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Salmón P, López-Idiáquez D, Capilla-Lasheras P, Pérez-Tris J, Isaksson C, Watson H. Urbanisation impacts plumage colouration in a songbird across Europe: Evidence from a correlational, experimental and meta-analytical approach. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:1924-1936. [PMID: 37574652 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Urbanisation is accelerating across the globe, transforming landscapes, presenting organisms with novel challenges, shaping phenotypes and impacting fitness. Urban individuals are claimed to have duller carotenoid-based colouration, compared to their non-urban counterparts, the so-called 'urban dullness' phenomenon. However, at the intraspecific level, this generalisation is surprisingly inconsistent and often based on comparisons of single urban/non-urban populations or studies from a limited geographical area. Here, we combine correlational, experimental and meta-analytical data on a common songbird, the great tit Parus major, to investigate carotenoid-based plumage colouration in urban and forest populations across Europe. We find that, as predicted, urban individuals are paler than forest individuals, although there are large population-specific differences in the magnitude of the urban-forest contrast in colouration. Using one focal region (Malmö, Sweden), we reveal population-specific processes behind plumage colouration differences, which are unlikely to be the result of genetic or early-life conditions, but instead a consequence of environmental factors acting after fledging. Finally, our meta-analysis indicates that the urban dullness phenomenon is well established in the literature, for great tits, with consistent changes in carotenoid-based plumage traits, particularly carotenoid chroma, in response to anthropogenic disturbances. Overall, our results provide evidence for uniformity in the 'urban dullness' phenomenon but also highlight that the magnitude of the effect on colouration depends on local urban characteristics. Future long-term replicated studies, covering a wider range of species and feeding guilds, will be essential to further our understanding of the eco-evolutionary implications of this phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Salmón
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - David López-Idiáquez
- Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Pablo Capilla-Lasheras
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Javier Pérez-Tris
- Evolution and Conservation Biology Research Group, Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Hannah Watson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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2
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Lopez-Idiaquez D, Teplitsky C, Grégoire A, Fargevieille A, Rey MD, Franceschi CD, Charmantier A, Doutrelant C. Long-term decrease in coloration: a consequence of climate change? Am Nat 2022; 200:32-47. [DOI: 10.1086/719655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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3
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Wolfgramm H, Martens J, Töpfer T, Vamberger M, Pathak A, Stuckas H, Päckert M. Asymmetric allelic introgression across a hybrid zone of the coal tit ( Periparus ater) in the central Himalayas. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:17332-17351. [PMID: 34938512 PMCID: PMC8668783 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
In the Himalayas, a number of secondary contact zones have been described for vicariant vertebrate taxa. However, analyses of genetic divergence and admixture are missing for most of these examples. In this study, we provide a population genetic analysis for the coal tit (Periparus ater) hybrid zone in Nepal. Intermediate phenotypes between the distinctive western "spot-winged tit" (P. a. melanolophus) and Eastern Himalayan coal tits (P. a. aemodius) occur across a narrow range of <100 km in western Nepal. As a peculiarity, another distinctive cinnamon-bellied form is known from a single population so far. Genetic admixture of western and eastern mitochondrial lineages was restricted to the narrow zone of phenotypically intermediate populations. The cline width was estimated 46 km only with a center close to the population of the cinnamon-bellied phenotype. In contrast, allelic introgression of microsatellite loci was asymmetrical from eastern P. a. aemodius into far western populations of phenotypic P. a. melanolophus but not vice versa. Accordingly, the microsatellite cline was about 3.7 times wider than the mitochondrial one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannes Wolfgramm
- Senckenberg Natural History Collections DresdenDresdenGermany
- Present address:
Department of Functional GenomicsInterfaculty Institute of Genetics and Functional GenomicsUniversity Medicine GreifswaldGreifswaldGermany
| | - Jochen Martens
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE)Johannes Gutenberg UniversityMainzGermany
| | - Till Töpfer
- Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity ChangeZoological Research Museum Alexander KoenigBonnGermany
| | | | - Abhinaya Pathak
- Department of National Parks and Wildlife ConservationKathmanduNepal
| | - Heiko Stuckas
- Senckenberg Natural History Collections DresdenDresdenGermany
| | - Martin Päckert
- Senckenberg Natural History Collections DresdenDresdenGermany
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4
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Tamin T, Doligez B. Assortative mating for between-patch dispersal status in a wild bird population: Exploring the role of direct and indirect underlying mechanisms. J Evol Biol 2021; 35:561-574. [PMID: 34480809 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have reported functional integration between dispersal and other phenotypic traits allowing individuals to alleviate dispersal costs, and such associations can affect dispersal evolution in return. In sexually reproducing species, assortative mating according to dispersal can shape the maintenance of such trait associations. Despite the potentially crucial consequences of dispersal in natural populations, assortative mating for dispersal and its underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Here, we assessed assortative mating for between-patch dispersal status in a fragmented population of a small passerine bird, the collared flycatcher, and explored whether such assortative mating could result from (i) direct mate choice based on dispersal-related behavioural (aggressiveness and boldness) and morphological traits (tarsus and wing length), (ii) biased mating due to spatio-temporal heterogeneity in the distribution of dispersal phenotypes and/or (iii) post-mating adjustment of dispersal phenotype or dispersal-related traits. We found intrinsic assortative mating (i.e. positive among-pair correlation) for current dispersal status (in the year of mating) but not for natal dispersal status, even though we could not exclude it due to limited power. We also found assortative mating for boldness and age category (yearlings vs. older adults), and the probability for pair members to be assorted for current dispersal status was higher when both pair members were of similar boldness score and of the same age compared with mixed-age pairs. Mate choice based on boldness and age thus appears as a possible mechanism underlying assortative mating for dispersal status. Our analyses however remained correlative, and only an experimental manipulation of these traits could allow inferring causal links. Non-random mating for dispersal-related traits may affect the evolution of dispersal syndromes in this population. More work is nevertheless needed to fully assess the evolutionary implications of age- and behaviour-based assortative mating for dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibault Tamin
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Lyon 1, UMR 5558, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Blandine Doligez
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Lyon 1, UMR 5558, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Villeurbanne, France.,Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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5
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Caro SP, Pierre L, Bergès M, Bakker R, Doutrelant C, Bonadonna F. Mutual mate preferences and assortative mating in relation to a carotenoid-based color trait in blue tits. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Choosing an appropriate sexual partner is a critical decision for many animal species. However, many mechanisms involved in mate choice are still poorly understood. Do both males and females choose their sexual partners, do both sexes use the same criteria for choosing, and do their own phenotype influence the choices they make, are questions that need further investigation. Over two successive experiments conducted in captivity with hand-reared blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), we manipulated the color of the chest plumage, a secondary sexual trait that reflects an individual’s condition, to create two different color morphs (one pale and one colored). We then tested whether both sexes express a preference, whether they are attracted to the same morphs, and if the subjects’ own chest color influences the preference they show. Our data reveal that both sexes are choosy, with females tending to be slightly choosier than males. We also show that both sexes preferentially select individuals with a pale chest plumage over colorful individuals, and this was again more pronounced in females. Finally, paler individuals tend to be selected by birds that are themselves pale, even if this phenotype matching was not very robust. Such a preference for paler individuals is intriguing because mates are predicted to associate with individuals displaying higher, not lower, value of quality signals. It could result from adaptive mechanisms related to avoidance of aggressiveness in a confined environment, avoidance of conflicting sexual signals within individuals, or from cultural mechanisms leading to a preference for individuals that match its own phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel P Caro
- Department of Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology, CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, 1919 route de Mende, 34090 Montpellier, France
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Léo Pierre
- Department of Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology, CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, 1919 route de Mende, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Matthieu Bergès
- Department of Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology, CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, 1919 route de Mende, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Raldi Bakker
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Animal Science, Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University and Research (WUR), De Elst 1, 6708 WD Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Claire Doutrelant
- Department of Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology, CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, 1919 route de Mende, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Francesco Bonadonna
- Department of Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology, CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, 1919 route de Mende, 34090 Montpellier, France
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6
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Rios Moura R, Oliveira Gonzaga M, Silva Pinto N, Vasconcellos-Neto J, Requena GS. Assortative mating in space and time: patterns and biases. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:1089-1102. [PMID: 33617134 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Despite the important roles of assortative mating for understanding evolutionary processes, our knowledge on the variation in assortative mating across populations and breeding periods has been overshadowed by the greater attention given to general patterns. Obtaining data on mating pairs are difficult for most species; therefore, researchers often group data from different populations or breeding periods, which can increase positive biases in detecting and estimating assortative mating. We used a meta-analytic approach to investigate the biases caused by spatially or temporally pooling data and the assortative mating consistency across populations and breeding periods. We describe assortative mating patterns across and within animal taxa. We performed a systematic review to search studies reporting measures of size-assortative mating (SAM). Grouping data from multiple populations and seasons incurred positive biases. Overall, assortative mating moderately exhibited low repeatability in space and time, but it was inconsistent for most taxa. After excluding pooled measures, the average estimate for assortative mating was moderate and positive. Thus, our findings demonstrate that pooling data can produce misleading results. We also highlight the importance of further investigation of hypotheses that explain spatial and temporal variation in assortative mating, after its detection. Our study reinforces the significance of investigating mating patterns at various spatial and temporal scales before drawing broad conclusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Rios Moura
- Núcleo de Extensão e Pesquisa em Ecologia e Evolução (NEPEE), Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais, Ituiutaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil.,Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | - Nelson Silva Pinto
- Coordenação do Núcleo de Extensão, Pesquisa e Pós-graduação, Departamento de Biologia, Centro Universitário Araguaia, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
| | - João Vasconcellos-Neto
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
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7
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Fortuna R, Paquet M, Ferreira AC, Silva LR, Theron F, Doutrelant C, Covas R. Maternal allocation in relation to weather, predation and social factors in a colonial cooperative bird. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:1122-1133. [PMID: 33550597 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Females may adjust prenatal allocation in relation to ecological conditions that affect reproductive success, such as weather conditions or predation risk. In cooperative breeders, helpers might also influence reproductive success, and previous studies suggest that females can lay smaller eggs or larger clutches when breeding with more helpers. Although recent work suggests that helper effects can vary according to climatic variables, how social and ecological factors interact to shape prenatal allocation is poorly understood. Here, we examine how ecological and social components of the breeding environment covary with egg mass and clutch size, using as a model the sociable weaver Philetairus socius, a colonial, cooperatively breeding passerine. The study spanned 9 years and included over 1,900 eggs from over 550 clutches. Our analyses combined natural variation in weather conditions (rainfall before each reproductive event) with a nest predator-exclusion experiment and continuous monitoring of the mother's social environment, allowing us to estimate how individual females adjust allocation to reproduction as their number of helpers varies. We found that egg mass varied consistently within females and did not clearly differ in relation to rainfall or predation risk. Contrary to previous studies, there was no evidence for plastic adjustments as females gained and lost helpers, and egg mass was instead better predicted by mother size and identity. Females laid larger clutches when breeding in environments where predation risk was experimentally reduced and after higher rainfall levels. Yet, there was no evidence for increasing clutch size as the number of helpers increased, nor for an interaction between helper effects and ecological factors. We conclude that while sociable weaver females can vary their clutch size, they show high individual consistency in egg mass. In addition, we found no evidence that females may maximize fitness through plastic prenatal allocation in relation to the number of helpers, or that the presence/absence of helper effects is modulated by rainfall levels or predation risk. These results challenge our current knowledge on some of the possible benefits of breeding with helpers and call for more long-term analyses on reproductive allocation adjustments in other cooperative systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita Fortuna
- CIBIO-InBIO - Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Matthieu Paquet
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - André C Ferreira
- CIBIO-InBIO - Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Vairão, Portugal.,CEFE-UMR5175 CNRS - Université de Montpellier, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Liliana R Silva
- CIBIO-InBIO - Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Franck Theron
- CEFE-UMR5175 CNRS - Université de Montpellier, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Claire Doutrelant
- CEFE-UMR5175 CNRS - Université de Montpellier, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Rita Covas
- CIBIO-InBIO - Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Vairão, Portugal.,Percy FitzPatrick Institute, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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8
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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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9
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Abstract
Assortative mating is hypothesized to be a product of sexual selection, mating constraints, or temporal autocorrelation. I test these hypotheses in the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newman, 1841), a sexually size dimorphic invasive insect pest in North America, by measuring the size and shape of bodies and wings of pair members in a wild population. Because male P. japonica prefer to mate with larger females and larger males outcompete rivals for mating opportunities, sexual selection is expected to produce size-related assortative mating. The current study did not support this hypothesis. The mating constraints hypothesis was also not supported because beetle pairs did not have similar body shapes. I, however, did find support for the temporal autocorrelation hypothesis as the wing size and shape of pair members were significantly correlated. This mating pattern likely arises due to individuals with larger and more slender wings arriving earlier at aggregation sites and pairing according to their arrival sequence. Although I found less support for the sexual selection hypothesis, I argue that mate choice might play an important, but secondary, role to temporal autocorrelation in explaining assortative mating in Japanese beetles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clint D. Kelly
- Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC H2X 1Y4, Canada
- Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC H2X 1Y4, Canada
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10
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Do female zebra finches prefer males exhibiting greater plasticity in foraging tactic use? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02886-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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11
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Holveck MJ, Guerreiro R, Perret P, Doutrelant C, Grégoire A. Eggshell coloration indicates female condition during egg-laying: a field experiment in blue tits. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
AbstractSeveral selection pressures may explain the evolution of avian eggshell coloration patterns. In cavity-nesting species, there are two main non-exclusive hypotheses. The sexually selected eggshell colour hypothesis proposes that eggshell coloration is a sexually selected signal of female and offspring quality used by males that influences paternal care or future re-mating decisions. The structural function hypothesis proposes that pigments help strengthen the eggshell and are present at higher levels and at the blunt end of the egg when females face calcium shortages. We tested whether eggshell coloration (brown spots on a white ground colour) in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) could reliably indicate female condition at laying by forcing females to produce two consecutive clutches, thus increasing their reproductive costs. Three measures of eggshell coloration – the area covered by spots as well as white ground UV-chroma and brightness – changed between clutches; the fourth measure, spot distribution, did not. The changes were more dramatic in young and lower-quality females. All the measures varied with female quality (i.e. body condition and/or laying date). Overall, higher-quality females produced more colourful (larger, more concentrated spotted surface area; higher UV-chroma) and less bright (i.e. putatively more pigmented) eggshells, a result that is generally in line with past research. We found a clear empirical link between eggshell coloration and female condition in blue tits, an important step in determining whether eggshell coloration is a sexual signal, but which does not exclude a potential concomitant structural function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Jeanne Holveck
- CEFE UMR 5175, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Romain Guerreiro
- CEFE UMR 5175, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Philippe Perret
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Claire Doutrelant
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Arnaud Grégoire
- CEFE UMR 5175, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
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12
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Wang D, Forstmeier W, Valcu M, Dingemanse NJ, Bulla M, Both C, Duckworth RA, Kiere LM, Karell P, Albrecht T, Kempenaers B. Scrutinizing assortative mating in birds. PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000156. [PMID: 30789896 PMCID: PMC6400405 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Revised: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
It is often claimed that pair bonds preferentially form between individuals that resemble one another. Such assortative mating appears to be widespread throughout the animal kingdom. Yet it is unclear whether the apparent ubiquity of assortative mating arises primarily from mate choice (“like attracts like”), which can be constrained by same-sex competition for mates; from spatial or temporal separation; or from observer, reporting, publication, or search bias. Here, based on a conventional literature search, we find compelling meta-analytical evidence for size-assortative mating in birds (r = 0.178, 95% CI 0.142–0.215, 83 species, 35,591 pairs). However, our analyses reveal that this effect vanishes gradually with increased control of confounding factors. Specifically, the effect size decreased by 42% when we used previously unpublished data from nine long-term field studies, i.e., data free of reporting and publication bias (r = 0.103, 95% CI 0.074–0.132, eight species, 16,611 pairs). Moreover, in those data, assortative mating effectively disappeared when both partners were measured by independent observers or separately in space and time (mean r = 0.018, 95% CI −0.016–0.057). Likewise, we also found no evidence for assortative mating in a direct experimental test for mutual mate choice in captive populations of Zebra finches (r = −0.020, 95% CI −0.148–0.107, 1,414 pairs). These results highlight the importance of unpublished data in generating unbiased meta-analytical conclusions and suggest that the apparent ubiquity of assortative mating reported in the literature is overestimated and may not be driven by mate choice or mating competition for preferred mates. Human mate choice is characterized by assortative mating (‘like attracts like’) and similarity of partners is also often reported for birds. A meta-analysis of published and previously unpublished datasets shows that the reported assortative mating in birds may mostly reflect biases in estimation rather than mate choice. Research on mate choice in birds has attracted much attention, partly because many birds form monogamous pair bonds like humans do. Human mate choice is characterized by the phenomenon of “like attracts like,” meaning that partners resemble each other in multiple ways (“assortative mating”). Assortative mating is also frequently reported for birds, but it is unclear whether this in turn implies that birds also have preferences for a similar partner. Here, we show that a range of methodological issues may provide a simpler and more accurate explanation for the frequent observation of assortative mating in birds. First, studies that report assortative mating may achieve greater visibility than studies that yield no such finding. Hence, the scientific literature may be biased toward positive results. Second, in field studies, it is logistically impossible to measure all birds accurately and under standardized conditions. Hence, fluctuations in, for instance, environmental conditions may induce a spurious similarity between partners when these are measured together in space or time. After accounting for such methodological issues, we conclude that mate preferences for a similar partner may be less common than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daiping Wang
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Forstmeier
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Mihai Valcu
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Niels J. Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Martin Bulla
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Den Burg, the Netherlands
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Christiaan Both
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Renée A. Duckworth
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Lynna Marie Kiere
- Center for the Study of Biodiversity and Conservation (CIByC), Autonomous University of the State of Morelos, Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico
- Institute of Ecology, Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
| | - Patrik Karell
- Bioeconomy Research Team, Novia University of Applied Sciences, Raseborgsvägen, Ekenäs, Finland
| | - Tomáš Albrecht
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, and Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Bart Kempenaers
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
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13
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Traisnel G, Pichegru L. Does it always pay to defend one's nest? A case study in African penguin. Ethology 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Gwendoline Traisnel
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology; Institute for Coastal and Marine Research and Department of Zoology at the Nelson Mandela University; Port Elizabeth South Africa
| | - Lorien Pichegru
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology; Institute for Coastal and Marine Research and Department of Zoology at the Nelson Mandela University; Port Elizabeth South Africa
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14
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Fargevieille A, Grégoire A, Charmantier A, Del Rey Granado M, Doutrelant C. Assortative mating by colored ornaments in blue tits: space and time matter. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:2069-2078. [PMID: 28405273 PMCID: PMC5383486 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2016] [Revised: 01/06/2017] [Accepted: 01/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Assortative mating is a potential outcome of sexual selection, and estimating its level is important to better understand local adaptation and underlying trait evolution. However, assortative mating studies frequently base their conclusions on small numbers of individuals sampled over short periods of time and limited spatial scales even though spatiotemporal variation is common. Here, we characterized assortative mating patterns over 10 years in four populations of the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), a passerine bird. We focused on two plumage ornaments-the blue crown and the yellow breast patch. Based on data for 1,657 pairs of birds, we found large interannual variation: assortative mating varied from positive to negative. To determine whether there was nonetheless a general trend in the data, we ran a within-study meta-analysis. It revealed that assortative mating was moderately positive for both ornaments. It also showed that mating patterns differed among populations and especially between two neighboring populations that displayed phenotypic divergence. Our results therefore underscore that long-term studies are needed to draw broad conclusions about mating patterns in natural populations. They also call for studying the potential role of assortative mating in local adaptation and evolution of ornaments in both sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Arnaud Grégoire
- CEFE UMR5175 CNRS - Université de Montpellier Montpellier France
| | - Anne Charmantier
- CEFE UMR5175 CNRS - Université de Montpellier Montpellier France
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