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Bebbington K, Parenteau C, Chastel O, Groothuis TGG. Prolactin is associated with proximity to incubating partner rather than parental care in black-headed gulls. Horm Behav 2024; 163:105549. [PMID: 38663281 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/17/2024]
Abstract
The peptide hormone prolactin plays an important role in the expression of parental care behaviours across bird and mammal taxa. While a great deal is known about how plasma prolactin concentrations vary across the reproductive cycle, the few studies that investigate how prolactin relates to individual-level variation in parental care have reported mixed results. We argue that, since parental care is also affected by social interactions and environmental constraints, prolactin may better reflect behaviours that are indirectly related to parenting than the absolute level of care that is eventually expressed. In this study, we tested for associations between plasma prolactin and the expression of both parental care and proximity to the partner in incubating black-headed gulls, Chroicocephalus ridibundus. Baseline prolactin levels increased with calendar date but were unrelated to incubation behaviours. However, parents who showed a weaker decrease in prolactin to an acute stressor spent more time in close proximity to their incubating partner while not on the nest themselves, suggesting that individual variation in stress-induced prolactin changes reflect differences in parents' tendency to be closely associated with their partner and the joint nesting attempt. Baseline and stress-induced levels of the stress hormone corticosterone were unrelated to both prolactin levels and parental behaviours, suggesting that this hormone is not a strong moderator of parental care in black-headed gulls. One potential explanation for the link between prolactin dynamics and partner proximity is that prolactin reflects parental motivation to provide parental care or retain contact with the breeding partner, but further work is needed to directly test this hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kat Bebbington
- Behavioural Biology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 6747AG Groningen, the Netherlands; Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, 6708WD Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Charline Parenteau
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372, CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Olivier Chastel
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372, CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Ton G G Groothuis
- Behavioural Biology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 6747AG Groningen, the Netherlands
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Mainwaring MC, Tobalske BW, Hartley IR. Born without a Silver Spoon: A Review of the Causes and Consequences of Adversity during Early Life. Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:742-757. [PMID: 37280184 PMCID: PMC10805381 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
A huge amount of research attention has focused on the evolution of life histories, but most research focuses on dominant individuals that acquire a disproportionate level of reproductive success, while the life histories and reproductive tactics of subordinate individuals have received less attention. Here, we review the links between early life adversity and performance during adulthood in birds, and highlight instances in which subordinate individuals outperform dominant conspecifics. Subordinate individuals are those from broods raised under high risk of predation, with low availability of food, and/or with many parasites. Meanwhile, the broods of many species hatch or are born asynchronously and mitigation of the asynchrony is generally lacking from variation in maternal effects such as egg size and hormone deposition or genetic effects such as offspring sex or parentage. Subordinate individuals employ patterns of differential growth to attempt to mitigate the adversity they experience during early life, yet they overwhelmingly fail to overcome their initial handicap. In terms of surviving through to adulthood, subordinate individuals employ other "suboptimal" tactics, such as adaptively timing foraging behaviors to avoid dominant individuals. During adulthood, meanwhile, subordinate individuals rely on "suboptimal" tactics, such as adaptive dispersal behaviors and competing for partners at optimal times, because they represent the best options available to them to acquire copulations whenever possible. We conclude that there is a gap in knowledge for direct links between early life adversity and subordination during adulthood, meaning that further research should test for links. There are instances, however, where subordinate individuals employ "suboptimal" tactics that allow them to outperform dominant conspecifics during adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark C Mainwaring
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2DG, UK
- Field Research Station at Fort Missoula, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
| | - Bret W Tobalske
- Field Research Station at Fort Missoula, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
| | - Ian R Hartley
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
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3
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Zheng J, Komdeur J, Weissing FJ. Effects of season length and uniparental care efficacy on the evolution of parental care. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:1719-1729. [PMID: 37335054 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
Parental care patterns differ enormously among and even within species. This is exemplified by Chinese penduline tits Remiz consobrinus, where biparental care, female-only care, male-only care and biparental desertion all occur in the same population; moreover, the distribution of these care patterns differs systematically between populations. The eco-evolutionary determinants of this diversity are largely unknown. We developed an individual-based model that allows us to investigate the effects of season length and offspring needs (expressed by the efficacy with which a clutch can be raised by a single parent) on the evolution of parental care patterns. The model is largely conceptual, aiming at general conclusions. However, to keep the model realistic, its set-up and the choice of parameters are motivated by field studies on Chinese penduline tits. Exploring a wide range of parameters, we investigate how parental care patterns are affected by season length and offspring needs and whether and under what conditions diverse parental care patterns can stably coexist. We report five main findings. First, under a broad range of conditions, different care patterns (e.g. male care and biparental care) coexist at equilibrium. Second, for the same parameters, alternative evolutionary equilibria are possible; this can explain differences in care patterns across populations. Third, rapid evolutionary transitions can occur between alternative equilibria; this can explain the often-reported evolutionary lability of parental care patterns. Fourth, season length has a strong but nonmonotonic effect on the evolved care patterns. Fifth, when uniparental care efficacy is low, biparental care tends to evolve; however, in many scenarios uniparental care is still common at equilibrium. In addition, our study sheds new light on Trivers' hypothesis that the sex with the highest prezygotic investment is predestined to invest more postzygotically as well. Our study highlights that diversity in parental care can readily evolve and it shows that even in the absence of environmental change parental care patterns can be evolutionary labile. In the presence of directional environmental change, systematic shifts in care patterns are to be expected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Zheng
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Franz J Weissing
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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Vitikainen EIK, Meniri M, Marshall HH, Thompson FJ, Businge R, Mwanguhya F, Kyabulima S, Mwesige K, Ahabonya S, Sanderson JL, Kalema-Zikusoka G, Hoffman JI, Wells D, Lewis G, Walker SL, Nichols HJ, Blount JD, Cant MA. The social formation of fitness: lifetime consequences of prenatal nutrition and postnatal care in a wild mammal population. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220309. [PMID: 37381858 PMCID: PMC10291432 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Research in medicine and evolutionary biology suggests that the sequencing of parental investment has a crucial impact on offspring life history and health. Here, we take advantage of the synchronous birth system of wild banded mongooses to test experimentally the lifetime consequences to offspring of receiving extra investment prenatally versus postnatally. We provided extra food to half of the breeding females in each group during pregnancy, leaving the other half as matched controls. This manipulation resulted in two categories of experimental offspring in synchronously born litters: (i) 'prenatal boost' offspring whose mothers had been fed during pregnancy, and (ii) 'postnatal boost' offspring whose mothers were not fed during pregnancy but who received extra alloparental care in the postnatal period. Prenatal boost offspring lived substantially longer as adults, but postnatal boost offspring had higher lifetime reproductive success (LRS) and higher glucocorticoid levels across the lifespan. Both types of experimental offspring had higher LRS than offspring from unmanipulated litters. We found no difference between the two experimental categories of offspring in adult weight, age at first reproduction, oxidative stress or telomere lengths. These findings are rare experimental evidence that prenatal and postnatal investments have distinct effects in moulding individual life history and fitness in wild mammals. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary ecology of inequality'.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. I. K. Vitikainen
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, PO Box 65, 00014 Finland
| | - M. Meniri
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - H. H. Marshall
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
- Centre for Research in Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, University of Roehampton, Roehampton Lane, London SW15 5PJ, UK
| | - F. J. Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - R. Businge
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
| | - F. Mwanguhya
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
| | - S. Kyabulima
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
| | - K. Mwesige
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
| | - S. Ahabonya
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
| | - J. L. Sanderson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - G. Kalema-Zikusoka
- Conservation Through Public Health, PO Box 75298, Uringi Crescent Rd, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - J. I. Hoffman
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Konsequenz 45, 33619, Germany
| | - D. Wells
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Konsequenz 45, 33619, Germany
| | - G. Lewis
- Department of Biosciences, Wallace Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - S. L. Walker
- Chester Zoo Endocrine Laboratory, Endocrinology, Science Centre, Caughall Road, Upton-by-Chester, Chester, CH2 1LH, UK
| | - H. J. Nichols
- Department of Biosciences, Wallace Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - J. D. Blount
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - M. A. Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
- Banded Mongoose Research Project, Queen Elizabeth National Park, PO Box 66 Lake Katwe, Kasese District, Uganda
- German Primate Center, University of Goettingen, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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Schiavinato M, Griggio M, Pilastro AA, Baldan D. Compensatory responses differ between parental tasks in a songbird species. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
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Bebbington K, Groothuis TG. Partner retention as a mechanism to reduce sexual conflict over care in a seabird. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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McCully FR, Weimerskirch H, Cornell SJ, Hatchwell BJ, Cairo M, Patrick SC. Partner intrinsic characteristics influence foraging trip duration, but not coordination of care in wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9621. [PMID: 36540077 PMCID: PMC9754911 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Long-lived monogamous species gain long-term fitness benefits by equalizing effort during biparental care. For example, many seabird species coordinate care by matching foraging trip durations within pairs. Age affects coordination in some seabird species; however, the impact of other intrinsic traits, including personality, on potential intraspecific variation in coordination strength is less well understood. The impacts of pair members' intrinsic traits on trip duration and coordination strength were investigated using data from saltwater immersion loggers deployed on 71 pairs of wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans. These were modeled against pair members' age, boldness, and their partner's previous trip duration. At the population level, the birds exhibited some coordination of parental care that was of equal strength during incubation and chick-brooding. However, there was low variation in coordination between pairs and coordination strength was unaffected by the birds' boldness or age in either breeding stage. Surprisingly, during incubation, foraging trip duration was mainly driven by partner traits, as birds which were paired to older and bolder partners took shorter trips. During chick-brooding, shorter foraging trips were associated with greater boldness in focal birds and their partners, but age had no effect. These results suggest that an individual's assessment of their partner's capacity or willingness to provide care may be a major driver of trip duration, thereby highlighting the importance of accounting for pair behavior when studying parental care strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de ChizéCentre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueVilliers en BoisFrance
| | - Stephen J. Cornell
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological SciencesUniversity of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
| | | | - Milena Cairo
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (UMR 7204)Muséum National d'Histoire NaturelleParisFrance
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8
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Trumbo ST. Why do males stay in biparental burying beetles? BEHAVIOUR 2022. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Biparental associations are rare in most taxa. A second parent should stay with its current brood only to enhance brood fitness or to increase its own future breeding opportunities. I compared the breeding performance of Nicrophorus defodiens pairs and single females while confronting a conspecific male intruder. Pairs fared better than single females in defending a brood, and age had a strong effect on contest outcomes even though defenders and intruders were of the same age. Pairs also produced larger broods than single females, but only on larger carcasses. The results and a review of prior studies suggest that the benefits for a male that stays with a partner during the post-hatch period, whether gains from offspring success or protecting mating opportunities, are observed primarily in the context of intruder pressure, and that paternal care such as regurgitations to young and nest maintenance would not have evolved in a rival-free world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen T. Trumbo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Waterbury, CT 06702, USA
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9
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Kavelaars MM, Baert JM, Van Malderen J, Stienen EWM, Shamoun-Baranes J, Lens L, Müller W. Simultaneous GPS-tracking of parents reveals a similar parental investment within pairs, but no immediate co-adjustment on a trip-to-trip basis. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2021; 9:42. [PMID: 34419142 PMCID: PMC8379723 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-021-00279-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Parental care benefits the offspring, but comes at a cost for each parent, which in biparental species gives rise to a conflict between partners regarding the within-pair distribution of care. Pair members could avoid exploitation by efficiently keeping track of each other's efforts and coordinating their efforts. Parents may, therefore, space their presence at the nest, which could also allow for permanent protection of the offspring. Additionally, they may respond to their partner's previous investment by co-adjusting their efforts on a trip-to-trip basis, resulting in overall similar parental activities within pairs. METHODS We investigated the coordination of parental care measured as nest attendance and foraging effort in the Lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus), a species with long nest bouts that performs extended foraging trips out of sight of their partner. This was achieved by GPS-tracking both pair members simultaneously during the entire chick rearing period. RESULTS We found that the timing of foraging trips (and hence nest attendance) was coordinated within gull pairs, as individuals left the colony only after their partner had returned. Parents did not match their partner's investment by actively co-adjusting their foraging efforts on a trip-by-trip basis. Yet, pair members were similar in their temporal and energetic investments during chick rearing. CONCLUSION Balanced investment levels over a longer time frame suggest that a coordination of effort may not require permanent co-adjustment of the levels of care on a trip-to-trip basis, but may instead rather take place at an earlier stage in the reproductive attempt, or over integrated longer time intervals. Identifying the drivers and underlying processes of coordination will be one of the next necessary steps to fully understand parental cooperation in long-lived species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marwa M Kavelaars
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group (BECO), University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium.
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Ghent University, K.L, Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Jan M Baert
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group (BECO), University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Ghent University, K.L, Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jolien Van Malderen
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Ghent University, K.L, Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Eric W M Stienen
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Havenlaan 88, 1000, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Judy Shamoun-Baranes
- Theoretical and Computational Ecology, IBED, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090 GE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Ghent University, K.L, Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Wendt Müller
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group (BECO), University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium
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10
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11
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Bebbington K, Groothuis TGG. Who listens to mother? A whole-family perspective on the evolution of maternal hormone allocation. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:1951-1968. [PMID: 33988906 PMCID: PMC8518390 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Maternal effects, or the influence of maternal environment and phenotype on offspring phenotype, may allow mothers to fine-tune their offspring's developmental trajectory and resulting phenotype sometimes long after the offspring has reached independence. However, maternal effects on offspring phenotype do not evolve in isolation, but rather within the context of a family unit, where the separate and often conflicting evolutionary interests of mothers, fathers and offspring are all at play. While intrafamilial conflicts are routinely invoked to explain other components of reproductive strategy, remarkably little is known about how intrafamilial conflicts influence maternal effects. We argue that much of the considerable variation in the relationship between maternally derived hormones, nutrients and other compounds and the resulting offspring phenotype might be explained by the presence of conflicting selection pressures on different family members. In this review, we examine the existing literature on maternal hormone allocation as a case study for maternal effects more broadly, and explore new hypotheses that arise when we consider current findings within a framework that explicitly incorporates the different evolutionary interests of the mother, her offspring and other family members. Specifically, we hypothesise that the relationship between maternal hormone allocation and offspring phenotype depends on a mother's ability to manipulate the signals she sends to offspring, the ability of family members to be plastic in their response to those signals and the capacity for the phenotypes and strategies of various family members to interact and influence one another on both behavioural and evolutionary timescales. We also provide suggestions for experimental, comparative and theoretical work that may be instrumental in testing these hypotheses. In particular, we highlight that manipulating the level of information available to different family members may reveal important insights into when and to what extent maternal hormones influence offspring development. We conclude that the evolution of maternal hormone allocation is likely to be shaped by the conflicting fitness optima of mothers, fathers and offspring, and that the outcome of this conflict depends on the relative balance of power between family members. Extending our hypotheses to incorporate interactions between family members, as well as more complex social groups and a wider range of taxa, may provide exciting new developments in the fields of endocrinology and maternal effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kat Bebbington
- Behavioural Biology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen, 9747AG, The Netherlands.,Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, de Elst 1, Wageningen, 6708WD, The Netherlands
| | - Ton G G Groothuis
- Behavioural Biology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen, 9747AG, The Netherlands
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12
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Rabdeau J, Badenhausser I, Gaffard A, Mangelinck C, Moreau J, Bretagnolle V, Monceau K. Assortative pairing for boldness and consequences for reproductive success in Montagu’s harrier. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Behavioural combination within pairs depending on personality and plasticity might influence reproductive success. However, studies testing this hypothesis are rare, especially in the case of monogamous species with bi-parental care in which the sexes exhibit different behavioural roles. In this study, we investigated the pairing patterns for both boldness and boldness plasticity in Montagu’s harriers (Circus pygargus), a species with sex-specific care, and the consequences for their reproductive success. We measured individual boldness and plasticity for both sexes, and we assessed the pairing pattern in the Montagu’s harrier population for these two traits. We calculated four indices to characterize the behavioural association within pairs: pair boldness, boldness similarity within pairs, pair plasticity and plasticity similarity within pairs. The relationship between the behaviour of the parents and the reproductive success was then tested through these four indices. We found a pattern of assortative pairing based on both boldness and plasticity in the Montagu’s harrier population. Within-pair similarity of plasticity had a significant effect on the reproductive success, which was higher for less similar pairs than for more similar pairs. Our results question the origin of this pairing pattern and suggest that ecological constraint and not sexual selection could be the major driver.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliette Rabdeau
- UMR 7372, Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, La Rochelle Université & CNRS, Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Isabelle Badenhausser
- INRAE, Unité de Recherche Pluridisciplinaire Prairies Plantes Fourragères, Lusignan, France
| | - Agathe Gaffard
- UMR 7372, Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, La Rochelle Université & CNRS, Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Camille Mangelinck
- UMR 7372, Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, La Rochelle Université & CNRS, Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Jérôme Moreau
- UMR 7372, Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, La Rochelle Université & CNRS, Villiers en Bois, France
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Équipe Écologie Évolutive, Université de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - Vincent Bretagnolle
- UMR 7372, Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, La Rochelle Université & CNRS, Villiers en Bois, France
- LTSER ‘Zone Atelier Plaine & Val de Sèvre’, CNRS, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Karine Monceau
- UMR 7372, Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, La Rochelle Université & CNRS, Villiers en Bois, France
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13
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Jenkins JB, Mueller AJ, Thompson CF, Sakaluk SK, Bowers EK. Female birds monitor the activity of their mates while brooding nest-bound young. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:613-628. [PMID: 33392914 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01453-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
In addition to food and protection, altricial young in many species are ectothermic and require that endothermic parents provide warmth to foster growth, yet only one parent-typically the female-broods these young to keep them warm. When this occurs, reduced provisioning by males obliges females to forage instead of providing warmth for offspring, favoring the temporal mapping of male activities. We assessed this in a wild house wren population while experimentally feeding nestlings to control offspring satiety. While brooding, females look out from the nest to inspect their surroundings, and we hypothesized that this helps to determine if their mate is nearby and likely to deliver food to the brood (males pass food to brooding females, which pass the food to nestlings). Females looked out from the nest less often when their partner was singing nearby and when his singing and provisioning were temporally linked, signaling his impending food delivery. Females also left to forage less often when their mate was nearby and likely to deliver food. Nestling begging did not affect these behaviors. Females looking out from the nest more often also provisioned at a higher rate and were more likely to divorce and find a new mate prior to nesting again within seasons, as expected if females switch mates when a male fails to meet expectations. Our results suggest anticipatory effects generated by male behavior and that brooding females temporally map male activity to inform decisions about whether to continue brooding or to leave the nest to forage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan B Jenkins
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Biodiversity Research, Edward J. Meeman Biological Station, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Alexander J Mueller
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Biodiversity Research, Edward J. Meeman Biological Station, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA.,National Park Service, Southeast Utah Group, Moab, UT, 84532, USA
| | - Charles F Thompson
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790-4120, USA
| | - Scott K Sakaluk
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790-4120, USA
| | - E Keith Bowers
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Biodiversity Research, Edward J. Meeman Biological Station, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA.
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14
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Kappeler PM. Parental Care. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-82879-0_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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15
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Baldan D, Ouyang JQ. Urban resources limit pair coordination over offspring provisioning. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15888. [PMID: 32985594 PMCID: PMC7522258 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72951-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The amount of care parents provide to the offspring is complicated by an evolutionary conflict of interest (‘sexual conflict’) between the two parents. Recent theoretical models suggest that pair coordination of the provisioning may reduce this conflict and increase parent and offspring fitness. Despite empirical studies showing that pair coordination is common in avian species, it remains unclear how environmental and ecological conditions might promote or limit the ability of parents to coordinate care. We compared the level of pair coordination, measured as alternation and synchrony of the nest visits, of house wrens Troglodytes aedon pairs breeding in a rural (10 nests) and a suburban (9 nests) site and investigated how differences in parental behaviours were related to habitat composition, prey abundance and how they ultimately related to reproductive success. We found that parents alternated and synchronized their nest visits more in the rural site compared to the suburban one. The suburban site is characterized by a more fragmented habitat with more coniferous trees and less caterpillar availability. Offspring from the rural site were heavier at fledging than at the suburban site. Taken together, these results suggest that environmental conditions play an important role on the emergence of coordinated parental care and that considering environmental variables is pivotal to assess the fitness consequences of parental strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Baldan
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N Virginia St., Reno, NV, 89557, USA.
| | - Jenny Q Ouyang
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N Virginia St., Reno, NV, 89557, USA
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16
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Griffith SC. Cooperation and Coordination in Socially Monogamous Birds: Moving Away From a Focus on Sexual Conflict. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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17
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Smiseth PT. Coordination, Cooperation, and Conflict Between Caring Parents in Burying Beetles. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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18
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Johnstone RA, Savage JL. Conditional Cooperation and Turn-Taking in Parental Care. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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19
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Baldan D, Curk T, Hinde CA, Lessells CM. Alternation of nest visits varies with experimentally manipulated workload in brood-provisioning great tits. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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20
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Fazekas EA, Morvai B, Zachar G, Dóra F, Székely T, Pogány Á, Dobolyi A. Neuronal activation in zebra finch parents associated with reintroduction of nestlings. J Comp Neurol 2019; 528:363-379. [PMID: 31423585 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Revised: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies of the brain mechanisms of parental behaviors have mainly focused on rodents. Using other vertebrate taxa, such as birds, can contribute to a more comprehensive, evolutionary view. In the present study, we investigated a passerine songbird, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), with a biparental caring system. Parenting-related neuronal activation was induced by first temporarily removing the nestlings, and then, either reuniting the focal male or female parent with the nestlings (parental group) or not (control group). To identify activated neurons, the immediate early gene product, Fos protein, was labeled. Both parents showed an increased level of parental behavior following reunion with the nestlings, and no sexual dimorphism occurred in the neuronal activation pattern. Offspring-induced parental behavior-related neuronal activation was found in the preoptic, ventromedial (VMH), paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei, and in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. In addition, the number of Fos-immunoreactive (Fos-ir) neurons in the nucleus accumbens predicted the frequency of the feeding of the nestlings. No difference was found in Fos expression when the effect of isolation or the presence of the mate was examined. Thus, our study identified a number of nuclei involved in parental care in birds and suggests similar regulatory mechanisms in caring females and males. The activated brain regions show similarities to rodents, while a generally lower number of brain regions were activated in the zebra finch. Furthermore, future studies are necessary to establish the role of the apparently avian-specific neuronal activation in the VMH of zebra finch parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emese A Fazekas
- MTA-ELTE Laboratory of Molecular and Systems Neurobiology, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Hungary Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Boglárka Morvai
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gergely Zachar
- Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Fanni Dóra
- SE-NAP-Human Brain Tissue Bank Microdissection Laboratory and Laboratory of Neuromorphology, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tamás Székely
- Milner Center for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Ákos Pogány
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Arpád Dobolyi
- MTA-ELTE Laboratory of Molecular and Systems Neurobiology, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Hungary Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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21
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Pogány Á, Morvai B, Krause ET, Kitsios E, Böhm T, Ruploh T, von Engelhardt N, Székely T, Komdeur J, Miklósi Á, Krüger O. Short- and Long-Term Social Effects of Parental Sex Roles in Zebra Finches. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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22
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Parental feeding responses to experimental short-term partner removal in a species with male and female brood desertion. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2693-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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23
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Leniowski K, Węgrzyn E. Equal division of parental care enhances nestling development in the Blackcap. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0207757. [PMID: 30481200 PMCID: PMC6258531 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Because parental care is costly, conflict between mates over their roles in reproduction seems unavoidable unless they both benefit from parental labour split equally between partners. In the current paper we analyse the division of parental investment in the Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), a species that experiences high nest predation. We show that both sexes invest in the incubation of eggs as well as feeding and brooding nestlings at a similar level. We also found that pairs which divided feeding duties more equally produced nestlings that grew faster. Faster nestling development enables earlier fledging in case of predation attempts at the end of nesting period. Thus parents who more evenly participate in provisioning may benefit from higher breeding success. Our findings suggest that in species under high risk of nest predation disparity in parental investment may not provide much benefit to parent's residual reproductive value and that equality in parental duties constitutes a winning strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konrad Leniowski
- Laboratory of Bioacoustics and Spectrophotometry, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland
| | - Ewa Węgrzyn
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland
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24
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Male parental investment reflects the level of partner contributions and brood value in tree swallows. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2594-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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25
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Pilakouta N, Hanlon EJH, Smiseth PT. Biparental care is more than the sum of its parts: experimental evidence for synergistic effects on offspring fitness. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20180875. [PMID: 30068674 PMCID: PMC6111165 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite an extensive body of theoretical and empirical literature on biparental cooperation, it is still unclear whether offspring fare equally, better or worse when receiving care by two parents versus a single parent. Some models predict that parents should withhold the amount of care they provide due to sexual conflict, thereby shifting as much of the workload as possible to their partner. This conflict should lead to offspring faring worse with two parents. Yet, other models predict that when parents care for their offspring together, their individual contributions can have synergistic (more than additive) effects on offspring fitness. Under this scenario, biparental cooperation should lead to offspring faring better with two parents. We address this fundamental question using a unique experimental design where we compared offspring fitness when the two parents worked together (biparental treatment) and when they worked separately (uniparental treatment), while keeping constant the amount of resources and number of offspring per parent across treatments. This made it possible to directly compare the biparental treatment to the sum of the male and female contributions in the uniparental treatment. Our main finding was that offspring grew larger and were more likely to survive to adulthood when reared by both parents than a single parent. This is the first empirical evidence for a synergistic effect of biparental cooperation on offspring fitness and could provide novel insights into the conditions favouring the evolution of biparental cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Pilakouta
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Per T Smiseth
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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26
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Zinna RA, Gotoh H, Kojima T, Niimi T. Recent advances in understanding the mechanisms of sexually dimorphic plasticity: insights from beetle weapons and future directions. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 25:35-41. [PMID: 29602360 PMCID: PMC5880310 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2017.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2017] [Revised: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Many traits that are sexually dimorphic, appearing either differently or uniquely in one sex, are also sensitive to an organism's condition. This phenomenon seems to have evolved to limit genetic conflict between traits that are under different selective pressures in each sex. Recent work has shed light on the molecular and developmental mechanisms that govern this condition sensitive growth, and this work has now expanded to encompass both sexual dimorphism as well as conditionally plastic growth, as it seems the two phenomena are linked on a molecular level. In all cases studied the gene doublesex, a conserved regulator of sex differentiation, controls both sexual dimorphism as well as the condition-dependent plastic responses common to these traits. However, the advent of next-generation -omics technologies has allowed researchers to decipher the common and diverged mechanisms of sexually dimorphic plasticity and expand investigations beyond the foundation laid by studies utilizing beetle weapons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Zinna
- Center for Insect Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0106, United States.
| | - Hiroki Gotoh
- Lab of Sericulture and Entomoresources, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
| | - Takaaki Kojima
- Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
| | - Teruyuki Niimi
- Division of Evolutionary Developmental Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Nishigonaka 38, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8585 Aichi, Japan
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27
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Pogány Á, Vincze E, Szurovecz Z, Kosztolányi A, Barta Z, Székely T, Riebel K. Personality assortative female mating preferences in a songbird. BEHAVIOUR 2018. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Consistent individual behavioural differences (‘animal personalities’) are documented across a variety of animal taxa. Sexual selection, especially assortative mating has been suggested as a possible mechanism contributing to the maintenance of different personality types within populations but little is known about non-random pair-formation with respect to personality traits in unconstrained choice tests. We here tested whether female mating preferences were non-random with respect to male and female neophobia in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), an important avian model of mate choice and animal personality research. Male and female neophobia was assessed by attaching novel objects to birds’ feeders. Females’ mating preferences were tested with randomly assigned, unfamiliar males in a four-way choice apparatus. Females associated most with males with neophobia scores similar to their own. These results provide evidence that mating preferences and personality traits can covary, supporting evolutionary scenarios of assortative mating contributing to the maintenance of personality traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ákos Pogány
- aDepartment of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ernő Vincze
- bMTA-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, University of Pannonia, PO Box 158, H-8201 Veszprém, Hungary
| | - Zita Szurovecz
- aDepartment of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - András Kosztolányi
- cDepartment of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Rottenbiller u. 50, H-1077 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zoltán Barta
- dDepartment of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Tamás Székely
- dDepartment of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- eMilner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Katharina Riebel
- fAnimal Science & Health, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands
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28
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Savage JL, Browning LE, Manica A, Russell AF, Johnstone RA. Turn-taking in cooperative offspring care: by-product of individual provisioning behavior or active response rule? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017; 71:162. [PMID: 29081573 PMCID: PMC5644705 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2391-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Revised: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Abstract For individuals collaborating to rear offspring, effective organization of resource delivery is difficult because each carer benefits when the others provide a greater share of the total investment required. When investment is provided in discrete events, one possible solution is to adopt a turn-taking strategy whereby each individual reduces its contribution rate after investing, only increasing its rate again once another carer contributes. To test whether turn-taking occurs in a natural cooperative care system, here we use a continuous time Markov model to deduce the provisioning behavior of the chestnut-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps), a cooperatively breeding Australian bird with variable number of carers. Our analysis suggests that turn-taking occurs across a range of group sizes (2–6), with individual birds being more likely to visit following other individuals than to make repeat visits. We show using a randomization test that some of this apparent turn-taking arises as a by-product of the distribution of individual inter-visit intervals (“passive” turn-taking) but that individuals also respond actively to the investment of others over and above this effect (“active” turn-taking). We conclude that turn-taking in babblers is a consequence of both their individual provisioning behavior and deliberate response rules, with the former effect arising through a minimum interval required to forage and travel to and from the nest. Our results reinforce the importance of considering fine-scale investment dynamics when studying parental care and suggest that behavioral rules such as turn-taking may be more common than previously thought. Significance statement Caring for offspring is a crucial stage in the life histories of many animals and often involves conflict as each carer typically benefits when others contribute a greater share of the work required. One way to resolve this conflict is to monitor when other carers contribute and adopt a simple “turn-taking” rule to ensure fairness, but natural parental care has rarely been studied in sufficient detail to identify such rules. Our study investigates whether cooperatively breeding chestnut-crowned babblers “take turns” delivering food to offspring, and (if so) whether this a deliberate strategy or simply a by-product of independent care behavior. We find that babblers indeed take turns and conclude that part of the observed turn-taking is due to deliberate responsiveness, with the rest arising from the species’ breeding ecology. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00265-017-2391-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- James L Savage
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ UK.,Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, De Elst 1, 6708 WD Wageningen, The Netherlands.,School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Distillery Fields, North Mall, Cork, T23 TK30 Ireland
| | - Lucy E Browning
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ UK.,Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052 NSW Australia
| | - Andrea Manica
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ UK
| | - Andrew F Russell
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Tremough Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE UK
| | - Rufus A Johnstone
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ UK
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29
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Bebbington K, Kingma SA. No evidence that kin selection increases the honesty of begging signals in birds. Evol Lett 2017; 1:132-137. [PMID: 30283644 PMCID: PMC6121787 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2017] [Accepted: 06/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Providing plausible mechanisms to explain variation in the honesty of information communicated through offspring begging signals is fundamental to our understanding of parent–offspring conflict and the evolution of family life. A recently published research article used comparative analyses to investigate two long‐standing hypotheses that may explain the evolution of begging behavior. The results suggested that direct competition between offspring for parental resources decreases begging honesty, whereas indirect, kin‐selected benefits gained through saving parental resources for the production of future siblings increase begging honesty. However, we feel that evidence for a role of kin selection in this context is still missing. We present a combination of arguments and empirical tests to outline alternative sources of interspecific variation in offspring begging levels and discuss avenues for further research that can bring us closer to a complete understanding of the evolution of offspring signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kat Bebbington
- School of Biological Sciences University of East Anglia Norwich Research Park Norwich NR4 7TJ UK.,Behavioural & Physiological Ecology, GELIFES University of Groningen 9700CC Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Behavioural & Physiological Ecology, GELIFES University of Groningen 9700CC Groningen The Netherlands
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30
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A sequential collective action game and its applications to cooperative parental care in a songbird. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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31
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Stockley P, Hobson L. Paternal care and litter size coevolution in mammals. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.0140. [PMID: 27097924 PMCID: PMC4855383 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2016] [Accepted: 03/24/2016] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Biparental care of offspring occurs in diverse mammalian genera and is particularly common among species with socially monogamous mating systems. Despite numerous well-documented examples, however, the evolutionary causes and consequences of paternal care in mammals are not well understood. Here, we investigate the evolution of paternal care in relation to offspring production. Using comparative analyses to test for evidence of evolutionary associations between male care and life-history traits, we explore if biparental care is likely to have evolved because of the importance of male care to offspring survival, or if evolutionary increases in offspring production are likely to result from the evolution of biparental care. Overall, we find no evidence that paternal care has evolved in response to benefits of supporting females to rear particularly costly large offspring or litters. Rather, our findings suggest that increases in offspring production are more likely to follow the evolution of paternal care, specifically where males contribute depreciable investment such as provisioning young. Through coevolution with litter size, we conclude that paternal care in mammals is likely to play an important role in stabilizing monogamous mating systems and could ultimately promote the evolution of complex social behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Stockley
- Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Chester High Road, Neston CH64 7TE, UK
| | - Liane Hobson
- Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Chester High Road, Neston CH64 7TE, UK
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32
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Morvai B, Nanuru S, Mul D, Kusche N, Milne G, Székely T, Komdeur J, Miklósi Á, Pogány Á. Diurnal and Reproductive Stage-Dependent Variation of Parental Behaviour in Captive Zebra Finches. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0167368. [PMID: 27973549 PMCID: PMC5156348 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2016] [Accepted: 11/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Parental care plays a key role in ontogeny, life-history trade-offs, sexual selection and intra-familial conflict. Studies focusing on understanding causes and consequences of variation in parental effort need to quantify parental behaviour accurately. The applied methods are, however, diverse even for a given species and type of parental effort, and rarely validated for accuracy. Here we focus on variability of parental behaviour from a methodological perspective to investigate the effect of different samplings on various estimates of parental effort. We used nest box cameras in a captive breeding population of zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, a widely used model system of sexual selection, intra-familial dynamics and parental care. We investigated diurnal and reproductive stage-dependent variation in parental effort (including incubation, brooding, nest attendance and number of feedings) based on 12h and 3h continuous video-recordings taken at various reproductive stages. We then investigated whether shorter (1h) sampling periods provided comparable estimates of overall parental effort and division of labour to those of longer (3h) sampling periods. Our study confirmed female-biased division of labour during incubation, and showed that the difference between female and male effort diminishes with advancing reproductive stage. We found individually consistent parental behaviours within given days of incubation and nestling provisioning. Furthermore, parental behaviour was consistent over the different stages of incubation, however, only female brooding was consistent over nestling provisioning. Parental effort during incubation did not predict parental effort during nestling provisioning. Our analyses revealed that 1h sampling may be influenced heavily by stochastic and diurnal variation. We suggest using a single longer sampling period (3h) may provide a consistent and accurate estimate for overall parental effort during incubation in zebra finches. Due to the large within-individual variation, we suggest repeated longer sampling over the reproductive stage may be necessary for accurate estimates of parental effort post-hatching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boglárka Morvai
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Sabine Nanuru
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Douwe Mul
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Nina Kusche
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gregory Milne
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Tamás Székely
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Ádám Miklósi
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ákos Pogány
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- * E-mail:
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33
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Will DS, Dorset EE, Thompson CF, Sakaluk SK, Bowers EK. Size of nest-cavity entrance influences male attractiveness and paternal provisioning in house wrens. J Zool (1987) 2016; 302:1-7. [PMID: 28579698 DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
In altricial birds, parental provisioning is plastic and can respond to a variety of environmental stimuli. In this study, we manipulated the size of entrances into artificial nest cavities (i.e., nestboxes) in a population of house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) as a means of manipulating a male's sexual attractiveness, and examined changes in parental provisioning. Nest cavities with large entrances are less desirable as nesting sites, and the males at these sites are less attractive to females. Therefore, we predicted that males at boxes that had large entrances would invest more in parental care (i.e., those that succeeded in finding a mate would provision their offspring at a higher rate) than males at nestboxes with small entrances. As predicted, males provisioned their offspring with food at the highest rates at nestboxes with enlarged entrances, and male provisioning effort positively predicted the number of fledglings they produced per egg. Males at these boxes provisioned more than their mates and more than females and males at nestboxes with small entrances. At nestboxes with small entrances, males provisioned at the same rate as females, and female provisioning did not differ significantly between treatments, on average. Male and female provisioning rates were negatively correlated, such that the increase in provisioning by males at nestboxes with enlarged entrances did not enhance nestling condition, likely because food delivery by females declined with increased provisioning by males. However, the amount of time females spent providing warmth for their ectothermic young increased with increases in male provisioning, suggesting that levels of male parental care altered the mode, not necessarily the extent, of care provided by females. These findings suggest that male provisioning is related to sexual attractiveness, and that sexual conflict over biparental care may not be as simple as the assessment of food provisioning might otherwise suggest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren S Will
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120 USA
| | - Erin E Dorset
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120 USA
| | - Charles F Thompson
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120 USA
| | - Scott K Sakaluk
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120 USA
| | - E Keith Bowers
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120 USA
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Barta Z. Individual variation behind the evolution of cooperation. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150087. [PMID: 26729927 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Life on Earth has two remarkable properties. The first is variation: even apart from the vast number of extant species, there are considerable differences between individuals within a single species. The second property is cooperation. It is surprising that until recently the interactions between these two properties have rarely been addressed from an evolutionary point of view. Here, I concentrate on how inter-individual differences influence the evolution of cooperation. First, I deal with cases where individuality is maintained by random processes like mutation or phenotypic noise. Second, I examine when differences in state cause differences in behaviour. Finally, I investigate the effects of individual role specialization. Variation can be important in several ways. Increased random variation can change the expectation about cooperativeness of future partners, altering behaviour in a current relationship. Differences in state may serve as a book-keeping mechanism that is necessary for the evolution of reciprocity. If the cost of cooperation can depend on state then strategic regulation of state makes it possible to coerce partners to cooperate. If conditions force individuals to specialize, cooperation becomes more valuable. My review of theoretical models suggests that variation plays an important role in the evolution of cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoltán Barta
- MTA-DE 'Lendület' Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Evolutionary Zoology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1., Debrecen 4032, Hungary
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Goymann W, Safari I, Muck C, Schwabl I. Sex roles, parental care and offspring growth in two contrasting coucal species. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160463. [PMID: 27853561 PMCID: PMC5098986 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/06/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The decision to provide parental care is often associated with trade-offs, because resources allocated to parental care typically cannot be invested in self-maintenance or mating. In most animals, females provide more parental care than males, but the reason for this pattern is still debated in evolutionary ecology. To better understand sex differences in parental care and its consequences, we need to study closely related species where the sexes differ in offspring care. We investigated parental care in relation to offspring growth in two closely related coucal species that fundamentally differ in sex roles and parental care, but live in the same food-rich habitat with a benign climate and have a similar breeding phenology. Incubation patterns differed and uniparental male black coucals fed their offspring two times more often than female and male white-browed coucals combined. Also, white-browed coucals had more 'off-times' than male black coucals, during which they perched and preened. However, these differences in parental care were not reflected in offspring growth, probably because white-browed coucals fed their nestlings a larger proportion of frogs than insects. A food-rich habitat with a benign climate may be a necessary, but-perhaps unsurprisingly-is not a sufficient factor for the evolution of uniparental care. In combination with previous results (Goymann et al. 2015 J. Evol. Biol. 28, 1335-1353 (doi:10.1111/jeb.12657)), these data suggest that white-browed coucals may cooperate in parental care, because they lack opportunities to become polygamous rather than because both parents were needed to successfully raise all offspring. Our case study supports recent theory suggesting that permissive environmental conditions in combination with a particular life history may induce sexual selection in females. A positive feedback loop among sexual selection, body size and adult sex-ratio may then stabilize reversed sex roles in competition and parental care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfgang Goymann
- Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie, Abteilung für Verhaltensneurobiologie, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse 6a, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
- Coucal Project, PO Box 26, Chimala, Tanzania
| | - Ignas Safari
- Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie, Abteilung für Verhaltensneurobiologie, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse 6a, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
- Coucal Project, PO Box 26, Chimala, Tanzania
- Department of Conservation Biology, University of Dodoma, PO Box 338, Dodoma, Tanzania
| | - Christina Muck
- Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie, Abteilung für Verhaltensneurobiologie, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse 6a, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Ingrid Schwabl
- Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie, Abteilung für Verhaltensneurobiologie, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse 6a, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
- Coucal Project, PO Box 26, Chimala, Tanzania
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Liebl AL, Browning LE, Russell AF. Manipulating carer number versus brood size: complementary but not equivalent ways of quantifying carer effects on offspring. Behav Ecol 2016; 27:1247-1254. [PMID: 27418754 PMCID: PMC4943111 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2015] [Revised: 02/01/2016] [Accepted: 02/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Measuring the causal effects of increasing carer number on offspring success is required to understand the evolution of cooperative care systems. Here, we did so using 2 experimental techniques in the chestnut-crowned babbler from outback Australia. Both carer removal and brood size manipulations indicate causal effects of helpers on offspring food acquisition. However, the results were not equivalent, with nestlings receiving more food following brood size manipulations, even after controlling for similar carer to offspring ratios. Experiments designed to quantify the effects of increasing numbers of carers on levels of offspring care are rare in cooperative breeding systems, where offspring are reared by individuals additional to the breeding pair. This paucity might stem from disagreement over the most appropriate manipulations necessary to elucidate these effects. Here, we perform both carer removal and brood enhancement experiments to test the effects of numbers of carers and carer:offspring ratios on provisioning rates in the cooperatively breeding chestnut-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps). Removing carers caused linear reductions in overall brood provisioning rates. Further analyses failed to provide evidence that this effect was influenced by territory quality or disruption of group dynamics stemming from the removals. Likewise, adding nestlings to broods caused linear increases in brood provisioning rates, suggesting carers are responsive to increasing offspring demand. However, the 2 experiments did not generate quantitatively equivalent results: Each nestling received more food following brood size manipulation than carer removal, despite comparable carer:offspring ratios in each. Following an at-hatching split-design cross-fostering manipulation to break any links between prehatching maternal effects and posthatching begging patterns, we found that begging intensity increased in larger broods after controlling for metrics of hunger. These findings suggest that manipulation of brood size can, in itself, influence nestling provisioning rates when begging intensity is affected by scramble competition. We highlight that carer number and brood size manipulations are complimentary but not equivalent; adopting both can yield greater overall insight into carer effects in cooperative breeding systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- A L Liebl
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter , Treliever Road, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE , UK and
| | - L E Browning
- UNSW Arid Zone Research Station, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales , Sydney, New South Wales 2052 , Australia
| | - A F Russell
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter , Treliever Road, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE , UK and
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Ferrie GM, Sky C, Schutz PJ, Quinones G, Breeding S, Plasse C, Leighty KA, Bettinger TL. Application of video recording technology to improve husbandry and reproduction in the carmine bee-eater (Merops n. nubicus). Zoo Biol 2015; 35:76-82. [DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2015] [Revised: 11/29/2015] [Accepted: 12/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gina M. Ferrie
- Disney's Animal Kingdom, Animals, Science and Environment; Lake Buena Vista Florida
| | - Christy Sky
- Disney's Animal Kingdom, Animals, Science and Environment; Lake Buena Vista Florida
| | - Paul J. Schutz
- Disney's Animal Kingdom, Animals, Science and Environment; Lake Buena Vista Florida
| | - Glorieli Quinones
- Disney's Animal Kingdom, Animals, Science and Environment; Lake Buena Vista Florida
| | - Shawnlei Breeding
- Disney's Animal Kingdom, Animals, Science and Environment; Lake Buena Vista Florida
| | - Chelle Plasse
- Disney's Animal Kingdom, Animals, Science and Environment; Lake Buena Vista Florida
| | - Katherine A. Leighty
- Disney's Animal Kingdom, Animals, Science and Environment; Lake Buena Vista Florida
| | - Tammie L. Bettinger
- Disney's Animal Kingdom, Animals, Science and Environment; Lake Buena Vista Florida
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Bebbington K, Hatchwell BJ. Coordinated parental provisioning is related to feeding rate and reproductive success in a songbird. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Hopwood PE, Moore AJ, Tregenza T, Royle NJ. Male burying beetles extend, not reduce, parental care duration when reproductive competition is high. J Evol Biol 2015; 28:1394-402. [PMID: 26033457 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2015] [Revised: 05/17/2015] [Accepted: 05/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Male parents spend less time caring than females in many species with biparental care. The traditional explanation for this pattern is that males have lower confidence of parentage, so they desert earlier in favour of pursuing other mating opportunities. However, one recent alternative hypothesis is that prolonged male parental care might also evolve if staying to care actively improves paternity. If this is the case, an increase in reproductive competition should be associated with increased paternal care. To test this prediction, we manipulated the level of reproductive competition experienced by burying beetles, Nicrophorus vespilloides (Herbst, 1783). We found that caregiving males stayed for longer and mated more frequently with their partner when reproductive competition was greater. Reproductive productivity did not increase when males extended care. Our findings provide support for the increased paternity hypothesis. Extended duration of parental care may be a male tactic both protecting investment (in the current brood) and maximizing paternity (in subsequent brood(s) via female stored sperm) even if this fails to maximize current reproductive productivity and creates conflict of interest with their mate via costs associated with increased mating frequency.
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Affiliation(s)
- P E Hopwood
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Biosciences, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - A J Moore
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Biosciences, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK.,Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - T Tregenza
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Biosciences, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - N J Royle
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Biosciences, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
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41
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Ringler E, Pašukonis A, Fitch WT, Huber L, Hödl W, Ringler M. Flexible compensation of uniparental care: female poison frogs take over when males disappear. Behav Ecol 2015; 26:1219-1225. [PMID: 26167099 PMCID: PMC4495760 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2014] [Revised: 04/30/2015] [Accepted: 05/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Caring mothers step in for deadbeat dads. Flexible compensation has evolved as a countermeasure against reduced or lost parental care and is commonly found in biparental species. In the poison frog Allobates femoralis with obligatory male-only care, we show that females flexibly perform tadpole transport when males disappear. This demonstrates that compensatory flexibility also evolved in species with unisexual care, suggesting that parental care systems are more flexible than previously thought. Parental care systems are shaped by costs and benefits to each sex of investing into current versus future progeny. Flexible compensatory parental care is mainly known in biparental species, particularly where parental desertion or reduction of care by 1 parent is common. The other parent can then compensate this loss by either switching parental roles and/or by increasing its own parental effort. In uniparental species, desertion of the caregiver usually leads to total brood loss. In the poison frog, Allobates femoralis, obligatory tadpole transport (TT) is generally performed by males, whereas females abandon their clutches after oviposition. Nevertheless, in a natural population we previously observed 7.8% of TT performed by females, which we could link to the absence of the respective fathers. In the following experiment, under laboratory conditions, all tested A. femoralis females flexibly took over parental duties, but only when their mates were removed. Our findings provide clear evidence for compensatory flexibility in a species with unisexual parental care. Contrary to the view of amphibian parental care as being stereotypical and fixed, these results demonstrate behavioral flexibility as an adaptive response to environmental and social uncertainty. Behavioral flexibility might actually represent a crucial step in the evolutionary transition from uniparental to biparental care in poison frogs. We suspect that across animal species flexible parental roles are much more common than previously thought and suggest the idea of a 3-dimensional continuum regarding flexibility, parental involvement, and timing, when thinking about the evolution of parental care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Ringler
- Department of Integrative Zoology , ; Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna , Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna , Austria , and ; Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna and University of Vienna , 1210 Vienna , Austria
| | - Andrius Pašukonis
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna , Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna , Austria , and
| | - W Tecumseh Fitch
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna , Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna , Austria , and
| | - Ludwig Huber
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna and University of Vienna , 1210 Vienna , Austria
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Burtka JL, Grindstaff JL. Similar nest defence strategies within pairs increase reproductive success in the eastern bluebird, Sialia sialis. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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43
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Mariette MM, Griffith SC. The Adaptive Significance of Provisioning and Foraging Coordination between Breeding Partners. Am Nat 2015; 185:270-80. [DOI: 10.1086/679441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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44
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Iserbyt A, Farrell S, Eens M, Müller W. Sex-specific negotiation rules in a costly conflict over parental care. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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45
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Lankinen Å, Karlsson Green K. Using theories of sexual selection and sexual conflict to improve our understanding of plant ecology and evolution. AOB PLANTS 2015; 7:plv008. [PMID: 25613227 PMCID: PMC4344479 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plv008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Today it is accepted that the theories of sexual selection and sexual conflict are general and can be applied to both animals and plants. However, potentially due to a controversial history, plant studies investigating sexual selection and sexual conflict are relatively rare. Moreover, these theories and concepts are seldom implemented in research fields investigating related aspects of plant ecology and evolution. Even though these theories are complex, and can be difficult to study, we suggest that several fields in plant biology would benefit from incorporating and testing the impact of selection pressures generated by sexual selection and sexual conflict. Here we give examples of three fields where we believe such incorporation would be particularly fruitful, including (i) mechanisms of pollen-pistil interactions, (ii) mating-system evolution in hermaphrodites and (iii) plant immune responses to pests and pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Åsa Lankinen
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Plant Protection Biology, PO Box 102, S-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden
| | - Kristina Karlsson Green
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Plant Protection Biology, PO Box 102, S-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden
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Abstract
There is mounting evidence that inbreeding can have detrimental effects on the fitness of outbred individuals that interact with or depend on inbred individuals. However, little is currently known about the behavioral mechanisms by which interactions with inbred individuals induce fitness costs in outbred individuals. Here, we study effects of inbreeding on the behavioral dynamics of biparental cooperation in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. To this end, we used a two-by-two factorial design, in which an inbred or outbred female was mated to an inbred or an outbred male and tested for effects on cooperation between male and female parents providing care for their joint offspring. We found no evidence that inbred parents provided less care than outbred parents. Nevertheless, partners of inbred parents increased the amount of care they provided, leading to overcompensation. Our study shows that inbreeding can have strong and complex effects on the behavioral dynamics of biparental cooperation and that these effects are mediated mainly through changes in the partner's behavior. We suggest that similar effects of inbreeding on outbred individuals may extend to other social contexts, such as cooperative breeding and mating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah N Mattey
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
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Székely T. Sexual conflict between parents: offspring desertion and asymmetrical parental care. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2014; 6:a017665. [PMID: 25256007 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a017665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Parental care is an immensely variable social behavior, and sexual conflict offers a powerful paradigm to understand this diversity. Conflict over care (usually considered as a type of postzygotic sexual conflict) is common, because the evolutionary interests of male and female parents are rarely identical. I investigate how sexual conflict over care may facilitate the emergence and maintenance of diverse parenting strategies and argue that researchers should combine two fundamental concepts in social behavior to understand care patterns: cooperation and conflict. Behavioral evidence of conflict over care is well established, studies have estimated specific fitness implications of conflict for males or females, and experiments have investigated specific components of conflict. However, studies are long overdue to reveal the full implications of conflict for both males and females. Manipulating (or harming) the opposite sex seems less common in postzygotic conflicts than in prezygotic conflicts because by manipulating, coercing, or harming the opposite sex, the reproductive interest of the actor is also reduced. Parental care is a complex trait, although few studies have yet considered the implications of multidimensionality for parental conflict. Future research in parental conflict will benefit from understanding the behavioral interactions between male and female parents (e.g., negotiation, learning, and coercion), the genetic and neurogenomic bases of parental behavior, and the influence of social environment on parental strategies. Empirical studies are needed to put sexual conflict in a population context and reveal feedback between mate choice, pair bonds and parenting strategies, and their demographic consequences for the population such as mortalities and sex ratios. Taken together, sexual conflict offers a fascinating avenue for understanding the causes and consequences of parenting behavior, sex roles, and breeding system evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamás Székely
- Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom
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48
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Bowers EK, Nietz D, Thompson CF, Sakaluk SK. Parental provisioning in house wrens: effects of varying brood size and consequences for offspring. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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49
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Same-sex partner preference in adult male zebra finch offspring raised in the absence of maternal care. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.03.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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50
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van Rooij EP, Griffith SC. Synchronised provisioning at the nest: parental coordination over care in a socially monogamous species. PeerJ 2013; 1:e232. [PMID: 24432197 PMCID: PMC3883492 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2013] [Accepted: 12/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Bi-parental care is very common in birds, occurring in over 90% of species, and is expected to evolve whenever the benefits of enhanced offspring survival exceed the costs to both parents of providing care. In altricial species, where the nestlings are entirely dependent on the parents for providing food until fledging, reproductive success is related to the capacity of the parents to provision the offspring at the nest. The degree to which parents synchronise their visits to the nest is rarely considered by studies of bi-parental care, and yet may be an important component of parental care, affecting the outcome of the reproductive attempt, and the dynamics of sexual conflict between the parents. Here we studied this aspect of parental care in the long-tailed finch (Poephila acuticauda), a socially monogamous estrildid finch. We monitored parental nest visit rates and the degree of parental visit synchrony, and assessed their effects on reproductive success (e.g., brood size, number of offspring fledged and nestling growth). The frequency of nest visits in a day was low in this species (<1 visit/h), but there was a high level of synchrony by the two partners with 73% of visits made together. There was a correlation between the proportion of visits that were made by the pair together and the size of the brood at hatching, although it was not related to the number of fledglings a pair produced, or the quality of those offspring. We suggest that nest visit synchrony may primarily be driven by the benefit of parents being together whilst foraging away from the nest, or may reduce nest predation by reducing the level of activity around the nest throughout the day.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica P van Rooij
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University , Sydney , Australia
| | - Simon C Griffith
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University , Sydney , Australia
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