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Cholewa M, Jankowiak Ł, Szenejko M, Dybus A, Śmietana P, Wysocki D. The effects of parental age difference on the offspring sex and fitness of European blackbirds. PeerJ 2021; 9:e10858. [PMID: 33828905 PMCID: PMC7996069 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Many studies of birds have indicated that offspring sex ratios can vary with environmental and parental traits. On the basis of long-term research, we first evaluated the possible influence of parental age difference and brood characteristics on offspring sex and fitness in multi-brooded Blackbirds Turdus merula. Methodology The study was conducted in the city-centre Stefan Żeromski Park in Szczecin, NW Poland, where the local population of Blackbirds has been studied since 1996. Data on the offspring sex and fitness were collected in five years, 2005-2007 and 2016-2017. During the breeding season we inspected the study area to locate the pairs' territories and to track their nests and clutches. Results We found that the overall sex ratio did not differ statistically from 50:50, but that younger females bonded with older mates did tend to produce more sons, probably because of the greater fitness of male descendants. Accordingly, the sons' breeding success increased with the father's age, but this relationship was close to non-linear, which may indicate that the transgenerational effect of paternal senescence could negatively affect progeny fitness despite the high-quality of older fathers. Older females mated with younger males produced more daughters, which could have been due to the lesser attractiveness of the males and the mothers' poorer condition caused by accelerated senescence. We found that neither offspring hatching sequence nor hatching date or clutch sequence were significant for sex determination. Conclusions We consider that in our Blackbird population, parental age could make a more significant contribution to shaping offspring sex and reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Cholewa
- Institute of Biology, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
| | | | - Magdalena Szenejko
- Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland.,Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Centre, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
| | - Andrzej Dybus
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biotechnology and Animal Husbandry, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Poland
| | - Przemysław Śmietana
- Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
| | - Dariusz Wysocki
- Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
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2
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Szász E, Garamszegi LZ, Rosivall B. What is behind the variation in mate quality dependent sex ratio adjustment? - A meta-analysis. OIKOS 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eszter Szász
- Dept of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd Univ; Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C HU-1117 Budapest Hungary
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Depto de Ecología Evolutiva, Estación Biológica de Donaña-CSIC; Sevilla España
- MTA-ELTE-Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Eötvös Loránd Univ; Budapest Hungary
| | - Balázs Rosivall
- Dept of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd Univ; Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C HU-1117 Budapest Hungary
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3
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Sætre CLC, Johnsen A, Stensrud E, Cramer ERA. Sperm morphology, sperm motility and paternity success in the bluethroat (Luscinia svecica). PLoS One 2018; 13:e0192644. [PMID: 29509773 PMCID: PMC5839561 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2017] [Accepted: 01/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Postcopulatory sexual selection may select for male primary sexual characteristics like sperm morphology and sperm motility, through sperm competition or cryptic female choice. However, how such characteristics influence male fertilization success remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigate possible correlations between sperm characteristics and paternity success in the socially monogamous bluethroat (Luscinia svecica svecica), predicting that sperm length and sperm swimming speed is positively correlated with paternity success. In total, 25% (15/61) of broods contained extra-pair offspring and 10% (33/315) of the offspring were sired by extra-pair males. Paternity success did not correlate significantly with sperm morphology or any aspects of sperm motility. Furthermore, sperm morphology and sperm motility did not correlate significantly with male morphological characters that previously have been shown to be associated with paternity success. Thus, the sperm characteristics investigated here do not appear to be strong predictors of paternity success in bluethroats.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Arild Johnsen
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Even Stensrud
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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4
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No facultative manipulation of offspring sex ratio in relation to parental genetic characteristics in a bird with sex-specific heterozygosity-fitness correlation. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2119-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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5
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Clancey E, Byers JA. A comprehensive test of the Trivers–Willard hypothesis in pronghorn (
Antilocapra americana
). J Mammal 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyv168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The Trivers–Willard hypothesis (TWH) predicts that in a polygynous mating system, when fitness of male offspring is more variable than fitness of female offspring, mothers should invest more heavily in the sex with the highest marginal fitness returns. Females in good condition or high social rank should benefit by investing in sons, and females in poor condition or low social rank should benefit by investing in daughters. Many empirical studies have tested different aspects of the TWH, but no study has tested the assumptions and predictions in a single polygynous species using measures of maternal condition and maternal social rank, while accounting for random effects that can also influence offspring growth and survival. Here, we followed individuals in an isolated population of pronghorn on the National Bison Range, Montana, over multiple generations and tested the assumptions and predictions of the TWH. Pronghorn females who were in good condition or were socially dominant weaned larger fawns that were in better condition, but this advantage did not increase male fawn survival or reproductive success. We detected a slight bias in birth sex ratios according to maternal social rank, but overall we did not detect any adaptive benefit to mothers adopting a sex-biased investment strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin Clancey
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho , P.O. Box 443051, Moscow, ID 83844-3051, USA (EC, JAB)
| | - John A. Byers
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho , P.O. Box 443051, Moscow, ID 83844-3051, USA (EC, JAB)
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6
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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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Cramer ERA, Laskemoen T, Kleven O, LaBarbera K, Lovette IJ, Lifjeld JT. No evidence that sperm morphology predicts paternity success in wild house wrens. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1594-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Bowers EK, Sakaluk SK, Thompson CF. Adaptive sex allocation in relation to hatching synchrony and offspring quality in house wrens. Am Nat 2011; 177:617-29. [PMID: 21508608 DOI: 10.1086/659630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Increased variance in the reproductive success of males relative to females favors mothers that optimally allocate sons and daughters to maximize their fitness return. In altricial songbirds, one influence on the fitness prospects of offspring arises through the order in which nestlings hatch from their eggs, which affects individual mass and size before nest leaving. In house wrens (Troglodytes aedon), the influence of hatching order depends on the degree of hatching synchrony, with greater variation in nestling mass and size within broods hatching asynchronously than in those hatching synchronously. Early-hatching nestlings in asynchronous broods were heavier and larger than their later-hatching siblings and nestlings in synchronous broods. The effect of hatching order was also sex specific, as the mass of males in asynchronous broods was more strongly influenced by hatching order than the mass of females, with increased variation in the mass of males relative to that of females. As predicted, mothers hatching their eggs asynchronously biased first-laid, first-hatching eggs toward sons and late-laid, late-hatching eggs toward daughters, whereas females hatching their eggs synchronously distributed the sexes randomly among the eggs of their clutch. We conclude that females allocate the sex of their offspring among the eggs of their clutch in a manner that maximizes their own fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Keith Bowers
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, 61790, USA.
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9
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Anmarkrud JA, Kleven O, Augustin J, Bentz KH, Blomqvist D, Fernie KJ, Magrath MJL, Pärn H, Quinn JS, Robertson RJ, Szép T, Tarof S, Wagner RH, Lifjeld JT. Factors affecting germline mutations in a hypervariable microsatellite: a comparative analysis of six species of swallows (Aves: Hirundinidae). Mutat Res 2011; 708:37-43. [PMID: 21291898 DOI: 10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2011.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2010] [Revised: 01/07/2011] [Accepted: 01/24/2011] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Microsatellites mutate frequently by replication slippage. Empirical evidence shows that the probability of such slippage mutations may increase with the length of the repeat region as well as exposure to environmental mutagens, but the mutation rate can also differ between the male and female germline. It has been hypothesized that more intense sexual selection or sperm competition can also lead to elevated mutation rates, but the empirical evidence is inconclusive. Here, we analyzed the occurrence of germline slippage mutations in the hypervariable pentanucleotide microsatellite locus HrU10 across six species of swallow (Aves: Hirundinidae). These species exhibit marked differences in the length range of the microsatellite, as well as differences in the intensity of sperm competition. We found a strong effect of microsatellite length on the probability of mutation, but no residual effect of species or their level of sperm competition when the length effect was accounted for. Neither could we detect any difference in mutation rate between tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) breeding in Hamilton Harbour, Ontario, an industrial site with previous documentation of elevated mutation rates for minisatellite DNA, and a rural reference population. However, our cross-species analysis revealed two significant patterns of sex differences in HrU10 germline mutations: (1) mutations in longer alleles occurred typically in the male germline, those in shorter alleles in the female germline, and (2) male germline mutations were more often expansions than contractions, whereas no directional bias was evident in the female germline. These results indicate some fundamental differences in male and female gametogenesis affecting the probability of slippage mutations. Our study also reflects the value of a comparative, multi-species approach for locus-specific mutation analyses, through which a wider range of influential factors can be assessed than in single-species studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarl A Anmarkrud
- National Centre for Biosystematics, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway.
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10
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Sperm quantity and quality effects on fertilization success in a highly promiscuous passerine, the tree swallow Tachycineta bicolor. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-010-0962-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Johnson LS, Thompson CF, Sakaluk SK, Neuhäuser M, Johnson BGP, Soukup SS, Forsythe SJ, Masters BS. Extra-pair young in house wren broods are more likely to be male than female. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 276:2285-9. [PMID: 19324727 PMCID: PMC2677618 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2009] [Accepted: 02/25/2009] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex-allocation theory predicts that females should preferentially produce offspring of the sex with greater fitness potential. In socially monogamous animal species, extra-pair mating often increases the variance in fitness of sons relative to daughters. Thus, in situations where offspring sired by a female's extra-pair mate(s) will typically have greater fitness potential than offspring sired by the within-pair mate, sex-allocation theory predicts that females will bias the sex of offspring sired by extra-pair mates towards male. We examined the relationship between offspring sex and paternity over six breeding seasons in an Illinois population of the house wren (Troglodytes aedon), a cavity-nesting songbird. Out of the 2345 nestlings that had both sex and paternity assigned, 350 (15%) were sired by extra-pair males. The sex ratio of extra-pair offspring, 0.534, was significantly greater than the sex ratio of within-pair offspring, 0.492, representing an increase of 8.5 per cent in the proportion of sons produced. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed report of female birds increasing their production of sons in association with extra-pair fertilization. Our results are consistent with the oft-mentioned hypothesis that females engage in extra-pair mating to increase offspring quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Scott Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, MD 21252, USA.
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12
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Crowe SA, Kleven O, Delmore KE, Laskemoen T, Nocera JJ, Lifjeld JT, Robertson RJ. Paternity assurance through frequent copulations in a wild passerine with intense sperm competition. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.09.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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