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Jablonszky M, Zsebők S, Laczi M, Nagy G, Vaskuti É, Garamszegi LZ. The effect of social environment on bird song: listener-specific expression of a sexual signal. Behav Ecol 2021; 32:395-406. [PMID: 34899049 PMCID: PMC8653761 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal signals should consistently differ among individuals to convey distinguishable information about the signalers. However, behavioral display signals, such as bird song are also loaded with considerable within-individual variance with mostly unknown function. We hypothesized that the immediate social environment may play a role in mediating such variance component, and investigated in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) if the identity and quality of listeners could affect song production in signalers. After presenting territorial males with either a female or male social stimulus, we found in the subsequent song recordings that the among-stimulus effects corresponded to non-zero variance components in several acoustic traits indicating that singing males are able to plastically adjust their songs according to stimulus identity. Male and female stimuli elicited different responses as the identity of the female stimuli affected song complexity only, while the identity of male stimuli altered also song length, maximum frequency, and song rate. The stimulus-specific effect on song in some cases decreased with time, being particularly detectable right after the removal of the stimulus and ceasing later, but this pattern varied across the sex of the stimulus and the song traits. We were able to identify factors that can explain the among-stimulus effects (e.g., size and quality of the stimuli) with roles that also varied among song traits. Our results confirm that the variable social environment can raise considerable variation in song performance, highlighting that within-individual plasticity of bird song can play important roles in sexual signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónika Jablonszky
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological
Research, Alkotmány u. 2–4, 2163
Vácrátót, Hungary
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and
Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University,
Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Sándor Zsebők
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological
Research, Alkotmány u. 2–4, 2163
Vácrátót, Hungary
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and
Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University,
Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Miklós Laczi
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and
Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University,
Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
- The Barn Owl Foundation, Temesvári út 8,
8744 Orosztony, Hungary
| | - Gergely Nagy
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological
Research, Alkotmány u. 2–4, 2163
Vácrátót, Hungary
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and
Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University,
Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Éva Vaskuti
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and
Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University,
Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological
Research, Alkotmány u. 2–4, 2163
Vácrátót, Hungary
- MTA-ELTE Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group,
Institute of Physics, Eötvös Loránd
University, Pázmány Péter
sétány 1/A, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
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2
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Elevation affects extra-pair paternity but not a sexually selected plumage trait in dark-eyed juncos. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2698-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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3
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Lack of conspecific visual discrimination between second-year males and females in the Saffron Finch. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0209549. [PMID: 30589869 PMCID: PMC6307699 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 12/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexually dichromatic birds often show delayed plumage maturation, but second-year (SY) males may or may not be distinguishable from females. In competitive contexts, SY males receive a reduced amount of adult males’ aggression, either by mimicking females or through signaling their sex and inexperience as subordinate males. To the human eye, reproductive dull SY male Saffron Finches are indistinguishable from females, whereas after second-year (ASY) males are golden yellow. Our aim is to establish whether SY males are sexually dichromatic with females to the eye of conspecifics. We describe plumage variation in females, SY and ASY males and, in particular, analyze assortative mating by color by comparing a previously disregarded yellow feather patch shared by the three groups. We measured plumage reflectance of the forehead, breast, belly, and axillaries, and used a two-step avian visual model analysis to estimate the ability of Saffron Finches to distinguish between SY males and females. We find that those groups are indistinguishable to conspecifics by color. Furthermore, we find non-significant evidence of assortative mating directly related to the coloration of comparable feather patches between females and each type of male, though body condition of SY males is associated to that of their mates. Our results are compatible with both the female-mimicry and the status signaling hypotheses of evolution and maintenance of delayed plumage maturation. However, the singing behavior of males reveals their presence within the breeding site; the combined effect of song and dull coloration suggest that SY males are honestly revealing their sex and status to conspecifics.
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Hare RM, Simmons LW. Sexual selection and its evolutionary consequences in female animals. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2018; 94:929-956. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Revised: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robin M. Hare
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, 6009 Australia
| | - Leigh W. Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, 6009 Australia
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Wright DS, Pierotti MER, Rundle HD, McKinnon JS. Conspicuous female ornamentation and tests of male mate preference in threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). PLoS One 2015; 10:e0120723. [PMID: 25806520 PMCID: PMC4373685 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2014] [Accepted: 01/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection drives the evolution of exaggerated male ornaments in many animal species. Female ornamentation is now acknowledged also to be common but is generally less well understood. One example is the recently documented red female throat coloration in some threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations. Although female sticklebacks often exhibit a preference for red male throat coloration, the possibility of sexual selection on female coloration has been little studied. Using sequential and simultaneous mate choice trials, we examined male mate preferences for female throat color, as well as pelvic spine color and standard length, using wild-captured threespine sticklebacks from the Little Campbell River, British Columbia. In a multivariate analysis, we found no evidence for a population-level mate preference in males, suggesting the absence of directional sexual selection on these traits arising from male mate choice. Significant variation was detected among males in their preference functions, but this appeared to arise from differences in their mean responsiveness across mating trials and not from variation in the strength (i.e., slope) of their preference, suggesting the absence of individual-level preferences as well. When presented with conspecific intruder males, male response decreased as intruder red throat coloration increased, suggesting that males can discriminate color and other aspects of phenotype in our experiment and that males may use these traits in intrasexual interactions. The results presented here are the first to explicitly address male preference for female throat color in threespine sticklebacks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Shane Wright
- Department of Biology and Center for Biodiversity, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Michele E. R. Pierotti
- Department of Biology and Center for Biodiversity, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Howard D. Rundle
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jeffrey S. McKinnon
- Department of Biology and Center for Biodiversity, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, United States of America
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6
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Chaine AS, Lyon BE. Signal architecture: temporal variability and individual consistency of multiple sexually selected signals. Funct Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexis S. Chaine
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Santa Cruz CA95064 USA
- Station d'Ecologie Expérimentale du CNRS USR2936 2 route du CNRS09200 Moulis France
| | - Bruce E. Lyon
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Santa Cruz CA95064 USA
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Lumpkin DC, Murphy TG, Tarvin KA. Blood parasite infection differentially relates to carotenoid-based plumage and bill color in the American goldfinch. Ecol Evol 2014; 4:3210-7. [PMID: 25473474 PMCID: PMC4222208 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2014] [Revised: 05/27/2014] [Accepted: 06/19/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Male and female American goldfinches (Spinus tristis) express condition-dependent carotenoid-based plumage and bill coloration. Plumage color is relatively static, as pigments incorporated into feathers during the spring molt cannot be mobilized thereafter. In contrast, bill color is dynamic, reflecting changes in condition over short time periods. Previous studies have shown that male and female ornaments, though similar in expression, are differentially related to measures of immunocompetence, suggesting that the relationship between ornamentation and parasite infection may differ between the sexes. In this study, we evaluate the relationship between condition-dependent ornamentation (plumage and bill color) and blood parasite infection in male and female American goldfinches. We captured goldfinches after completion of the pre-alternate molt and prior to the onset of nesting and assessed prevalence of Trypanosoma parasites via blood smears. Plumage color strongly predicted trypanosome infection: Birds with more colorful plumage were less likely to present infections. In contrast, we detected no relationship between infection and bill color, which in other studies has been shown to dynamically reflect current condition. Sex did not affect the relationship between infection status and either ornament. Together, these results suggest that physiological pathways linking carotenoid ornamentation and infection may vary even within a single species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Troy G Murphy
- Department of Biology, Trinity University San Antonio, Texas
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8
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Same trait, different receiver response: unlike females, male American goldfinches do not signal status with bill colour. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.04.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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9
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Zanollo V, Griggio M, Robertson J, Kleindorfer S. Assortative Pairings in Diamond Firetails (Stagonopleura guttata) are not the Result of Mutual Mate Choice for an Ornament. Ethology 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Valeria Zanollo
- School of Biological Sciences; Flinders University of South Australia; Adelaide South Australia
| | - Matteo Griggio
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology; Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution; University of Veterinary Medicine of Vienna; Vienna Austria
- Department of Biology; University of Padova; Padova Italy
| | - Jeremy Robertson
- School of Biological Sciences; Flinders University of South Australia; Adelaide South Australia
| | - Sonia Kleindorfer
- School of Biological Sciences; Flinders University of South Australia; Adelaide South Australia
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Dias RI, Oliveira RF, Podos J, Macedo RH. The importance of novelty: male-female interactions among blue-black grassquits in captivity. Behav Processes 2014; 103:211-7. [PMID: 24406508 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2013] [Revised: 12/18/2013] [Accepted: 12/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Mate choice is a primary mechanism driving the evolution of sexually selected traits such as elaborate displays and ornaments. In a majority of taxa studied to date, females are seen to actively sample and evaluate multiple males, presumably to optimize mating opportunities. During this process females may encounter males both familiar and novel, a distinction that might influence how mate choice proceeds. Using a socially monogamous passerine, the blue-black grassquit (Volatinia jacarina), we studied how females respond to novel versus familiar ("paired") males, and how encounters with novel males influence subsequent interactions with their paired males. Additionally, we measured the hormonal response of males after visualizing their paired females interacting with novel males. We found that females were attentive to novel males irrespective of these males' phenotypic attributes, suggesting that in these interactions novelty is highly relevant. After exposure to novel males, females tended to respond aggressively towards their paired males; by contrast, the behaviour of males towards their paired females did not change. Moreover, we did not detect any hormonal responses of males to viewing their paired females interacting with novel males. Together these results suggest that the distinction between familiarity and novelty may hold special relevance for females in mate choice, a finding that bears upon our understanding of the evolution of extra-pair paternity and reproductive behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphael I Dias
- PPG em Biologia Animal, Departamento de Zoologia - IB, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil.
| | - Rui F Oliveira
- Unidade de Investigação em Eco-Etologia, Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada, Portugal; Champalimaud Neuroscience Program, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras 2780-156, Portugal
| | - Jeffrey Podos
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Regina H Macedo
- Departamento de Zoologia - IB, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil
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11
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Rosvall KA, Bergeon Burns CM, Hahn TP, Ketterson ED. Sources of variation in HPG axis reactivity and individually consistent elevation of sex steroids in a female songbird. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2013; 194:230-9. [PMID: 24090613 PMCID: PMC3852689 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2013.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2013] [Revised: 09/03/2013] [Accepted: 09/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Understanding sources of individual differences in steroid hormone production has important implications for the evolution of reproductive and social behaviors. In females in particular, little is known about the mechanistic sources of these individual differences, despite established linkages between sex steroids and a variety of fitness-related traits. Using captive female dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) from two subspecies, we asked how variation in different components of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis related to variation in testosterone production among females, and we compared females to males in multiple components of the HPG axis. We demonstrated consistent individual differences in testosterone elevation in response to challenges with luteinizing hormone (LH) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). These hormone challenges led to more LH production but less testosterone production in females than males, and the sexes differed in some but not all measures of sensitivity to hormones along the HPG axis. Similar to findings in males, variation in testosterone production among females was not related to variation in LH production, gonadal LH-receptor mRNA abundance, or hypothalamic abundance of androgen receptor mRNA or aromatase mRNA. Rather, the primary source of individual variation in circulating steroids appears to the gonad, a conclusion further supported by positive correlations between testosterone and estradiol production. Unlike males, females did not differ by subspecies in any of the endocrine parameters that we assessed, suggesting some degree of independent evolution between the two sexes. Our results highlight the sources of physiological variation that may underlie the evolution of hormone-mediated phenotypes in females.
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Testosterone affects neural gene expression differently in male and female juncos: a role for hormones in mediating sexual dimorphism and conflict. PLoS One 2013; 8:e61784. [PMID: 23613935 PMCID: PMC3627916 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2012] [Accepted: 03/13/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite sharing much of their genomes, males and females are often highly dimorphic, reflecting at least in part the resolution of sexual conflict in response to sexually antagonistic selection. Sexual dimorphism arises owing to sex differences in gene expression, and steroid hormones are often invoked as a proximate cause of sexual dimorphism. Experimental elevation of androgens can modify behavior, physiology, and gene expression, but knowledge of the role of hormones remains incomplete, including how the sexes differ in gene expression in response to hormones. We addressed these questions in a bird species with a long history of behavioral endocrinological and ecological study, the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis), using a custom microarray. Focusing on two brain regions involved in sexually dimorphic behavior and regulation of hormone secretion, we identified 651 genes that differed in expression by sex in medial amygdala and 611 in hypothalamus. Additionally, we treated individuals of each sex with testosterone implants and identified many genes that may be related to previously identified phenotypic effects of testosterone treatment. Some of these genes relate to previously identified effects of testosterone-treatment and suggest that the multiple effects of testosterone may be mediated by modifying the expression of a small number of genes. Notably, testosterone-treatment tended to alter expression of different genes in each sex: only 4 of the 527 genes identified as significant in one sex or the other were significantly differentially expressed in both sexes. Hormonally regulated gene expression is a key mechanism underlying sexual dimorphism, and our study identifies specific genes that may mediate some of these processes.
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13
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MURPHY TROYG, PHAM TIFFANYT. Condition and brightness of structural blue-green: motmot tail-racket brightness is related to speed of feather growth in males, but not in females. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2012.01891.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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14
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Competitive females are successful females; phenotype, mechanism and selection in a common songbird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2011; 66:241-252. [PMID: 22345899 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1272-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
In a variety of taxa, male reproductive success is positively related to expression of costly traits such as large body size, ornaments, armaments, and aggression. These traits are thought to improve male competitive ability, and thus access to limited reproductive resources. Females of many species also express competitive traits. However, we know very little about the consequences of individual variation in competitive traits and the mechanisms that regulate their expression in females. Consequently, it is currently unclear whether females express competitive traits owing to direct selection or as an indirect result of selection on males. Here we examine females of a mildly dimorphic songbird (Junco hyemalis) to determine whether females, show positive covariance in traits (morphology and behavior) that may be important in a competition. We also examine whether trait expression relates either to testosterone (T) in terms of mechanism or to reproductive success in terms of function. We found that larger females were more aggressive and that greater ability to produce T in response to a physiological challenge consisting of a standardized injection of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) predicted some measures of female body size and aggression. Finally, we found that aggressive females had greater reproductive success. We conclude that testosterone may influence female phenotype and that females may benefit from expressing a competitive phenotype. We also suggest that the mild dimorphism observed in many species may be due in part to direct selection on females rather than simply a correlated response to selection in males.
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Ketterson ED, Atwell JW, McGlothlin JW. Phenotypic integration and independence: Hormones, performance, and response to environmental change. Integr Comp Biol 2009; 49:365-79. [PMID: 21665827 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icp057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 160] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Hormones coordinate the co-expression of behavioral, physiological, and morphological traits, giving rise to correlations among traits and organisms whose parts work well together. This article considers the implications of these hormonal correlations with respect to the evolution of hormone-mediated traits. Such traits can evolve owing to changes in hormone secretion, hormonal affinity for carrier proteins, rates of degradation and conversion, and interaction with target tissues to name a few. Critically, however, we know very little about whether these changes occur independently or in tandem, and thus whether hormones promote the evolution of tight phenotypic integration or readily allow the parts of the phenotype to evolve independently. For example, when selection favors a change in expression of hormonally mediated characters, is that alteration likely to come about through changes in hormone secretion (signal strength), changes in response to a fixed level of secretion (sensitivity of target tissues), or both? At one extreme, if the phenotype is tightly integrated and only the signal responds via selection's action on one or more hormonally mediated traits, adaptive modification may be constrained by past selection for phenotypic integration. Alternatively, response to selection may be facilitated if multivariate selection favors new combinations that can be easily achieved by a change in signal strength. On the other hand, if individual target tissues readily "unplug" from a hormone signal in response to selection, then the phenotype may be seen as a loose confederation that responds on a trait-by-trait basis, easily allowing adaptive modification, although perhaps more slowly than if signal variation were the primary mode of evolutionary response. Studies reviewed here and questions for future research address the relative importance of integration and independence by comparing sexes, individuals, and populations. Most attention is devoted to the hormone testosterone (T) and a songbird species, the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen D Ketterson
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
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16
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Cornwell RE, Perrett DI. Sexy sons and sexy daughters: the influence of parents' facial characteristics on offspring. Anim Behav 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.07.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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17
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Price T, Yeh P, Harr B. Phenotypic Plasticity and the Evolution of a Socially Selected Trait Following Colonization of a Novel Environment. Am Nat 2008; 172 Suppl 1:S49-62. [DOI: 10.1086/588257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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18
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Hegyi G, Rosivall B, Szöllősi E, Hargitai R, Eens M, Török J. Phenotypic plasticity in a conspicuous female plumage trait: information content and mating patterns. Anim Behav 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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19
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McGlothlin JW, Jawor JM, Greives TJ, Casto JM, Phillips JL, Ketterson ED. Hormones and honest signals: males with larger ornaments elevate testosterone more when challenged. J Evol Biol 2007; 21:39-48. [PMID: 18034801 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01471.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
When male investment in mating varies with quality, reliable sexual signals may evolve. In many songbirds, testosterone mediates mating investment, suggesting that signals should be linked to testosterone production. However, because testosterone may change rapidly during behaviour such as territorial aggression and courtship, efforts to establish such a relationship have proved challenging. In a population of dark-eyed juncos, we measured individual variation in the production of short-term testosterone increases by injecting gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). We found a positive correlation between the magnitude of these increases and the size of a plumage ornament ('tail white') previously shown to be important for female choice and male-male competition. We then measured naturally elevated testosterone levels produced during male-male competition and found that they covaried with those induced by GnRH. We suggest that the association between tail white and testosterone increases may allow conspecifics to assess potential mates and competitors reliably using tail white.
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Affiliation(s)
- J W McGlothlin
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USABiology Department, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
| | - J M Jawor
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USABiology Department, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
| | - T J Greives
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USABiology Department, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
| | - J M Casto
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USABiology Department, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
| | - J L Phillips
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USABiology Department, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
| | - E D Ketterson
- Department of Biology and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USABiology Department, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
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Pizzolon M, Rasotto MB, Mazzoldi C. Male lagoon gobies, Knipowitschia panizzae, prefer more ornamented to larger females. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2007. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-007-0476-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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22
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Ferree ED. White tail plumage and brood sex ratio in dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis thurberi). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2007. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-007-0443-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Diet quality affects an attractive white plumage pattern in dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2007. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-007-0370-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Murphy TG. Racketed tail of the male and female turquoise-browed motmot: male but not female tail length correlates with pairing success, performance, and reproductive success. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2006. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-006-0320-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Nordeide JT, Rudolfsen G, Egeland ES. Ornaments or offspring? Female sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) trade off carotenoids between spines and eggs. J Evol Biol 2006; 19:431-9. [PMID: 16599919 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.01018.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Hypotheses and models to explain female ornaments often assume that the elaborated traits are condition dependent; nevertheless, few empirical studies have addressed this topic. We studied a population of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in which the females have conspicuous, carotenoid-based red coloration to their pelvic spines. The red coloration seems not to be condition dependent, as coloration is negatively associated with age and body length and not associated with condition. Furthermore, redder females did not have a lower density of leucocytes. We found a negative association between the females' red carotenoid-based coloration in the spines and the amount of carotenoids in the female's gonads. Males choosing red-coloured females will fertilize eggs with small amounts of carotenoids and appear not to gain any benefit from their mates' phenotypic quality that could result in offspring of improved quality. These results do not support the 'direct selection hypothesis' to explain the existence of the female ornaments.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Nordeide
- Department of Fisheries and Natural Sciences, Bodø University College, Bodø, Norway.
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Gill SA, Stutchbury BJM. Nest Building is an Indicator of Parental Quality in the Monogamous Neotropical Buff-Breasted Wren (Thryothorus Leucotis). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005. [DOI: 10.1093/auk/122.4.1169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIn species with long-term partnerships, optimal mate preferences may differ from actual mate choice, and pair displays that advertise individual quality may be expected. We examined the relationship between nest-building and nestling-provisioning effort in Neotropical Buff-breasted Wrens (Thryothorus leucotis) to determine whether male or female expenditure during nest construction was used as an indicator of subsequent parental ability. Buff-breasted Wrens build two nest types: breeding nests used for raising offspring, and “dormitory“ nests built year-round and used by pairs for roosting overnight. The building effort of males was greater than that of their mates for dormitory nests, whereas male and female effort were similar during breeding-nest construction and nestling provisioning. Despite large within-sex variation in building and provisioning efforts, male and female effort within pairs were significantly positively correlated for construction of both nest types and for nestling feeding. Effort expended by males during dormitory-nest construction was positively correlated with nestling-provisioning effort, whereas female building effort was not. No relationship existed between effort in breeding-nest construction and nestling provisioning in either sex. These results suggest that effort in dormitory-nest construction was an indicator of male Buff- breasted Wren parental ability. Females that survived to the year following observation built dormitory nests at a lower rate than those that disappeared, which suggests that nest building may be costly and that by building more than females, males may increase the survival prospects of their partners. Dormitory-nest building by males may play dual roles throughout the year, indicating parental ability and investment in the partnership.La Construcción de Nidos es un Indicador de la Calidad de los Padres en la Especie Neotropical Monógama Thryothorus leucotis
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon A. Gill
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
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Griggio M, Valera F, Casas A, Pilastro A. Males prefer ornamented females: a field experiment of male choice in the rock sparrow. Anim Behav 2005. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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McGlothlin JW, Parker PG, Nolan V, Ketterson ED. CORRELATIONAL SELECTION LEADS TO GENETIC INTEGRATION OF BODY SIZE AND AN ATTRACTIVE PLUMAGE TRAIT IN DARK-EYED JUNCOS. Evolution 2005. [DOI: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2005.tb01024.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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McGlothlin JW, Parker PG, Nolan V, Ketterson ED. CORRELATIONAL SELECTION LEADS TO GENETIC INTEGRATION OF BODY SIZE AND AN ATTRACTIVE PLUMAGE TRAIT IN DARK-EYED JUNCOS. Evolution 2005. [DOI: 10.1554/04-163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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McGlothlin JW, Neudorf DLH, Casto JM, Nolan V, Ketterson ED. Elevated testosterone reduces choosiness in female dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis): evidence for a hormonal constraint on sexual selection? Proc Biol Sci 2004; 271:1377-84. [PMID: 15306336 PMCID: PMC1691732 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2004.2741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Because testosterone (T) often mediates the expression of attractive displays and ornaments, in the absence of constraints sexual selection should lead to an evolutionary increase in male T levels. One candidate constraint would be a genetic correlation between the sexes that leads to a correlated response in females. If increased T in females were to have deleterious effects on mate choice, the effect of sexual selection on male T would be weakened. Using female dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis), we tested whether experimentally enhancing female T would lead to a decrease in discrimination between two classes of males, one treated with T (T-males) and one control (C-males). The two female treatments (T-implanted and C-females) spent equal amounts of time with both classes of males, but T-treated females failed to show a preference for either male treatment, whereas C-females showed a significant preference, albeit in an unexpected direction (for C-males). T-females were less discriminating than C-females, irrespective of the direction of their preference. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that circulating hormones can alter female choosiness without reducing sexual motivation. Our results suggest that hormonal correlations between the sexes have the potential to constrain sexual selection on males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel W McGlothlin
- Department of Biological Sciences,Vanderbilt University, Box 351634, Station B, Nashville, TN 36235, USA.
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