyn Beckett,
- Keelia Quinn de Launay,
- Arthana Chandraraj,
- Amanda Crupi,
- Suvabna Theivendrampillai, and
- Sharon E. Straus
Knowledge translation (KT) is the science and practice of dissemination and implementation of evidence. We describe how research funders operationalize and evaluate KT initiatives, identify challenges and opportunities, and suggest strategic considerations for KT support. We conducted an environmental scan, which included a systematic search of published and grey literature and a focus group with Canadian funders. A total of 130 published articles and 2415 grey literature sources were screened; 212 unique data sources were included. Published literature commonly described KT initiatives related to “KT practice and science funding.” These initiatives commonly provided funds for infrastructure development (e.g., clinical technologies, database subscriptions) to facilitate translational or applied research to address regional health priorities. Of the articles, 44% outlined an evaluation plan; few provided validated KT metrics. In the grey literature, 364 initiatives were described; the most commonly described initiatives related to “exchange and integrated KT.” Focus group participants hoped to see increased resources to support KT, exchange opportunities with policy/decision-makers, and evaluate KT initiatives. Funders completed various KT initiatives, which tended to engage stakeholders to set research priorities, collaborate with a range of stakeholders, build KT capacity, and mandate KT requirements. We provide six considerations for funders to support KT. - OPEN ACCESS
- Steve E. Hrudey,
- Heather N. Bischel,
- Jeff Charrois,
- Alex H. S. Chik,
- Bernadette Conant,
- Rob Delatolla,
- Sarah Dorner,
- Tyson E. Graber,
- Casey Hubert,
- Judy Isaac-Renton,
- Wendy Pons,
- Hannah Safford,
- Mark Servos, and
- Christopher Sikora
Wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 RNA is a relatively recent adaptation of long-standing wastewater surveillance for infectious and other harmful agents. Individuals infected with COVID-19 were found to shed SARS-CoV-2 in their faeces. Researchers around the world confirmed that SARS-CoV-2 RNA fragments could be detected and quantified in community wastewater. Canadian academic researchers, largely as volunteer initiatives, reported proof-of-concept by April 2020. National collaboration was initially facilitated by the Canadian Water Network.Many public health officials were initially skeptical about actionable information being provided by wastewater surveillance even though experience has shown that public health surveillance for a pandemic has no single, perfect approach. Rather, different approaches provide different insights, each with its own strengths and limitations. Public health science must triangulate among different forms of evidence to maximize understanding of what is happening or may be expected. Well-conceived, resourced, and implemented wastewater-based platforms can provide a cost-effective approach to support other conventional lines of evidence. Sustaining wastewater monitoring platforms for future surveillance of other disease targets and health states is a challenge. Canada can benefit from taking lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to develop forward-looking interpretive frameworks and capacity to implement, adapt, and expand such public health surveillance capabilities. - OPEN ACCESSAlthough many studies have focused on the importance of littering and (or) illegal dumping as a source of plastic pollution to freshwater, other relevant pathways should be considered, including wastewater, stormwater runoff, industrial effluent/runoff, and agricultural runoff. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis focused on these four pathways. We quantified the number of studies, amount and characteristics of microplastics reported, and the methods used to sample and measure microplastics from each pathway. Overall, we found 121 studies relevant to our criteria, published from 2014 to 2020. Of these, 54 (45%) quantified and characterized microplastics in discharge pathways. Although most focused on wastewater treatment plant effluent (85%), microplastic concentrations were highest in stormwater runoff (0.009 to 3862 particles/L). Morphologies of particles varied among pathways and sampling methods. For example, stormwater runoff was the only pathway with rubbery particles. When assessing methods, our analysis suggested that water filtered through a finer (<200 um) mesh and of a smaller volume (e.g., 6 L) captured more particles, and with a slightly greater morphological diversity. Overall, our meta-analysis suggested that all four pathways bring microplastics into freshwater ecosystems, and further research is necessary to inform the best methods for monitoring and to better understand hydrologic patterns that can inform local mitigation.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Sachiko Ouchi,
- Lori Wilson,
- Colette C.C. Wabnitz,
- Christopher D. Golden,
- Anne H. Beaudreau,
- Tiff-Annie Kenny,
- Gerald G. Singh,
- William W.L. Cheung,
- Hing Man Chan, and
- Anne K. Salomon
Understanding mechanisms that promote social-ecological resilience can inform future adaptation strategies. Among seafood dependent communities, these can be illuminated by assessing change among fisheries portfolios. Here, in collaboration with a Coast Salish Nation in British Columbia, Canada, we used expert Indigenous knowledge and network analyses to chronicle differences in fisheries portfolios pre and post a social-ecological regime shift. We then evaluated key drivers of change using semi-structured interviews. We found that while portfolios decreased in diversity of seafood types harvested and consumed among individuals overtime, portfolios increased in their diversification at the community level because more similar seafoods within less diverse individual portfolios were more commonly harvested and consumed by the Nation as a whole. Thus, diversity can operate simultaneously in opposing directions at different scales of organization. Experts identified four key mechanisms driving these changes, including commercial activities controlled by a centralized governance regime, intergenerational knowledge loss, adaptive learning to new ecological and economic opportunities, and the trading of seafood with other Indigenous communities. Unexpectedly, increased predation by marine mammals was also flagged as a key driver of change. Adaptation strategies that support access to and governance of diverse fisheries, exchange of seafoods among communities, and knowledge transfer among generations would promote social-ecological resilience, food security, and community well-being. - OPEN ACCESS
- Eric Kai-Chung Wong,
- Jennifer Watt,
- Hanyan Zou,
- Arthana Chandraraj,
- Alissa Wenyue Zhang,
- Jahnel Brookes,
- Ashley Verduyn,
- Anna Berall,
- Richard Norman,
- Katrina Lynn Piggott,
- Terumi Izukawa,
- Sharon E. Straus, and
- Barbara Arlena Liu
Atypical disease presentations are common in older adults with COVID-19. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of atypical and typical symptoms in older adults with COVID-19 through progressive pandemic waves and the association of these symptoms with in-hospital mortality. This retrospective cohort study included consecutive adults aged over 65 years with confirmed COVID-19 infection who were admitted to seven hospitals in Toronto, Canada, from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2021. The median age for the 1786 patients was 78.0 years and 847 (47.5%) were female. Atypical symptoms (as defined by geriatric syndromes) occurred in 1187 patients (66.5%), but rarely occurred in the absence of other symptoms (n = 106; 6.2%). The most common atypical symptoms were anorexia (n = 598; 33.5%), weakness (n = 519; 23.9%), and delirium (n = 449; 25.1%). Dyspnea (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.62–2.62), tachycardia (aOR 1.87; 95% CI 1.14–3.04), and delirium (aOR 1.52; 95% CI 1.18–1.96) were independently associated with in-hospital mortality. In a cohort of older adults hospitalized with COVID-19 infection, atypical presentations frequently overlapped with typical symptoms. Further research should be directed at understanding the cause and clinical significance of atypical presentations in older adults. - OPEN ACCESS
- Gail Tomblin Murphy,
- Tara Sampalli,
- Lisa Bourque Bearskin,
- Nancy Cashen,
- Greta Cummings,
- Annette Elliott Rose,
- Josephine Etowa,
- Doris Grinspun,
- Esyllt W. Jones,
- Mélanie Lavoie-Tremblay,
- Kathleen MacMillan,
- Cindy MacQuarrie,
- Ruth Martin-Misener,
- Judith Oulton,
- Rosemary Ricciardelli,
- Linda Silas,
- Sally Thorne, and
- Michael Villeneuve
Nurses represent the highest proportion of healthcare workers globally and have played a vital role during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has shed light on multiple vulnerabilities that have impacted the nursing workforce including critical levels of staffing shortages in Canada. A review sponsored by the Royal Society of Canada investigated the impact of the pandemic on the nursing workforce in Canada to inform planning and implementation of sustainable nursing workforce strategies. The review methods included a trend analysis of peer-reviewed articles, a jurisdictional scan of policies and strategies, analyses of published surveys and interviews of nurses in Canada, and a targeted case study from Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. Findings from the review have identified longstanding and COVID-specific impacts, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen the nursing workforce. These findings were integrated with expert perspectives from national nursing leaders involved in guiding the review to arrive at recommendations and actions that are presented in this policy brief. The findings and recommendations from this policy brief are meant to inform a national and sustained focus on retention and recruitment efforts in Canada. - OPEN ACCESS
- Morgan L. Piczak,
- Jill L. Brooks,
- Brittany Bard,
- Christian J. Bihun,
- Andrew Howarth,
- Amanda L. Jeanson,
- Luc LaRochelle,
- Joseph R. Bennett,
- Nicolas W. R. Lapointe,
- Nicholas E. Mandrak, and
- Steven J. Cooke
A seminal report by Peter H. Pearse (1988; Rising to the Challenge: A New Policy for Canada’s Freshwater Fisheries, Canadian Wildlife Federation, Ottawa) outlined 62 policy recommendations focused on the management of Canada’s inland fisheries. Over three decades later, freshwater ecosystems and inland fisheries in Canada are still facing similar challenges with many emerging ones that could not have been foreseen. Here, we reflect on the contemporary relevance of the Pearse Report and propose recommendations that policy makers should consider. Broadly, our recommendations are: (1) manage fishes, fisheries, and habitat using a holistic co-management framework, with clearly defined fishery jurisdictions and partnerships with Indigenous governments; (2) engage in transparent, inclusive, and agile research to support decision-making; (3) facilitate knowledge co-production, involving interdisciplinary projects with diverse groups of actors and sectors including Indigenous Peoples, anglers, policy makers, scientists/researchers, governments, and the public; (4) embrace technological advances to support freshwater fisheries stock assessment and management; and (5) align policy and management activities in Canada with global initiatives related to increasing the sustainability of inland fisheries. We advocate for an updated comprehensive report such as the Pearse Report to ensure that we embrace robust, inclusive, and sustainable management strategies and policies for Canada’s inland fisheries for the next 30 years. It is time to again rise to the challenge. - OPEN ACCESS
- Sharon E. Straus,
- Brian Hutton,
- David Moher,
- Shannon E. Kelly,
- George A. Wells, and
- Andrea C. Tricco
In 2009, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Health Canada, and other stakeholders established the Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (DSEN) to address the paucity of information on drug safety and effectiveness in real-world settings. This unique network invited knowledge users (e.g., policy makers) to submit queries to be answered by relevant research teams. The research teams were launched via open calls for team grants focused in relevant methodologic areas. We describe the development and implementation of one of these collaborating centres, the Methods and Application Group for Indirect Comparisons (MAGIC). MAGIC was created to provide high-quality knowledge synthesis including network meta-analysis to meet knowledge user needs. Since 2011, MAGIC responded to 54% of queries submitted to DSEN. In the past 5 years, MAGIC produced 26 reports and 49 publications. It led to 15 trainees who entered industry, academia, and government. More than 10 000 people participated in courses delivered by MAGIC team members. Most importantly, MAGIC knowledge syntheses influenced practice and policy (e.g., use of biosimilars for patients with diabetes and use of smallpox vaccinations in people with contraindications) provincially, nationally, and internationally. - OPEN ACCESS
- Arthur L. Bass,
- Andrew W. Bateman,
- Brendan M. Connors,
- Benjamin A. Staton,
- Eric B. Rondeau,
- Gideon J. Mordecai,
- Amy K. Teffer,
- Karia H. Kaukinen,
- Shaorong Li,
- Amy M. Tabata,
- David A. Patterson,
- Scott G. Hinch, and
- Kristina M. Miller
Recent decades have seen an increased appreciation for the role infectious diseases can play in mass mortality events across a diversity of marine taxa. At the same time many Pacific salmon populations have declined in abundance as a result of reduced marine survival. However, few studies have explicitly considered the potential role pathogens could play in these declines. Using a multi-year dataset spanning 59 pathogen taxa in Chinook and Coho salmon sampled along the British Columbia coast, we carried out an exploratory analysis to quantify evidence for associations between pathogen prevalence and cohort survival and between pathogen load and body condition. While a variety of pathogens had moderate to strong negative correlations with body condition or survival for one host species in one season, we found that Tenacibaculum maritimum and Piscine orthoreovirus had consistently negative associations with body condition in both host species and seasons and were negatively associated with survival for Chinook salmon collected in the fall and winter. Our analyses, which offer the most comprehensive examination of associations between pathogen prevalence and Pacific salmon survival to date, suggest that pathogens in Pacific salmon warrant further attention, especially those whose distribution and abundance may be influenced by anthropogenic stressors. - OPEN ACCESSIn response to colonial research paradigms that have subjugated Indigenous Peoples, knowledges, lands, and waters, Indigenous research methodologies have emerged to center Indigenous visions and voices in research practice. Here, we employ such methodologies to improve collective understanding of the state and future of wild Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and fish–people–place relationships across British Columbia’s three largest salmon-producing rivers: the Fraser, Skeena, and Nass. Through partnerships with 18 communities of “Salmon People” and semi-structured interviews with 48 knowledge holders (i.e., Elders), we learned that, on average, Elders spent more than half of a century actively engaged in salmon fishing and processing. Modern salmon catches are reported to be approximately one-sixth of what they were estimated to be five to seven decades ago, and the top five threats to salmon identified by Elders included (i) aquaculture, (ii) climate change, (iii) contaminants, (iv) industrial development, and (v) infectious diseases. Threat priorities varied regionally, reflecting distinct lived experiences and regional variation in the prevalence and impact of different threats. Elders perceived threats to salmon equally as threats to aquatic health and human well-being, with evidence that the relationships between people and water, and salmon and people, are being profoundly transformed.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Andrea C. Tricco,
- Wasifa Zarin,
- Fiona Clement,
- Ahmed M. Abou-Setta,
- Janet A. Curran,
- Annie LeBlanc,
- Linda C Li,
- Christina Godfrey,
- Pertice Moffitt,
- David Moher,
- Heather Colquhoun,
- Ian D. Graham,
- Ivan D. Florez,
- Linda Wilhelm,
- Wanrudee Isaranuwatchaia,
- Jackie Mann,
- Marina Hamilton,
- Vasanthi Srinivasan,
- Stephen Bornstein, and
- Sharon E. Straus
This is the introductory paper in a collection of four papers on the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Evidence Alliance, a pan-Canadian research initiative that was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in September of 2017. Here, we introduce the SPOR enterprise in Canada, provide a rationale for the creation of the SPOR Evidence Alliance, provide information on the mandate and approach, and describe how the SPOR Evidence Alliance adds to the health research ecosystem in Canada and beyond. - OPEN ACCESSThe drivers of the harassment and intimidation of researchers are complex, widespread, and global in their reach and were being studied across many disciplines even before COVID-19. This policy briefing reviews some of the scholarship on this wide-ranging problem but focuses on what can be done to help ensure that Canadians fully benefit from the work of Canada’s researchers while also preserving the security and safety of those researchers. It identifies policies and actions that can be implemented in the near term to gather information on the problem, better frame public research communications, and ensure that mechanisms are readily available to support researchers who are threatened. The policy briefing is concerned with researchers, but these behaviours are also harming journalists, politicians, public health communicators, and many others more fully in the public eye than researchers. Some recommendations here may help to address this wider problem.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Carole Lunny,
- Wasifa Zarin,
- Sabrina Chaudhry,
- Sonia M. Thomas,
- Annie LeBlanc,
- Sophie Desroches,
- Tanya Horsley,
- Heather Colquhoun,
- Priscille-Nice Sanon,
- Minnie Downey,
- Zahra Goodarzi,
- Nancy N. Baxter,
- Kelly English,
- Elliot PausJenssen,
- Shanon McQuitty,
- Linda Wilhelm,
- Annette McKinnon,
- Alison M. Hoens,
- Linda C. Li,
- Fiona Clement,
- Janet A. Curran,
- Ahmed M. Abou-Setta,
- Christina Godfrey,
- David Moher,
- Pertice Moffitt,
- Jennifer Walker,
- Janet Jull,
- Cheryl Koehn,
- Wanrudee Isaranuwatchai,
- Sharon E. Straus, and
- Andrea C. Tricco
The Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) Evidence Alliance is a research initiative in Canada whose mission is to promote the synthesis, dissemination, and integration of research results into health care and public health decision-making and clinical practice. The aim of this paper is to (i) outline the governance and committee structure of the SPOR Evidence Alliance, (ii) outline the procedures for patient and health system decision-maker engagement, and (iii) present the capacity-building strategy for governance members. The governance structure includes the following six standing committees: the International Advisory Committee, Steering Committee, Executive Committee, Knowledge Translation Committee, Partnerships Committee, and Training and Capacity Development Committee. The guiding principles embrace inclusiveness, support, mutual respect, transparency, and co-building. There are currently 64 committee members across the six committees, 13 patient and public partners, 8 health system decision-makers, 7 research trainees, and 36 researchers. A multi-disciplinary and diverse group of people in Canada are represented from all regions and at various levels of training in knowledge generation, exchange, and translation. This collaborative model makes the SPOR Evidence Alliance strong and sustainable by leveraging the knowledge, lived experiences, expertise, skills, and networks among its 342 members and 12 principal investigators. - OPEN ACCESS
- Wasifa Zarin,
- Carole Lunny,
- Sabrina Chaudhry,
- Sonia M. Thomas,
- Annie LeBlanc,
- Fiona Clement,
- Ahmed M. Abou-Setta,
- Janet A. Curran,
- Brian Hutton,
- Ivan D. Florez,
- Linda C. Li,
- Stephen Bornstein,
- Clayon B. Hamilton,
- Pertice Moffitt,
- Christina Godfrey,
- Louise Zitzelsberger,
- Leanne Gardiner,
- Christine Fahim,
- Sharon E. Straus, and
- Andrea C. Tricco
Canada has made great progress in synthesizing, disseminating, and integrating research findings into health systems and clinical decision-making; yet gaps exist in the research-to-practice continuum. The Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Evidence Alliance aims to help close gaps by providing decision-makers with evidence that is timely, context sensitive, and demand driven to better inform patient-oriented practices and policies in health systems. In this article, we introduce a model established in Canada to support decision-maker needs for high-quality evidence that is patient oriented to enhance health systems performance. We provide an overview of how this model was implemented, who is involved, who it serves, as well as its organizational structure and remit. We discuss key milestones achieved to date and the impact this initiative has made within the health research community. The strength of the SPOR Evidence Alliance lies in its unique ability to simultaneously: (i) serve as a national platform for researchers to stay connected and collaborate to minimize duplication of efforts and (ii) facilitate access to research knowledge for patient partners and decision-makers. In doing so, the SPOR Evidence Alliance is supporting health policy and practice decisions that support and strengthen Canada’s dynamic health systems. - OPEN ACCESS
- Jordanna N. Bergman,
- Rachel T. Buxton,
- Hsien-Yung Lin,
- Magdalena Lenda,
- Kayla Attinello,
- Adrianne C. Hajdasz,
- Stephanie A. Rivest,
- Thuong Tran Nguyen,
- Steven J. Cooke, and
- Joseph R. Bennett
Given its extensive volume and reach, social media has the potential to widely spread conservation messaging and be a powerful tool to mobilize social change for conserving biodiversity. We synthesized gray and primary academic literature to investigate the effects of social media on wildlife conservation, revealing several overarching benefits and risks. We found that social media can increase pro-conservation behaviours among the public, increase conservation funding, and incite policy changes. Conversely, social media can contribute to species exploitation and illegal trade, cause unprecedented increases in tourism in protected areas, and perpetuate anti-conservation behaviours via misinformation. In most cases, we found that content sharing on social media did not result in a detectable impact on conservation; in this paper, however, we focus on providing examples where conservation impact was achieved. We relate these positive and negative outcomes of social media to psychological phenomena that may influence conservation efforts and discuss limitations of our findings. We conclude with recommendations of best practices to social media administrators, public social media users, nongovernmental organizations, and governing agencies to minimize conservation risks while maximizing beneficial outcomes. By improving messaging, policing online misconduct, and providing guidance for action, social media can help achieve wildlife conservation goals. - OPEN ACCESS
- Dirk A. Algera,
- Kate L. Neigel,
- Kerri Kosziwka,
- Alice E.I. Abrams,
- Daniel M. Glassman,
- Joseph R. Bennett,
- Steven J. Cooke, and
- Nicolas W.R. Lapointe
American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) were used as a case study to assess whether Ontario’s Endangered Species Act proponent-driven regulatory approach resulted in successful imperilled species management outcomes. American Eel observation databases and proponent-prepared mitigation plans and monitoring data were used to assess whether: (i) facilities within the distribution range were registered, (ii) effects monitoring protocols were adequate to evaluate adverse effects of facilities, (iii) proponents implemented mitigation actions that followed best management practices (BMPs), and (iv) effectiveness monitoring designs were adequate to evaluate effectiveness of mitigation actions. Less than half of the facilities (8 of 17) within the extant species range were registered. Few eels were observed at each facility, precluding proponents from effectively evaluating the facilities’ effects. Mitigation actions following BMPs were only implemented for eel out-migration at three facilities. Half of the registered facilities implemented effectiveness monitoring, but experimental designs did not follow best practices and standards. To improve this proponent-driven approach, regulators could reduce ambiguity in regulation language and provide clearer, quantitative requirements for facility registration, effects monitoring, mitigation actions, and effectiveness monitoring. Proponents could improve monitoring efforts to establish species occurrence and generate baseline data to measure facility effects and mitigation action effectiveness. - OPEN ACCESS
- Linda C. Li,
- Alison M. Hoens,
- Linda Wilhelm,
- Vikram Bubber,
- Elliot PausJenssen,
- Annette McKinnon,
- Jenny Leese,
- Thalia Otamendi,
- Clayon B. Hamilton,
- Wasifa Zarin,
- Andrea C. Tricco, and
- for the SPOR Evidence Alliance
The Evidence Alliance (EA) is a Canada-wide multi-stakeholder organization providing national-level support in knowledge synthesis, clinical practice guidelines development, and knowledge translation. With a mandate to deliver the best available evidence to inform health policy and improve patient care, the EA involves patients and their caregivers in its governance, research priority setting and conduct, and capacity building. To reflect on the experiences of patient involvement in its first three years, the organization conducted a self-study with 17 actively involved patient partners. They answered the Patient Engagement in Research Scale 22-item short form (PEIRS-22) and open-ended questions. Of the 15 respondents, 12 were women with a mean age of 62.6 years (SD 10.1). The mean PEIRS-22 score was 82.1 (SD 15.9), indicating perceived meaningful engagement. Analysis of the free-text answers identified three themes: (i) communication: successes, changes, and improvements; (ii) a respectful and welcoming environment; and (iii) opportunities to learn and contribute. Patient partners noted the EA made genuine efforts to welcome them and value their contributions. They also identified a need for the organization to increase patient partner diversity. This self-study was perceived as rewarding as it provided a foundation for further growth in patient involvement within the organization. - OPEN ACCESS
- OPEN ACCESSShortcomings in the rigour and reproducibility of research have become well-known issues and persist despite repeated calls for improvement. A coordinated effort among researchers, institutions, funders, publishers, learned societies, and regulators may be the most effective way of tackling these issues. The UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) has fostered collaboration across various stakeholders in research and are creating the infrastructure necessary to advance rigorous and reproducible research practices across the United Kingdom. Other Reproducibility Networks, modelled on UKRN, are now emerging in other countries. Canada could benefit from a comparable network to unify the voices around research quality and maximize the value of Canadian research.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Shawn R. Craik,
- Rodger D. Titman,
- Anna M. Calvert,
- Gregory J. Robertson,
- Mark L. Mallory, and
- Sarah E. Gutowsky
The addition of eggs to a nest by a conspecific is known for approximately 250 bird species. Understanding the evolution of conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) requires assessment of fitness consequences to the egg recipient (host). We addressed host traits and the effects of CBP on future reproduction (i.e., annual survival) and hatching success of hosts by following the nesting of 206 red-breasted mergansers (Mergus serrator) for a colony in which an average of 41% of nests was parasitized annually. Each host was tracked for ≥2 seasons and up to seven seasons. The proportion of a host’s nesting attempts that was parasitized averaged 43% and varied considerably across individuals (range 0%–100%). Probability of parasitism, however, was not repeatable across a host’s nests. Rather, rates of CBP throughout a host’s lifetime increased with earlier dates of nest initiation. CBP had no effect on annual survival of a host. Hatching success throughout a host’s lifetime declined with a greater number of foreign eggs added to the individual’s nests. This study revealed that there may be measurable costs of CBP to lifetime reproductive success in red-breasted mergansers, although our observations suggest that costs to hosts are limited to the most heavily parasitized clutches.