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Rittinger MA, Bowden RM, Sauers LA, Paitz RT, Poppe CJ, Thompson CF, Sakaluk SK. Sex-specific effects of hatching order on nestling baseline corticosterone in a wild songbird. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2022; 319:113964. [PMID: 34922951 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2021.113964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Variation in nestling growth and survival is often influenced by hatching order, with first-hatched offspring having an advantage over later-hatched younger siblings. In house wrens (Troglodytes aedon), this effect of hatching order is especially evident in asynchronously hatched broods and can lead to sex-specific differences in the size and condition of nestlings. Females appear to allocate the sex of their offspring across the laying order to capitalize on these differences. We hypothesized that levels of circulating corticosterone, the primary metabolic hormone in birds, mediates these sex-specific effects in nestlings. We predicted that: i) baseline levels of corticosterone in nestlings should vary along the hatching order, ii) effects of hatching order on baseline corticosterone should be sex specific, and iii) any sex-specificity of hatching order on baseline corticosterone could be contingent on the degree of hatching synchrony. We tested these predictions in a study in which we measured baseline corticosterone in first- and last-hatched nestlings in synchronously and asynchronously hatching broods. To assess whether any differences in nestling baseline corticosterone levels could be attributed to pre-natal maternal effects, the post-natal environment, or both, we conducted two additional studies in which we measured i) yolk corticosterone in first- and last-laid eggs and ii) baseline corticosterone in nestlings that were cross-fostered to create simulated 'asynchronously' hatched broods. There was a significant interaction between sex and relative hatching order in their effects on nestling baseline corticosterone, but no effect of hatching synchrony. Corticosterone levels remained relatively constant across the hatching order in males but decreased in females. There was a significant effect of laying order on yolk corticosterone, with first-laid eggs containing significantly higher levels of yolk corticosterone than last-laid eggs. Cross-fostering of nestlings at different points of development had no significant effect on nestling corticosterone levels. These results indicate that sex-dependent differences in corticosterone levels across the hatching order may arise, at least in part, from embryonic exposure to maternally derived corticosterone, whereas the post-natal rearing environment plays, at best, a minimal role in determining nestling baseline corticosterone levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison A Rittinger
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA.
| | - Rachel M Bowden
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
| | - Logan A Sauers
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
| | - Ryan T Paitz
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
| | - Christine J Poppe
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
| | - Charles F Thompson
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
| | - Scott K Sakaluk
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
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Bowers EK, Jenkins JB, Mueller AJ, Miller KD, Thompson CF, Sakaluk SK. Condition-Dependent Begging Elicits Increased Parental Investment in a Wild Bird Population. Am Nat 2019; 193:725-737. [PMID: 31002567 DOI: 10.1086/702848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
The coevolution of parental supply and offspring demand has long been thought to involve offspring need driving begging and parental care, leaving other hypotheses underexplored. In a population of wild birds, we experimentally tested whether begging serves as a negatively condition-dependent signal of need or a positively condition-dependent signal of quality. Across multiple years, we supplemented nestling house wrens with food shortly after hatching and simultaneously manipulated corticosterone levels to simulate the hunger-induced increase in glucocorticoids thought to mediate begging. This allowed us to also test whether begging is simply a proximate signal of hunger. Days after supplementation ended, food-supplemented nestlings were in better condition than nonsupplemented nestlings and begged for food at an increased rate; their parents, in turn, increased provisioning to a greater extent than parents of nonsupplemented young, as begging positively predicted provisioning. Food-supplemented nestlings therefore attained above-average condition, which predicted their recruitment as breeding adults in the local population. Glucocorticoids increased begging in the short term, but this transient effect depended on satiety. Thus, glucocorticoids promoted begging as a proximate response to hunger, whereas the longer-term changes in nestling condition, begging, and food provisioning suggest that begging ultimately signals offspring quality to elicit increased investment, thereby enhancing offspring survival.
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Costanzo A, Rubolini D, Ambrosini R, Caprioli M, Gatti E, Romano A, Parolini M, Gianfranceschi L, Saino N. Association between extra-pair paternity and nestling sex and condition in the barn swallow. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2552-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Safari I, Goymann W. Certainty of paternity in two coucal species with divergent sex roles: the devil takes the hindmost. BMC Evol Biol 2018; 18:110. [PMID: 30005606 PMCID: PMC6043945 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-018-1225-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Accepted: 06/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Certainty of paternity is considered an important factor in the evolution of paternal care. Several meta-analyses across birds support this idea, particularly for species with altricial young. However, the role of certainty of paternity in the evolution and maintenance of exclusive paternal care in the black coucal (Centropus grillii), which is the only known altricial bird species with male-only care, is not well understood. Here we investigated whether the differences in levels of paternal care in the black coucal and its sympatric congener, the bi-parental white-browed coucal (Centropus superciliosus), are shaped by extra-pair paternity. RESULTS We found that male black coucals experienced a substantially higher loss of paternity than white-browed coucals. Further, unlike any previously reported bird species, extra-pair offspring in black coucals represented mainly the last hatchlings of the broods, and these last hatchlings were more likely to disappear during partial-brood loss. CONCLUSION The results suggest that exclusive paternal care in black coucals is not maintained by male certainty of parentage, and extra-pair fertilizations are unlikely to be a female strategy for seeking 'good genes'. Extra-pair paternity in black coucals may reflect the inability of males to guard and copulate with the female after the onset of incubation, and a female strategy to demonstrate her commitment to other males of her social group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignas Safari
- Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie, Abteilung für Verhaltensneurobiologie, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße 6a, 82319, Seewiesen, Germany. .,Coucal Project, P.O. Box 26, Chimala, Tanzania. .,Department of Conservation Biology, University of Dodoma, P.O. Box 338, Dodoma, Tanzania.
| | - Wolfgang Goymann
- Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie, Abteilung für Verhaltensneurobiologie, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße 6a, 82319, Seewiesen, Germany.,Coucal Project, P.O. Box 26, Chimala, Tanzania
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Booksmythe I, Mautz B, Davis J, Nakagawa S, Jennions MD. Facultative adjustment of the offspring sex ratio and male attractiveness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2015; 92:108-134. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2014] [Revised: 08/09/2015] [Accepted: 08/28/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Isobel Booksmythe
- Division of Evolution, Ecology & Genetics; Research School of Biology, The Australian National University; Daley road Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2601 Australia
- Department of Animal Ecology; Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University; Norbyvägen 18D SE-75236 Uppsala Sweden
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies; University of Zürich; Winterthurerstrasse 190 CH-8057 Zürich Switzerland
| | - Brian Mautz
- Division of Evolution, Ecology & Genetics; Research School of Biology, The Australian National University; Daley road Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2601 Australia
- Department of Animal Ecology; Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University; Norbyvägen 18D SE-75236 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Jacqueline Davis
- Division of Evolution, Ecology & Genetics; Research School of Biology, The Australian National University; Daley road Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2601 Australia
- Department of Psychology; University of Cambridge; Downing Street CB2 3EB Cambridge U.K
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- Department of Zoology; University of Otago; PO Box 56 Dunedin 9054 New Zealand
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; University of New South Wales; Sydney New South Wales 2052 Australia
| | - Michael D. Jennions
- Division of Evolution, Ecology & Genetics; Research School of Biology, The Australian National University; Daley road Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2601 Australia
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Bowers EK, Forsman AM, Masters BS, Johnson BGP, Johnson LS, Sakaluk SK, Thompson CF. Increased extra-pair paternity in broods of aging males and enhanced recruitment of extra-pair young in a migratory bird. Evolution 2015; 69:2533-41. [PMID: 26258950 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2015] [Revised: 07/20/2015] [Accepted: 07/29/2015] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Despite keen interest in extra-pair mating in birds, its adaptive significance remains unresolved. Here, we use a multi-year dataset to test whether traits of a female's social mate influence her propensity to produce extra-pair offspring in a population of house wrens, and whether producing extra-pair young has consequences for a female's fitness through effects on offspring survival. Females were most likely to produce extra-pair offspring when paired with old males and when paired with males on poor-quality territories, although this latter effect was marginally nonsignificant. Among offspring, the cutaneous immunity of within-pair young decreased as the age of their sires increased, but cutaneous immunity of extra-pair young was not affected by the age of their extra-pair sires or by the age of the males rearing them. Extra-pair offspring were more likely than within-pair offspring to return as breeding adults to the local population, with extra-pair sons being more likely to return as a breeder for multiple years. Our findings support the hypothesis that females produce extra-pair offspring to enhance their inclusive fitness beyond what they are capable of given the male with which they are socially paired.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Keith Bowers
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, 61790-4120.
| | - Anna M Forsman
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, 61790-4120.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853
| | - Brian S Masters
- Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, Maryland, 21252
| | - Bonnie G P Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, Maryland, 21252
| | - L Scott Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, Maryland, 21252
| | - Scott K Sakaluk
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, 61790-4120
| | - Charles F Thompson
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, 61790-4120
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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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8
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Bell SC, Owens IPF, Lord AM. Quality of breeding territory mediates the influence of paternal quality on sex ratio bias in a free-living bird population. Behav Ecol 2013. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/art112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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9
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Offspring sex ratio varies with clutch size for female house wrens induced to lay supernumerary eggs. Behav Ecol 2013. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/art100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
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Vedder O, Magrath MJL, van der Velde M, Komdeur J. Covariance of paternity and sex with laying order explains male bias in extra-pair offspring in a wild bird population. Biol Lett 2013; 9:20130616. [PMID: 24026349 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been hypothesized that parents increase their fitness by biasing the sex ratio of extra-pair offspring (EPO) towards males. Here, we report a male bias among EPO in a wild population of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). This resulted from a decline in both the proportion of males and EPO over the laying order of eggs in the clutch. However, previous studies suggest that, unlike the decline in EPO with laying order, the relationship between offspring sex ratio and laying order is not consistent between years and populations in this species. Hence, we caution against treating the decline in proportion of males with laying order, and the resulting male bias among EPO, as support for the above hypothesis. Variable patterns of offspring sex and paternity over the laying order may explain inconsistent associations between offspring sex and paternity, between and within species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar Vedder
- Behavioural Ecology and Self-Organization, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
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Cramer ERA. Physically challenging song traits, male quality, and reproductive success in house wrens. PLoS One 2013; 8:e59208. [PMID: 23527137 PMCID: PMC3602011 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2012] [Accepted: 02/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Physically challenging signals are likely to honestly indicate signaler quality. In trilled bird song two physically challenging parameters are vocal deviation (the speed of sound frequency modulation) and trill consistency (how precisely syllables are repeated). As predicted, in several species, they correlate with male quality, are preferred by females, and/or function in male-male signaling. Species may experience different selective pressures on their songs, however; for instance, there may be opposing selection between song complexity and song performance difficulty, such that in species where song complexity is strongly selected, there may not be strong selection on performance-based traits. I tested whether vocal deviation and trill consistency are signals of male quality in house wrens (Troglodytes aedon), a species with complex song structure. Males' singing ability did not correlate with male quality, except that older males sang with higher trill consistency, and males with more consistent trills responded more aggressively to playback (although a previous study found no effect of stimulus trill consistency on males' responses to playback). Males singing more challenging songs did not gain in polygyny, extra-pair paternity, or annual reproductive success. Moreover, none of the standard male quality measures I investigated correlated with mating or reproductive success. I conclude that vocal deviation and trill consistency do not signal male quality in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily R A Cramer
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.
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12
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Bowers EK, Munclinger P, Bureš S, Kučerová L, Nádvorník P, Krist M. Cross-fostering eggs reveals that female collared flycatchers adjust clutch sex ratios according to parental ability to invest in offspring. Mol Ecol 2012; 22:215-28. [PMID: 23116299 DOI: 10.1111/mec.12106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2012] [Revised: 09/20/2012] [Accepted: 10/02/2012] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Across animal taxa, reproductive success is generally more variable and more strongly dependent upon body condition for males than for females; in such cases, parents able to produce offspring in above-average condition are predicted to produce sons, whereas parents unable to produce offspring in good condition should produce daughters. We tested this hypothesis in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) by cross-fostering eggs among nests and using the condition of foster young that parents raised to fledging as a functional measure of their ability to produce fit offspring. As predicted, females raising heavier-than-average foster fledglings with their social mate initially produced male-biased primary sex ratios, whereas those raising lighter-than-average foster fledglings produced female-biased primary sex ratios. Females also produced male-biased clutches when mated to males with large secondary sexual characters (wing patches), and tended to produce male-biased clutches earlier within breeding seasons relative to females breeding later. However, females did not adjust the sex of individuals within their clutches; sex was distributed randomly with respect to egg size, laying order and paternity. Future research investigating the proximate mechanisms linking ecological contexts and the quality of offspring parents are able to produce with primary sex-ratio variation could provide fundamental insight into the evolution of context-dependent sex-ratio adjustment.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Keith Bowers
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
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13
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Poláková R, Schnitzer J, Vinkler M, Bryja J, Munclinger P, Albrecht T. Effect of extra-pair paternity and parental quality on brood sex ratio in the scarlet rosefinchCarpodacus erythrinus. FOLIA ZOOLOGICA 2012. [DOI: 10.25225/fozo.v61.i3.a6.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Radka Poláková
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic;, , ,
| | - Jan Schnitzer
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic;,
| | - Michal Vinkler
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic;, , ,
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic;,
| | - Josef Bryja
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic;, , ,
| | - Pavel Munclinger
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic;,
| | - Tomáš Albrecht
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic;, , ,
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic;,
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References. Mol Ecol 2012. [DOI: 10.1002/9780470979365.refs] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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15
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Barbosa M, Connolly SR, Hisano M, Dornelas M, Magurran AE. Fitness consequences of female multiple mating: a direct test of indirect benefits. BMC Evol Biol 2012; 12:185. [PMID: 22978442 PMCID: PMC3499236 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-12-185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2012] [Accepted: 08/03/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The observation that females mate multiply when males provide nothing but sperm - which sexual selection theory suggests is unlikely to be limiting - continues to puzzle evolutionary biologists. Here we test the hypothesis that multiple mating is prevalent under such circumstances because it enhances female fitness. We do this by allowing female Trinidadian guppies to mate with either a single male or with multiple males, and then tracking the consequences of these matings across two generations. Results Overall, multiply mated females produced 67% more F2 grand-offspring than singly mated females. These offspring, however, did not grow or mature faster, nor were they larger at birth, than F2 grand-offspring of singly mated females. Our results, however, show that multiple mating yields benefits to females in the form of an increase in the production of F1. The higher fecundity among multiply mated mothers was driven by greater production of sons but not daughters. However, contrary to expectation, individually, the offspring of multiply mated females do not grow at different rates than offspring of singly mated females, nor do any indirect fitness benefits or costs accrue to second-generation offspring. Conclusions The study provides strong evidence that multiple mating is advantageous to females, even when males contribute only sperm. This benefit is achieved through an increase in fecundity in the first generation, rather than through other fitness correlates such as size at birth, growth rate, time to sexual maturation and survival. Considered alongside previous work that female guppies can choose to mate with multiple partners, our results provide compelling evidence that direct fitness benefits underpin these mating decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Barbosa
- CESAM, Department of Biology, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal.
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Grana SC, Sakaluk SK, Bowden RM, Doellman MA, Vogel LA, Thompson CF. Reproductive allocation in female house wrens is not influenced by experimentally altered male attractiveness. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1378-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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17
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WANG CHEN, LU XIN. Female ground tits prefer relatives as extra-pair partners: driven by kin-selection? Mol Ecol 2011; 20:2851-63. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2011.05070.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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18
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Sardell RJ, Arcese P, Keller LF, Reid JM. Sex-specific differential survival of extra-pair and within-pair offspring in song sparrows, Melospiza melodia. Proc Biol Sci 2011; 278:3251-9. [PMID: 21389032 PMCID: PMC3169025 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
It is widely hypothesized that the evolution of female extra-pair reproduction in socially monogamous species reflects indirect genetic benefits to females. However, a critical prediction of this hypothesis, that extra-pair young (EPY) are fitter than within-pair young (WPY), has rarely been rigorously tested. We used 18 years of data from free-living song sparrows, Melospiza melodia, to test whether survival through major life-history stages differed between EPY and WPY maternal half-siblings. On average, survival of hatched chicks to independence from parental care and recruitment, and their total lifespan, did not differ significantly between EPY and WPY. However, EPY consistently tended to be less likely to survive, and recruited EPY survived for significantly fewer years than recruited WPY. Furthermore, the survival difference between EPY and WPY was sex-specific; female EPY were less likely to survive to independence and recruitment and lived fewer years than female WPY, whereas male EPY were similarly or slightly more likely to survive and to live more years than male WPY. These data indicate that extra-pair paternity may impose an indirect cost on females via their female offspring and that sex-specific genetic, environmental or maternal effects may shape extra-pair reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca J Sardell
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Zoology Building, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK
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19
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Offspring sex ratio produced by female guppies in the wild correlates with sexual ornaments of their sons. J ETHOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-010-0243-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Du B, Lu X. Sex allocation and paternity in a cooperatively breeding passerine: evidence for the male attractiveness hypothesis? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-010-0976-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Paitz RT, Clairardin SG, Griffin AM, Holgersson MC, Bowden RM. Temperature fluctuations affect offspring sex but not morphological, behavioral, or immunological traits in the Northern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta). CAN J ZOOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1139/z10-020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary theory predicts that when phenotypic variation arises during development that differently influences the fitness of each sex, selection should favor the maternal ability to match offspring phenotype to the sex that incurs a fitness benefit from that phenotype. In reptiles with temperature-dependent sex determination, the temperatures experienced during incubation can influence numerous phenotypic parameters, including sex. To mimic more naturalistic conditions, this experiment examined how variation in temperature fluctuations affects offspring sex as well as a suite of phenotypic parameters having putative fitness consequences in the Northern Painted Turtle ( Chrysemys picta (Schneider, 1783)). We also characterized variation in natural nest temperatures, including the daily temperature range, related to the vegetation cover surrounding the nest. We found that temperature fluctuations did not affect hatchling morphology, immune response, or behavior, but did significantly affect offspring sex ratios. Thermal profiles of natural nests were related to the amount of surrounding vegetation. Results suggest that nest-site choice by females could influence the sex of their offspring, but we found no evidence that variation in temperature fluctuations adaptively matches offspring sex and phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan T. Paitz
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790, USA
| | | | - Adam M. Griffin
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790, USA
| | | | - Rachel M. Bowden
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790, USA
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Rutkowska J, Adkins-Regan E. Learning enhances female control over reproductive investment in the Japanese quail. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 276:3327-34. [PMID: 19535375 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The adaptive significance of learning is supported by studies showing its positive effects on mating behaviour, but they rarely go beyond fertilization success. Here we studied how learning contributes to qualitative reproductive investment, by testing the hypothesis that mating in the context that predicts male appearance has positive effects on female reproductive investment compared with unsignalled mating. Using Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), we found that effects of mating in the context predicting mating opportunity depend on female body condition and receptivity, while the outcome of unexpected mating depends on male behaviour. In particular, among females mated with the familiar male in the context predicting that he will appear, female condition positively affected the number of fertilized eggs and egg mass and more receptive females tended to produce more sons. Additionally, conditioned females laid heavier eggs for daughters than for sons. In contrast, in females that were mated unexpectedly and with a novel male, the number of fertilized eggs was highly dependent on male behaviour and was negatively related to maternal body condition. Egg mass was not related to body condition, and there were no indications of sex allocation. This is, to our knowledge, the first study demonstrating how female body condition and behaviour interact with the context of mating in shaping maternal reproductive investment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Rutkowska
- Department of Psychology, Uris Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
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