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1.
D. M. Shuker E. M. Sykes L. E. Browning L. W. Beukeboom S. A. West 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2006,59(6):829-835
Sex allocation is an important reproductive decision for parents. However, it is often assumed that females have substantial
control over sex allocation decisions, and this is particularly true in haplodiploid insects, in which females apparently
determine sex by deciding whether to fertilise an egg (and produce a diploid daughter) or not (and produce a haploid son).
Mechanisms by which males may influence sex allocation are not so straightforward, and their potential influence on sex ratios
has been somewhat neglected. Here, we test whether males influence offspring sex ratios in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis. We show that some of the variation in observed sex ratios can be attributed to males when comparing the affect of male strain
on sex ratio. We did not find among-male variation in sex ratio with a less powerful experiment using males from only one
strain or an effect of male mating environment. Our data suggest that males can influence female sex ratios and contribute
to the variation around the sex ratios optimal for females. However, the influence is not large, suggesting that females have
more influence on sex allocation than do males. We conclude by considering whether male influences on sex ratio represent
differences in male reproductive competence or deliberate attempts by males to increase their fitness by influencing daughter
production. 相似文献
2.
Adam Dušek Luděk Bartoš František Sedláček 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(12):2209-2217
The issue of adaptive adjustment of offspring sex ratio (proportion of male births) in polytocous mammals, producing several
offspring per litter, is controversial because females of these species can maximize their fitness mainly by adjusting offspring
number. To address this issue, we examined the effect of maternal condition at mating, experimentally decreased by pre-mating
food restriction, on the sex ratio variation in 137 female mice. We tested two basic sex allocation hypotheses plausible for
polytocous mammals: (1) the Myers hypothesis, predicting that cheaper sex should be favored in poor environmental conditions
to maximize offspring number; and (2) the Williams hypothesis, predicting maximum fitness returns by adjusting size- and sex-specific
composition of the litter according to the maternal condition. The food-restricted mothers produced larger litters with a
higher proportion of cheaper daughters than the control mothers. By contrast, the control mothers optimized size and sex composition
of the litter according to their weight at mating. In addition, the offspring of the food-restricted mothers suffered less
from pre-weaning mortality than those of the control mothers. Therefore, when comparing the groups, the Myers hypothesis had
a general significance while the Williams hypothesis was plausible only for the control mothers. Furthermore, some of the
food-restricted mothers partly coped with the pre-mating food restriction and increased the proportion of sons in the litter
with the increasing maternal weight loss (during the period of food restriction). The sex ratio variation was thus a result
of three sex allocation strategies depending on the maternal condition at mating. 相似文献
3.
Apostolos Kapranas P. Pacheco L. D. Forster J. G. Morse R. F. Luck 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2008,62(6):901-912
We examined whether several facultatively gregarious encyrtid (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) endoparasitoids of brown soft scale,
Coccus hesperidum L., manifest precise sex allocation under field conditions. Metaphycus luteolus (Timberlake), Metaphycus angustifrons (Compere), Metaphycus stanleyi (Compere), and Microterys nietneri (Motshulsky) evince brood sex ratios that are female-biased and extremely precise (low variance in the number of sons per
host). Typically, this sex allocation pattern is attributed to extreme local mate competition (LMC) in which only one foundress
exploits a patch of hosts and mating occurs mostly between her offspring. However, such a pattern of sex allocation was not
detected for Metaphycus helvolus (Compere). Also, a large proportion of the broods in all five species contained only daughters; thus, an excess of male-only
broods was expected if unmated females (i.e., females that can produce only sons) contribute offspring before mating. All-male
broods were rare in our samples. This finding coupled with the life history characteristics of these wasps, such as the exploitation
of aggregated hosts and the long life span and mobility of males, suggest that nonlocal mating is frequent. Our empirical
work suggests that it is advantageous to allocate precise sex ratios in cases in which mating opportunities for males are
not restricted to their natal host and/or when multiple foundresses exploit large patches of hosts. Limited theoretical work
also supports this prediction but more detailed studies of this taxon’s mating structure and other life history characteristics
are necessary to understand their sex allocation decisions. 相似文献
4.
Jesús M. Avilés Deseada Parejo Juan Rodríguez 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(8):1549-1557
In altricial birds, resource allocation during early developmental stages is the result of an interaction between parental
feeding decisions and scramble competition between nestmates. Hatching asynchrony in birds leads to a pronounced age hierarchy
among their offspring. Therefore, whenever parents exert control over resource allocation parents feeding asynchronous broods
should simultaneously assess individual offspring internal condition and age. In this study, we first studied whether the
highly ultraviolet (UV) reflective body skin of nestlings in the asynchronous European Roller (Coracias garrulus; roller hereafter) relates to nestling quality. In a second stage, we experimentally studied parental biases in food allocation
towards senior and junior sibling rollers in relation to a manipulation of UV reflectance of the skin of their offspring.
Heavier roller nestlings had less brilliant and less UV saturated skins than weaker nestlings. In our experiment, we found
that parents with large broods preferentially fed nestlings presenting skin coloration revealing small body size (i.e. control
nestlings) over nestlings presenting skin coloration revealing large body size (i.e. UV-blocked nestlings). Within the brood,
we found that parental food allocation strategy depended on nestling age: parents preferentially fed senior nestlings signalling
small body size, but did not show preference between control and UV-blocked junior nestlings. These results emphasise that
parent rollers use UV cues of offspring quality while balancing the age of their offspring to adjust their feeding strategies,
and suggest that parents may adopt finely tuned strategies of control over resource allocation in asynchronous broods. 相似文献
5.
Theory suggests that maternal effects are especially important in organisms with environmentally-sensitive sex-determining mechanisms. However, there is no substantive body of empirical evidence to confirm this conjecture. We integrated field and laboratory studies to jointly evaluate the significance of behavioral (nest-site choice) and physiological (yolk hormone allocation) maternal effects on offspring sex ratio in the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), a species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). Of the 16 microhabitat variables measured, only three (south, east, and total overstory vegetation cover) were significantly correlated with nest temperature: cooler nests were located under more vegetation cover. In turn, these microhabitat predictors of nest temperature, and nest temperature itself, may influence nest sex ratio: shadier, cooler nests were more likely to produce a higher proportion of male offspring than less shady, warmer nests. Analysis of eggs from these same nests incubated in a common garden design in the laboratory revealed that clutch sex ratio was unaffected by levels of yolk estradiol, yolk testosterone, or their interaction. Examination of both behavioral and physiological maternal effects revealed no concordant impact on offspring sex ratio. However, eggs from nests that produced male-biased sex ratios in the field yielded higher proportions of males under constant-temperature conditions in the laboratory. Our study confirms the importance of behavioral maternal effects in nature on offspring sex ratios in species with TSD, while also revealing the potential presence of a predisposition for sex-ratio production underlying TSD in this system.Communicated by S. Krackow 相似文献
6.
When eggs hatch asynchronously, offspring arising from last-hatched eggs often exhibit a competitive disadvantage compared
with their older, larger nestmates. Strong sibling competition might result in a pattern of resource allocation favoring larger
nestlings, but active food allocation towards smaller offspring may compensate for the negative effects of asynchronous hatching.
We examined patterns of resource allocation by green-rumped parrotlet parents to small and large broods under control and
food-supplemented conditions. There was no difference between parents and among brood sizes in visit rate or number of feeds
delivered, although females spent marginally more time in the nest than males. Both male and female parents preferentially
fed offspring that had a higher begging effort than the remainder of the brood. Mean begging levels did not differ between
small and large broods, but smaller offspring begged more than their older nestmates in large broods. Male parents fed small
offspring less often in both brood sizes. Female parents fed offspring evenly in small broods, while in large broods they
fed smaller offspring more frequently, with the exception of the very last hatched individual. These data suggest male parrotlets
exhibit a feeding preference for larger offspring—possibly arising from the outcome of sibling competition—but that females
practice active food allocation, particularly in larger brood sizes. These differential patterns of resource allocation between
the sexes are consistent with other studies of parrots and may reflect some level of female compensation for the limitations
imposed on smaller offspring by hatching asynchrony. 相似文献
7.
Birth sex ratios in toque macaques and other mammals: integrating the effects of maternal condition and competition 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
Wolfgang P. J. Dittus 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1998,44(3):149-160
Mammalian life histories suggest that maternal body condition and social dominance (a measure of resource-holding potential)
influence the physical and social development of offspring, and thereby their reproductive success. Predictably, a mother
should produce that sex of offspring which contributes most to her fitness (as measured by the number of her grandchildren)
and that she is best able to raise within the constraints imposed by her condition, social rank, and environment. Such combined
effects were investigated by monitoring variations in body condition (weight) and behavior of female toque macaques, Macaca sinica of Sri Lanka, in a changing forest environment over 18 years. Maternal rank, by itself, had no influence on offspring sex,
but did affect maternal body condition. The combined effects of rank and condition indicated the following: mothers in robust
condition bore more sons, whereas those in moderate condition bore more daughters, but both effects were expressed most strongly
among mothers of high rank. Where the consequences of low rank were felt most acutely, as shown by poor condition, mothers
underproduced daughters. Environmental quality directly influenced rank and condition interactions, and thus sex ratios. These
relationships, and data from other mammals suggest an empirically and theoretically consistent pattern of sex allocation in
mammals. New predictions integrate effects, proposed by Trivers and Willard, that are rooted in male mate competition, which
is universal among polygynous mammals, with those of local resource competition (and/or female reproductive competition),
which are not universal and differ in intensity between the socioecologies and local environments of different species.
Received: 30 May 1998 / Accepted after revision: 29 August 1998 相似文献
8.
Sjouke A. Kingma Michelle L. Hall Anne Peters 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(6):1203-1213
When fitness returns or production costs vary between male and female offspring, selection is expected to favor females that
adjust offspring sex ratio accordingly. However, to what extent vertebrates can do so is the subject of ongoing debate. Here,
we explore primary sex ratios in 125 broods of cooperatively breeding purple-crowned fairy-wrens Malurus coronatus. We expected that females might adjust offspring sex ratio because this passerine species experiences considerable variation
in social and environmental conditions. (1) However, although helpers substantially increase parental fitness, females (particularly
in pairs and small groups) did not overproduce philopatric males (helper-repayment hypothesis). (2) Sex-ratio adjustment based on competition among individuals (helper-competition hypothesis) did not conceal helper-repayment effects or drive sex allocation on its own: while high-quality territories can accommodate
more birds, brood sex ratios were independent of territory quality, alone or in interaction with group size. (3) Additionally,
males are larger than females and are possibly more costly to produce (costly sex hypothesis), and (4) female offspring may benefit more from long-term effects of favorable conditions early in life (Trivers–Willard hypothesis). Nonetheless, large seasonal variation in food abundance was not associated with a consistent skew in primary sex ratios.
Thus, overall, our results did not support the main hypotheses of adaptive sex-ratio adjustment in M. coronatus. We discuss that long-term differential costs and benefits may be insufficient to drive evolution of primary sex-ratio manipulation
by M. coronatus females. More investigation is therefore needed to determine the general required sex differences in long-term fitness returns
for mechanisms of primary sex-ratio manipulation to evolve. 相似文献
9.
Edward M. Sykes Tabitha M. Innocent Ido Pen David M. Shuker Stuart A. West 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(11):1751-1758
Sex allocation theory offers excellent opportunities for testing how animals adjust their behaviour in response to environmental
conditions. A major focus has been on instances of local mate competition (LMC), where female-biased broods are produced to
maximise mating opportunities for sons. However, the predictions of LMC theory can be altered if there is both local competition
for resources during development and an asymmetry between the competitive abilities of the sexes, as has been seen in animals
ranging from wasps to birds. In this paper, we test the extent to which asymmetric larval competition alters the predictions
of LMC theory in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis. We found that the body size of both sexes was negatively correlated with the number of offspring developing within the host.
Further, we found that when faced with high levels of competition, the body size of females, but not males, was influenced
by the sex ratio of the competing offspring; females were smaller when a higher proportion of the brood was female. This asymmetric
competition should favour less biased sex ratios than are predicted by standard LMC theory. We then develop a theoretical
model that can be parameterised with our data, allowing us to determine the quantitative consequences of the observed level
of asymmetric larval competition for sex allocation. We found that although asymmetric competition selects for less biased
sex ratios, this effect is negligible compared to LMC. Furthermore, a similar conclusion is reached when we re-analyse existing
data from another parasitoid species where asymmetric larval competition has been observed; Bracon hebetor. Consequently, we suspect that asymmetric larval competition will have its greatest influence on sex ratio evolution in species
that have smaller clutches and where local mate competition is not an issue, such as birds and mammals. 相似文献
10.
There is growing evidence that the sex ratios of wild vertebrate populations are determined by mechanisms that are directly
influenced by environmental characteristics. The Trivers–Willard (TWH) and extrinsic modification (EMH) hypotheses postulate
differing determinants of mammalian offspring sex ratios. TWH states that mothers allocate resources according to their current
condition and sex-specific offspring costs. EMH states that environmental forces that affect maternal condition determine
offspring sex ratios, independently of maternal tactics of sex-biased allocation. We statistically assessed support for each
of these hypotheses using long-term life histories of the allied rock-wallaby, Petrogale assimilis; a continuously breeding, polygynous, weakly dimorphic marsupial. We showed that birth sex ratios were equal and independent
of maternal and environmental conditions. However, secondary sex ratios were male-biased under good environmental conditions
and for high quality mothers or mothers in good condition. Sex differences in offspring survival contributed to these biases:
(1) environmental conditions strongly influenced survival to pouch emergence (in support of EMH) and (2) maternal quality
affected survival to the end of maternal care (in support of TWH). Environmental effects on survival were more important than
maternal factors over the entire period of maternal care and contributed most to male-biased sex ratios at pouch emergence.
In contrast, maternal mass was the best predictor of sex ratios at the end of maternal care—the life history stage where offspring
body mass differed between the sexes. 相似文献
11.
According to the Evolutionary Theory of the Family, the replacement of one pair-member by an intruder may have profound consequences
for the existing offspring. Step-parents are expected to provide less care towards unrelated immatures than to genetic offspring,
unless caring also serves as a mating strategy. Furthermore, because an intruder will be a potential mate for opposite-sexed
offspring, relationships between offspring and same-sex parents are predicted to deteriorate. To test these predictions, we
studied an Azara’s owl monkey (Aotus azarai) population in Argentina exhibiting serial monogamy and bi-parental care. Since 1997, we have collected demographic data
from ca. 25 groups and inter-individual distance data from ca. 150 marked individuals. First, we compared survival and dispersal
age of immatures in groups with and without replacements to investigate whether parental care serves as a mating strategy.
Second, we compared sex-specific age at dispersal for groups with replacement of opposite-sex parents, same-sex parents, or
in stable groups in order to test whether relationships between offspring and same-sex parents deteriorated after the replacement
of the other parent. Survival and dispersal ages were not negatively associated with replacements, suggesting that male care
might serve, at least partly, as a mating strategy. The time lag between a replacement and the subsequent dispersal of female
offspring was greater if the intruder was a male, while the offspring and same-sex parents were less often nearest neighbors
after replacements than before. Our results suggest that family disruption through the replacement of a parent is not associated
with decreased offspring survival or early dispersion of juveniles, but deteriorates parent–offspring relationships. 相似文献
12.
Facultative sex ratio manipulation in American kestrels 总被引:10,自引:0,他引:10
Summary For animals that are sexually dimorphic in size, the larger sex is expected to be more costly to raise to independence. Manipulating offspring sex ratios may thus be one means by which parents can fine-tune their reproductive effort to resource availability. Parents in poor physical condition or during poor food years should produce more of the cheaper (smaller) sex. We examined the sex ratios of 259 broods of American kestrels (Falco sparverius) between 1988 and 1990 in relation to food abundance (small mammals) and various attributes to the parents. The proportion of males at hatching increased as the food supply declined, and both male and female parents in poor physical condition were more likely to have male-biased broods than those in good condition. The mortality of eggs and young did not appear to be responsible for the biased sex ratios. The sex ratio was independent of the laying date; however, it was correlated with female body size. Small females produced more sons, perhaps because small size is more detrimental for females than males.
Offprint requests to: G.R. Bortolotti 相似文献
13.
K. Reinhold 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1996,39(3):189-194
Offspring sex ratio at hatching was examined in the bushcricket Poecilimon veluchianus. Offspring sex ratios varied significantly between females (Fig. 1). Low mortality prior to sex determination established
that this heterogeneity was already present in the primary offspring sex ratio. Sperm age and female age had no influence
on offspring sex ratio (Fig. 2). Male age at copulation, however, correlated significantly with offspring sex ratio (Fig. 3).
There were two types of males: one type produced predominantly daughters when young and an increasing proportion of sons with
age. The other type produced, independent of age, 1:1 offspring sex ratios (Fig. 4). The two types of males seem to occur
in approximately equal numbers. Sex ratio variation (1) may adaptively compensate for local sex ratio biases caused by sex-specific
motility, or (2) it may be adaptive if there is a sex-differential effect of laying date on offspring fitness.
Received: 14 March 1996/Accepted after revision: 24 June 1996 相似文献
14.
Kelly M. Proffitt Robert A. Garrott Jay J. Rotella 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2008,62(10):1679-1687
The Trivers–Willard model predicts that in polygynous species, superior-quality females will maximize their fitness by producing
male offspring. Using a sample of 1,780 Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) pups recorded over 31 years, we investigated relationships between offspring sex ratio and maternal age, reproductive experience,
an index of maternal lifetime reproductive output, and annual environmental variations. We found evidence that females with
higher index of lifetime reproductive output were more likely to produce male than female offspring but found only weak evidence
that large-scale environmental variations influenced sex ratios. Our results suggest that mothers manipulate offspring sex
to maximize their own fitness, and inherent maternal quality may influence offspring sex. These findings support the Trivers–Willard
sex-allocation model.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 相似文献
15.
The theory of sex allocation suggests that if the reproductive value and the cost of producing/rearing offspring differ between
male and female offspring, parents should invest differently in sexes depending on environmental conditions. Female parents
could allocate more resources to eggs of one sex to compensate potential sex-dependent constraints later during the nestling
period. In this study, we tested the influence of environmental conditions on sexual dimorphism in eggs of Eurasian kestrels
(Falco tinnunculus) by experimentally manipulating food availability before laying. We found that an increase in food abundance before laying
did not increase egg mass but changed sex-dependent resource distribution in eggs. In food-supplemented pairs, but not in
control pairs, egg mass and hatchling mass were similar between males and females. In addition, we found, in the food-supplemented
group, that the latest hatched females showed shorter hatching times than in the control group. In control pairs, female eggs,
hatchlings and nestlings were heavier than males. In addition, male fledglings in the food-supplemented group gained less
mass than those in the control group. As that food abundance was only increased until the onset of laying, female kestrels
were expected to invest in eggs taking food abundance before egg formation as a predictor of future conditions during brood
rearing. Our study shows that environmental conditions before laying promote a subtle adjustment of the resources invested
in both sexes of offspring rather than in other breeding parameters. This adjustment resulted in a shortening of hatching
time of the last hatched females that possibly gives them advantages in their competitive capacity with respect to male nest-mates. 相似文献
16.
Verena Dietrich-Bischoff Tim Schmoll Wolfgang Winkel Sven Krackow Thomas Lubjuhn 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2006,60(4):563-571
Females of many socially monogamous bird species commonly engage in extra-pair copulations. Assuming that extra-pair males are more attractive than the females’ social partners and that attractiveness has a heritable component, sex allocation theory predicts facultative overproduction of sons among extra-pair offspring (EPO) as sons benefit more than daughters from inheriting their father’s attractiveness traits. Here, we present a large-scale, three-year study on sex ratio variation in a passerine bird, the coal tit (Parus ater). Molecular sexing in combination with paternity analysis revealed no evidence for a male-bias in EPO sex ratios compared to their within-pair maternal half-siblings. Our main conclusion, therefore, is that facultative sex allocation to EPO is absent in the coal tit, in accordance with findings in several other species. Either there is no net selection for a deviation from random sex ratio variation (e.g. because extra-pair mating may serve goals different from striving for ‘attractiveness genes’) or evolutionary constraints preclude the evolution of precise maternal sex ratio adjustment. It is interesting to note that, however, we found broods without EPO as well as broods without mortality to be relatively female-biased compared to broods with EPO and mortality, respectively. We were unable to identify any environmental or parental variable to co-vary with brood sex ratios. There was no significant repeatability of sex ratios in consecutive broods of individual females that would hint at some idiosyncratic maternal sex ratio adjustment. Further research is needed to resolve the biological significance of the correlation between brood sex ratios and extra-pair paternity and mortality incidence, respectively. 相似文献
17.
Cor Dijkstra Bernd Riedstra Arjan Dekker Vivian C. Goerlich Serge Daan Ton G. G. Groothuis 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2010,64(9):1393-1402
When the reproductive value of male and female offspring varies differentially, parents are predicted to adjust the sex ratio
of their offspring to maximize their fitness (Trivers and Willard, Science 179:90–92, 1973). Two factors have been repeatedly linked to skews in avian offspring sex ratio. First, laying date can affect offspring
sex ratio when the sexes differ in age of first reproduction, such that the more slowly maturing sex is overproduced early
in the season. Second, position of the egg in the laying sequence of a clutch may affect sex ratio bias since manipulating
the sex of the first eggs may be least costly to the mother. We studied both factors in two non-domesticated pigeon species.
Both the Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) and the Rock pigeon (Columba livia) have long breeding seasons and lay two-egg clutches. In the field, we determined the sex of Wood pigeon nestlings. In Rock
pigeons, housed in captivity outdoors, we determined embryo sex after 3 days of incubation. On the basis of their sex-specific
age of first reproduction, we predicted that males, maturing at older age than females, should be produced in majority early
and females later in the year. This was confirmed for both species. The bias was restricted to first eggs. Rock pigeons produced
clutches throughout the year and show that the sex of the first egg followed an annual cycle. To our knowledge, this study
presents the first evidence of a full annual rhythm in adaptive sex allocation in birds. We suggest that this reflects an
endogenous seasonal program in primary sex ratio controlled by a preovulatory mechanism. 相似文献
18.
Parental condition, brood sex ratio and differential young survival: an experimental study in gulls (Larus fuscus) 总被引:6,自引:6,他引:0
R. G. Nager P. Monaghan D. C. Houston M. Genovart 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2000,48(6):452-457
Empirical evidence is growing that the offspring sex ratio in birds can be biased in relation to the body condition of parents
during breeding. The sex ratio bias may come about because (1) the actual production of the two sexes may be skewed and/or
(2) there may be a sex bias in early nestling mortality contingent on parental condition. By manipulating parental condition
and giving them a control brood to rear, thereby eliminating effects operating via the eggs, we examined the extent to which
parental condition influences the post-hatching survival of male and female lesser black-backed gulls, Larus fuscus. We found that the pre-fledging survival of male chicks was strongly reduced in all-male broods reared by parents in poor
condition. Pre-fledging survival of female chicks was, however, unaffected by parental condition or brood sex composition.
Thus, independently of any production biases, sex differences in nestling mortality alone can bias the offspring sex ratio
at fledging in relation to the prevailing rearing conditions. In other studies on gulls we have, however, also shown that
females in poor condition at laying preferentially produce female eggs. Clearly a bias in fledging sex ratio can occur within
the same species due to a combination of differential production and differential post-laying mortality; the latter can involve
a differential effect of poor egg quality on male and female offspring, differential effects of brood sex composition on their
survival and a difference in the capacity of parents to rear males and females. All of these processes need to be taken into
account in attempting to understand offspring sex ratios.
Received: 15 February 2000 / Revised: 7 August 2000 / Accepted: 26 August 2000 相似文献
19.
Mark C. Mainwaring David Lucy Ian R. Hartley 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(12):2261-2268
Family conflicts over parental care result in offspring attempting to exert control using solicitation behaviours, whilst
the parents are potentially able to retaliate through provisioning rules. However, the evolutionary interests of one parent
may not necessarily support the evolutionary interests of the other parent, and such conflicts of interest may be expressed
in how the two parents allocate the same form of parental care to individual offspring. Theory suggests that such parentally
biased favouritism is a universally predicted outcome of evolutionary conflicts of interest, and empirical evidence suggests
that parentally biased favouritism occurs in relation to offspring size and solicitation behaviours. However, unequivocal
empirical evidence of parentally biased favouritism in relation to offspring sex is absent, due to being strongly confounded
by sex differences in size and solicitation behaviours. Here, we present strong evidence for parentally biased favouritism
in relation to offspring sex in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), independent of the effects of chick size and begging intensity. Mothers preferentially provisioned sons over daughters,
whilst fathers showed no bias, meaning that sons received more food than daughters. Parentally biased favouritism in relation
to offspring sex facilitates parental control over evolutionary conflicts of interest and is probably more widespread than
previously realised. 相似文献
20.
Learning and natal host influence host preference,handling time and sex allocation behaviour in a pupal parasitoid 总被引:6,自引:0,他引:6
The host choice and sex allocation decisions of a foraging female parasitoid will have an enormous influence on the life-history
characteristics of her offspring. The pteromalid Pachycrepoideus vindemiae is a generalist idiobiont pupal parasitoid of many species of cyclorrhaphous Diptera. Wasps reared in Musca domestica were larger, had higher attack rates and greater male mating success than those reared in Drosophila melanogaster. In no-choice situations, na?ve female P. vindemiae took significantly less time to accept hosts conspecific with their natal host. Parasitoids that emerged from M. domestica pupae spent similar amounts of time ovipositing in both D. melanogaster and M. domestica. Those parasitoids that had emerged from D. melanogaster spent significantly longer attacking M. domestica pupae. The host choice behaviour of female P. vindemiae was influenced by an interaction between natal host and experience. Female P. vindemiae reared in M. domestica only showed a preference among hosts when allowed to gain experience attacking M. domestica, preferentially attacking that species. Similarly, female parasitoids reared on D. melanogaster only showed a preference among hosts when allowed to gain experience attacking D. melanogaster, again preferentially attacking that species. Wasp natal host also influenced sex allocation behaviour. While wasps from
both hosts oviposited more females in the larger host, M. domestica, wasps that emerged from M. domestica had significantly more male-biased offspring sex ratios. These results indicate the importance of learning and natal host
size in determining P. vindemiae attack rates, mating success, host preference and sex allocation behaviour, all critical components of parasitoid fitness.
Electronic Publication 相似文献