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1.
Eugene S. Morton Bridget J. M. Stutchbury Ioana Chiver 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2010,64(6):947-954
We investigated sexual conflict over parental care in blue-headed vireos (Vireo solitarius) and documented the first example of unvarying unisexual brood desertion in passerines. Females at all nests (N = 24) that were monitored closely near fledgling, deserted their broods on or near the day of fledging leaving males alone
to complete parental care of young. No males deserted. This observational evidence was confirmed with radiotracking of females
(2004, 2007) and both pair members (2008). Radiotracked females began visiting distant males 1–4 days before young left the
nest, subsequently paired with males 355–802 m away, and laid first eggs in new nests less than 5 days after deserting. In
contrast, females suffering nest predation did not desert and renested with the same male. We suggest equal parental care
(nest building, incubation, feeding) in the sexes, genetic monogamy, and an adult sex ratio biased towards males has led to
female control of brood desertion in this species. Unisexual desertion may be more important in altricial birds than generally
realized and we discuss prerequisites to predict its occurrence. One is genetic monogamy, which may be a female tactic that
reduces the likelihood of males evolving counter-adaptations to female desertion. 相似文献
2.
Andrew G. Zink 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2005,58(5):466-473
In species that exhibit extended parental care, females sometimes lay eggs communally in order to redistribute the costs of offspring care. Communal egg-laying often involves redundancy in female effort, such that the number of females contributing to reproduction is more than is needed to provide adequate parental care. As a result, a subset of females will often abandon the communal brood, with the time of departure ranging from immediate abandonment after egg-laying (brood parasitism) to delayed abandonment with prolonged care (cooperative breeding). In this paper I approach the parental care dynamics of female-female broods as a desertion game similar to that of mate desertion in species with bi-parental care. I describe a field study of the insect Publilia concava (Hemiptera: Membracidae), a species that exhibits communal oviposition and a full range of egg guarding. This species exhibits full redundancy in female care, with no difference in survival between singly and doubly guarded broods. I find that double guarding is extremely rare in the population, with most communal broods having only one female guard. While this guard was usually the female that initiated the brood, these same females were more likely to abandon when secondary females arrived and when secondary females exhibited longer guarding durations. Paradoxically, the secondary females usually abandoned the broods they visited, resulting in up to 50% of broods with double abandonment. These unguarded broods suffered a 50% reduction in hatching success, reflecting an important risk for primary females that abandon egg masses to secondary females. Overall, P. concava exhibits desertion dynamics similar to mate desertion in vertebrates and it is likely that the theoretical work in this area will be useful for future work that addresses the allocation of parental care among communal breeders. 相似文献
3.
Recent theoretical and empirical studies have shown that male dominance is often at odds with female mate preference and that
indirect (genetic) benefits of mate choice may not be related to male dominance. We tested whether female preference corresponded
to male dominance and whether mating with dominant males conveyed benefits to offspring fitness in a small freshwater fish,
the African annual killifish Nothobranchius korthausae (Cyprinodontiformes), a species without parental care. The experimental design used controlled for the effect of male age,
possibility of sperm and egg depletion, and accounted for a potential that females express their preference through maternal
effects by manipulation of egg mass during ovulation. By sequentially mating females with males of known dominance, we found
that female N. korthausae showed no mate preference in terms of egg numbers deposited with respect to male dominance or body size and no congruent
mate preference to specific males was detected. However, males sired offspring with consistently higher hatching success and
the effect was repeatable across individual females. Thus, some males provided females with indirect benefits related to additive
genetic quality (“good genes”) and expressed via increased hatching rate, but this benefit was not related to male dominance
status or body size. 相似文献
4.
Costs and benefits of brood desertion in female kentish plovers,Charadrius alexandrinus 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
Female kentish plovers Charadrius alexandrinus typically desert their broods after the chicks hatch, i.e. 1–4 weeks before the chicks fledge or become independent. In this paper we investigate the costs and benefits of desertion for females. Desertion incurs a cost for females: following desertion chick survival in broods is lower (0.95 +- 0.02 day–1) than before the female deserts (0.98 +- 0.01 day–1). We investigated several possible causes for reduced brood survival by comparing characteristics of broods before and after desertion (controlling for differences in brood age). After desertion males increased the time they spent foraging and they tended to reduce time spent brooding chicks. Increased mortality of chicks may occur in deserted broods because following desertion (1) males spend less time alert in vigilance behaviour than before desertion, (2) they attend the chicks from greater distances, and (3) they show greater distraction display distances (in response to human intruders). Growth or development of chicks, measured by weight gain and tarsus length, was not different before and after desertion. Females gain two potential benefits from desertion: (1) they may remate and produce a second brood within the same breeding season or (2) they may enhance their probability of surviving to breed in a subsequent season. At least 27% of female kentish plovers that deserted remated and renested in the same season in this study. In contrast, we found no evidence that brood desertion increased the survival of females: there was no difference in local survival rate (return rate) for females deserting before or after 6 days brood age. These results clearly demonstrate that female kentish plovers that desert their offspring prior to fledging incur costs, but we suggest that there is a trade-off with the potential benefits gained by remating and making a second breeding attempt in the same season. 相似文献
5.
Many species fall into specific mating-system categories, and that category is usually associated with a suite of behavioral and morphological characteristics. Several lemur species, including Propithecus diadema edwardsi, have been labeled "idiosyncratic" because variation in socionomic sex ratios among groups is consistent with wide variation in social structure. We used several hypotheses founded in behavioral ecology to assess variability in P. d. edwardsi. First we examined 46 group-mating seasons to quantify variability. We then tested predictions that the number of males per group would increase as the number of adult females increased, and the number of males would increase as female mating synchrony increased. Examining variation in offspring survival relative to the number of adult males in a group may tell us which composition is likely to persist into the future, so we also hypothesized that as the number of males in a group increased, fertility and offspring survival would increase. We found an equal distribution of polygynous, polygynandrous, pairs, and polyandrous groups. Furthermore, female distribution and mating synchrony did not predict the number of males, and offspring survival was not correlated with the number of males. Since infants survived equally well in groups of all compositions, sifakas experienced no pressure to maintain a particular number of adult males per adult female. The small number of adults per group (mean=3.2) may result from balancing feeding competition against predator detection. Augmenting the mate pool available from the group with mates from neighboring groups may promote the notable variability seen in the adult group compositions of sifakas. 相似文献
6.
The pay-off of deserting and leaving a mate to care for the offspring alone is generally assumed to depend mainly on the availability of alternative mating partners and on the potential spawning rate of males and females. Eretmodus cyanostictus is a monogamous mouthbrooding cichlid in which the clutch is successively incubated first by the female and then by the male. It has been suggested that parents are constrained to monogamy due to low remating probabilities for both sexes. We tested this hypothesis by varying the sex ratio experimentally. Mate desertion by either sex was not significantly higher when additional potential mates were present (males: 8.3%, females: 0%) than when there were no other same-sex conspecifics present (males: 0%, females: 0%). Males lost their mate to a male intruder during their incubation in 26.7% of cases. Pair members were more active and showed more aggression when same-sex conspecifics were present. Behavioural differences between treatments were strongest during the incubation period of a given sex. If no desertion takes place, sexual conflict may be expressed also on a second level, the amount of parental care each parent provides. Indeed, males took the offspring later when additional females were present, although male incubation time did not differ between treatments. A hitherto undescribed display behaviour of females was clear evidence of a conflict about the timing of shift of young. In conclusion, offering alternative mating opportunities did not strongly favour mate desertion in E. cyanostictus. It rather revealed a conflict between mates about when to shift the young.Communicated by M. Abrahams 相似文献
7.
Relatedness, polyandry and extra-group paternity in the cooperatively-breeding white-browed scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis ) 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
Linda A. Whittingham Peter O. Dunn Robert D. Magrath 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1997,40(4):261-270
We used DNA fingerprinting to examine the genetic parentage and mating system of the cooperatively breeding white-browed
scrubwren, Sericornis frontalis, in Canberra, Australia. Our analyses revealed a remarkable variety of mating tactics and social organization. Scrubwrens
bred in pairs or multi-male groups that consisted of a female and two or more males. Females were always unrelated to the
pair male or alpha (dominant) male. Among multi-male groups we found three different mating tactics. Firstly, when alpha and
beta (subordinate) males were unrelated, they usually shared paternity in the brood. This resulted in both males gaining reproductive
benefits directly. Secondly, when beta males were not related to the female but were related to the alpha males, beta males
sired offspring in some broods. In this situation, beta males gained reproductive benefits both directly and potentially indirectly
(through the related alpha male). Thirdly, when beta males were related to the female or both the female and alpha male, they
remained on their natal territory and did not sire any offspring. Thus beta males gained only indirect reproductive benefits.
Overall, when group members were related closely, the dominant male monopolized reproductive success, whereas when the members
were not related closely the two males shared paternity equally. This positive association between monopolization of reproduction
and relatedness is predicted by models of reproductive skew, but has not been reported previously within a single population
of birds. Other cooperatively breeding birds with both closely related and unrelated helpers may show a similar variety of
mating tactics. Finally, we found that extra-group paternity was more common in pairs (24% of young) than in multi-male groups
(6%), and we discuss three possible reasons for this difference.
Received: 21 May 1996 / Accepted after revision: 14 December 1996 相似文献
8.
René E. van Dijk Lidia A. Mészáros Marco van der Velde Tamás Székely Ákos Pogány János Szabad Jan Komdeur 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2010,64(9):1425-1435
Engagement in extra-pair copulations is an example of the abundant conflicting interests between males and females over reproduction.
Potential benefits for females and the risk of cuckoldry for males are expected to have important implications on the evolution
of parental care. However, whether parents adjust parental care in response to parentage remains unclear. In Eurasian penduline
tits Remiz pendulinus, which are small polygamous songbirds, parental care is carried out either by the male or by the female. In addition, one
third of clutches is deserted by both male and female. Desertion takes place during the egg-laying phase. Using genotypes
of nine microsatellite loci of 443 offspring and 211 adults, we test whether extra-pair paternity predicts parental care.
We expect males to be more likely to desert cuckolded broods, whereas we expect females, if they obtain benefits from having
multiple sires, to be more likely to care for broods with multiple paternity. Our results suggest that parental care is not
adjusted to parentage on an ecological timescale. Furthermore, we found that male attractiveness does not predict cuckoldry,
and we found no evidence for indirect benefits for females (i.e., increased growth rates or heterozygosity of extra-pair offspring).
We argue that male Eurasian penduline tits may not be able to assess the risk of cuckoldry; thus, a direct association with
parental care is unlikely to evolve. However, timing of desertion (i.e., when to desert during the egg-laying phase) may be
influenced by the risk of cuckoldry. Future work applying extensive gene sequencing and quantitative genetics is likely to
further our understanding of how selection may influence the association between parentage and parental care. 相似文献
9.
Brady A. Porter Anthony C. Fiumera John C. Avise 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2002,51(4):350-359
In a variety of fish species with paternal care of offspring, females prefer to spawn in nests that already contain eggs.
This female preference has been hypothesized to explain egg thievery in male sticklebacks, allopaternal care of eggs in minnows,
and the evolution of egg-mimicking body features in male cichlids and darters. Here we employ microsatellite-based parentage
analyses to evaluate the reproductive success of striped darter (Etheostoma virgatum) males that appear to utilize two of these functionally related tactics to entice females to spawn in their nests. In an
isolated population (Clear Creek, Ky.), we observed that breeding males develop conspicuous white spots on their pectoral
fins. If these spots are egg mimics, as we suspect, then this represents the fourth independent evolutionary origin of egg
mimicry documented to date in darters, the first based on pigmentation (as opposed to physical structures), and the first
in which the egg mimics vary greatly in number among males. From direct counts of microsatellite genotypes in clutches of
embryos, at least 3.8 females contributed to the progeny within a typical nest, and females tended to spawn preferentially
with males that were larger and displayed more egg-mimic spots. In another population (Hurricane Creek, Tenn.) without egg
mimics, the multi-locus genetic data document that allopaternal care is common, especially among the smallest males who sometimes
tend nests containing their own as well as an earlier sire's offspring. Thus, these foster males had adopted egg-containing
nests and then successfully spawned with subsequent females. Overall, the genetic data on paternity and maternity, in conjunction
with field observations, suggest that egg mimicry and allopaternal care are two mate-attracting reproductive tactics employed
by striped darter males to exploit female preferences for spawning in nests with 'eggs'.
Electronic Publication 相似文献
10.
Females of socially monogamous species may copulate with attractive non-mates to obtain access to the genes of such males,
and a preference for attractive copulation partners may result in sexual selection. Extra-pair copulations are common in the
socially monogamous barn swallow Hirundorustica, and a 2-year study of paternity using multi-locus DNA fingerprinting demonstrated that 33% of 63 broods and 28% of 261 offspring
were sired by extra-pair males. The frequency of extra-pair offspring within broods was highly skewed with the majority of
all broods having either no extra-pair offspring or only extra-pair offspring. Individual pairs were consistent in their frequency
of extra-pair paternity among broods, and the repeatability of extra-pair paternity of multiple broods of the same female
was statistically significant. The proportion of extra-pair offspring was negatively related to the tail length of the male
attending the nest. Behavioural observations showed that extra-pair fertilizations were more likely in broods raised by females
that had been observed to engage in extra-pair copulations. The frequency of extra-pair offspring was unrelated to the intensity
of two male paternity guards, mate guarding and the rate of intra-pair copulations. In an analysis of extra-pair paternity
and male parental care in different broods of the same male, male barn swallows fed their offspring relatively less frequently
if the brood contained more extra-pair offspring. Therefore, female barn swallows pursue extra-pair copulations with attractive
males, which may result in sexual selection, even though extra-pair paternity is costly for females due to the reduction of
paternal care by their social mates.
Received: 24 January 1997 / Accepted after revision: 2 August 1997 相似文献
11.
High rates of extra-pair young in the pair-living fat-tailed dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus medius 总被引:6,自引:0,他引:6
J. Fietz H. Zischler C. Schwiegk J. Tomiuk K. H. Dausmann J. U. Ganzhorn 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2000,49(1):8-17
Cheirogaleids are one of the most primitive extant primate taxa in the world. Their lifestyle and mating system, therefore,
have been considered to be representative for social systems in primate ancestors. Accepted models of social evolution in
primates state that pair-bonding has evolved secondarily from diurnal group-living taxa and should therefore be constrained
primarily to diurnal species. In contrast to these assumptions, the nocturnal fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius) lives in permanent pairs, with obligate paternal care probably representing the evolutionary basis of pair-living. In this
sociobiological field study, we analyzed the reproduction strategy of C. medius in the tropical forest of western Madagascar. In the rainy seasons from 1995 to 1999, 173 individuals of C. medius were captured and individually marked and 131 were genetically characterized through seven microsatellite loci. Additionally,
36 of these individuals were radio-tracked and observed. For 53 genotyped individuals, including 16 offspring, information
about pair-bonding and family structure was known from field observations. Genetic analyses revealed that yearlings and infants
living with an adult pair were in all cases sibs of the social mother. However, C. medius does not restrain from extra-pair copulations (EPCs) and a high rate of extra-pair paternity (44%) was detected. Males sired
offspring with their female partners as well as with extra-pair females within the same year, indicating that males may increase
their reproductive success by EPCs without necessarily running the risk of cuckoldry. Females on the other hand do not seem
to run the risk of reduced paternal care, either because males cannot detect relatedness of young, or because they might even
increase their inclusive fitness by raising offspring of closely related males. Since females reproduce preferentially with
territory holders and no paternity could be assigned to floating males, superior genetic quality of the males might be crucial
for female choice.
Received: 12 January 2000 / Revised: 15 August 2000 / Accepted: 26 August 2000 相似文献
12.
Kapheim KM Bernal SP Smith AR Nonacs P Wcislo WT 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(6):1179-1190
Developmental maternal effects are a potentially important source of phenotypic variation, but they can be difficult to distinguish
from other environmental factors. This is an important distinction within the context of social evolution, because if variation
in offspring helping behavior is due to maternal manipulation, social selection may act on maternal phenotypes, as well as
those of offspring. Factors correlated with social castes have been linked to variation in developmental nutrition, which
might provide opportunity for females to manipulate the social behavior of their offspring. Megalopta genalis is a mass-provisioning facultatively eusocial sweat bee for which production of males and females in social and solitary
nests is concurrent and asynchronous. Female offspring may become either gynes (reproductive dispersers) or workers (non-reproductive
helpers). We predicted that if maternal manipulation plays a role in M. genalis caste determination, investment in daughters should vary more than for sons. The mass and protein content of pollen stores
provided to female offspring varied significantly more than those of males, but volume and sugar content did not. Sugar content
varied more among female eggs in social nests than in solitary nests. Provisions were larger, with higher nutrient content,
for female eggs and in social nests. Adult females and males show different patterns of allometry, and their investment ratio
ranged from 1.23 to 1.69. Adult body weight varied more for females than males, possibly reflecting increased variation in
maternal investment in female offspring. These differences are consistent with a role for maternal manipulation in the social
plasticity observed in M. genalis. 相似文献
13.
James V. Briskie Robert Montgomerie Tarmo Põldmaa Peter T. Boag 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1998,43(3):181-190
In species where females copulate with more than one male during a single breeding attempt, males risk investing in offspring
that are not their own. In the polygynandrous Smith's longspur (Calcarius pictus), females copulate sequentially with one to three males for each clutch of eggs and most of these males later assist in feeding
the young. Using multilocus DNA profiling, we determined that there was mixed paternity in >75% of broods (n=31) but that few offspring (<1% of 114 nestlings) were sired by males outside the polygynandrous group. Male feeding rate
increased significantly with the number of young sired, with males siring four nestlings feeding the brood at double the frequency
of males siring only a single nestling. However, male Smith's longspurs appear to show a graded adjustment of paternal care
in response to paternity only when other males are available to compensate for reduced care: feeding rate did not vary in
relation to paternity when only one male provisioned young at the nest. There was no evidence that males could recognise their
own offspring within a brood and feed them preferentially. The number of offspring sired by each male was significantly correlated
with the number of days spent copulating with the attending female: on average, a male sired one offspring for every 2 days
of copulatory access. If males use their access to females to estimate paternity (and thereby decide on their subsequent level
of parental investment), a positive relationship is expected between the amount of female access and the subsequent feeding
rate to the nestlings. Nonetheless, male feeding effort was only weakly correlated with female access and more study is needed
to determine how males estimate their paternity in a brood.
Received: 1 June 1997 / Accepted after revision: 1 April 1998 相似文献
14.
Past investment in offspring may be important in determining a parent's ability to reproduce in the future and, hence, should affect the relative value of current offspring. However, there have been surprisingly few clear tests of whether animals actually adjust parental care in response to diminished opportunities for future reproduction. We modified the experimental protocol of Sargent and Gross [Behav Ecol Sociobiol (1985) 17:43–45] to examine offspring desertion by mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos), and decoupled the influence of past investment from expected current benefits by controlling for the effect of offspring age on clutch value. Using 9 years of nest mortality data, we accounted for the increasing prospects of egg survival with clutch age by calculating clutch sizes throughout incubation with equivalent expected benefits. Applying this approach, we experimentally reduced 203 clutches at two different incubation stages such that they had equivalent expected benefits but differed in the amount of past investment. Nest desertion rates did not differ between early- and late-incubated clutches that had equivalent expected benefits. Rather, the probability of desertion increased with the severity of the clutch reduction treatment. These results suggest that female mallards adjust parental care according to the expected benefits of current offspring, rather than to diminished prospects for future reproduction due to past investment. We further examined whether females assessed expected benefits on the basis of clutch size alone or clutch size adjusted for the age of the clutch. Using Akaike's Information Criterion, the most parsimonious model to explain the probability of deserting an experimentally reduced clutch included both the proportion of the clutch remaining and clutch age. Thus, female mallards appear to fine-tune their level of parental care not only according to the relative number of offspring in the clutch, but also to the increased prospects for offspring survival as they age. 相似文献
15.
Michelle Pellissier Scott 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1990,26(1):31-39
Summary Parental behavior that has an impact on the increased survival of offspring, an important factor in the evolution of parental care, can include both guarding and provisioning. The effects of these two components of parental care can be separated and quantified in the burying beetle Nicrophorus orbicollis in which both male and female cooperate to rear young. Although in the absence of competition, reproductive success is reduced by the presence of the second parent in the brood chamber, two parents dramatically reduce the probability that conspecifics will usurp the resource, replace either the male or female, kill the newly hatched brood, and produce a replacement clutch. After the establishment of the burial chamber (but not before) beetles appear to assist their mates in driving off intrasexual competitors. Male assistance in burial does not account for very much of the variance in the speed in which the carcass can be concealed nor are two parents essential to guard against insect predators. There were no significant differences in the duration of parental care by males paired with virgin and non-virgin females suggesting that paternity of the brood for which the male provides care is not a factor determining the length of care. Since male and female reproductive success is limited in Nicrophorus by access to suitable carcasses, many of the typical asymmetries in the costs and benefits of parental care are lacking. However since sperm displacement is not complete, paternity of the replacement clutch, for which the male does not provide care, may be a factor encouraging male desertion before female desertion. Other factors important in the evolution of paternal care, especially the probability of additional reproductive opportunities, are discussed. 相似文献
16.
Jennifer D. Cooper Peter M. Waser Eric C. Hellgren Timothy M. Gabor J. A. DeWoody 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(4):775-785
Sexual dimorphism is common in polygynous species, and there is clear evidence that both intra-sexual competition and female
preferences can drive the evolution of large body size in males. In contrast, sexual monomorphism is often argued to reflect
a relaxation of male mate competition or an intensification of resource competition among females. Alternatively, it might
imply opportunities for females to circumvent or counteract male mate competition in a polygynandrous mating system. We test
the prediction that sexual monorphism is associated with polygynandry in the collared peccary (Pecari tajacu, Tayassuidae), a social ungulate closely related to the old-world suids. The genetic mating system in the Tayassuidae is
unknown, but its sexual monomorphism presents a striking contrast to the strong size dimorphism found in most Suidae, so that
a departure from the polygynous system common in Suidae would be noteworthy. We characterized genetic relationships among
adults within herds in three geographically distinct populations, assigned parents to 75 offspring, and tested for skew in
individual reproductive success. Parentage assignment data indicated that multiple males sire offspring within a herd, and
in the population for which genetic data were most complete, 19% of parentage assignments were potentially sired by extra-herd
males. Some litters have multiple sires, and neither males nor females monopolized reproduction, even in small herds. This
result supports our prediction and suggests that sexual monomorphism may either select for or be an evolutionary consequence
of a promiscuous mating system. 相似文献
17.
Increasing empirical and theoretical evidence supports the idea that sympatric speciation is operating, for example, in species
flocks comprising several closely related fish species within one lake. Divergent natural selection (promoting spatial and
food niche partitioning) and sexual selection (assortative mating) have been identified as key selection factors in intralacustric
adaptive radiations. However, the evolution of social behaviors accompanying such adaptive radiations is less well understood.
Using a phylogenetically young species flock of pupfish (Cyprinodon spp.) as a model, we examined differences among six sympatric species and compared their shoaling, aggressive, and territorial
behaviors with that of a sister species (C. artifrons). Despite an estimated age of the species flock of less than 8,000 years, pronounced behavioral differentiation was found.
C. simus, the smallest species in the flock, shoaled more than the other species and was less aggressive and less territorial than
C. beltrani. F1-hybrids between C. simus males and C. beltrani females showed an intermediate expression of shoaling and aggressive behavior. Niche partitioning among the members of this
species flock appears to be accompanied by rapid divergent evolution of social behaviors. We discuss the potential role of
phenotypic plasticity and within-species variation of social behaviors for such rapid behavioral diversifications in sympatric
speciation processes. 相似文献
18.
Selection should favor flexibility in reproductive tactics when the combination of sexual traits and reproductive behaviors that achieve the highest fitness differs between males within a population. Understanding the functional significance of variation in male reproductive tactics can provide insight into their evolution. Male house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) in a Montana population display continuous variation in parental tactics: males with more elaborated (redder) plumage color provide little or no parental care compared to less elaborated (dull) males. Here, we first determined whether elevation of prolactin (a pituitary hormone) was related to variation in male parental tactics and, second, we used the relationship between prolactin levels and parental behavior to investigate why redder males avoid a high investment in parental care. We found that prolactin elevation was closely associated with paternal care. In addition, males with redder plumage color had low prolactin levels, whereas dull males, which provision twice as frequently, had high levels of prolactin. We also found that male condition was unrelated to plumage color but negatively related to prolactin levels. These results suggest that the low provisioning of redder males was not due to physiological constraints, but instead reflected a tactic to avoid the costs associated with parental care. The condition benefits accrued by redder males may explain their higher post-breeding survival compared to dull males. Moreover, dull males were previously shown to have higher pairing success than redder males, suggesting that the relationship between male plumage color and parental care may reflect individually optimized parental tactics.Communicated by H. Kokko 相似文献
19.
The occurrence of male pregnancy in the family Syngnathidae (seahorses, pipefishes, and sea dragons) provides an exceptionally
fertile system in which to investigate issues related to the evolution of parental care. Here, we take advantage of this unique
reproductive system to study the influence of maternal body size on embryo survivorship in the brood pouches of pregnant males
of the broad-nosed pipefish, Syngnathus typhle. Males were mated with either two large females, two small females, a large then a small female, or a small then a large
female. Our results show that offspring survivorship depends on an interaction between female body size and the number of
eggs transferred by the female. Eggs of larger females deposited in large numbers are more likely to result in viable offspring
than eggs of smaller females laid in large numbers. However, when females deposited smaller numbers of eggs, the eggs from
smaller females were more likely to produce viable offspring compared to those from larger females. We found no evidence that
this result was based on mating order, the relative sizes of competing females, or egg characteristics such as dry weight
of eggs. Additionally, male body size did not significantly influence the survivorship of offspring during brooding. Our results
suggest that the factors underlying offspring survivorship in pipefish may be more complex than previously believed, with
multiple factors interacting to determine the fitness of individual offspring within the broods of pregnant males. 相似文献
20.
Nga Nguyen Russell C. Van Horn Susan C. Alberts Jeanne Altmann 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2009,63(9):1331-1344
Close associations between adult males and lactating females and their dependent infants are not commonly described in non-monogamous
mammals. However, such associations [sometimes called “friendships” (Smuts 1985)] are regularly observed in several primate species in which females mate with multiple males during the fertile period.
The absence of mating exclusivity among “friends” suggests that males should invest little in infant care, raising questions
about the adaptive significance of friendship bonds. Using data from genetic paternity analyses, patterns of behavior, and
long-term demographic and reproductive records, we evaluated the extent to which friendships in four multi-male, multi-female
yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus) groups in Amboseli, Kenya represent joint parental care of offspring or male mating effort. We found evidence that mothers
and infants benefited directly from friendships; friendships provided mother–infant dyads protection from harassment from
other adult and immature females. In addition, nearly half of all male friends were the genetic fathers of offspring and had
been observed mating with mothers during the days of most likely conception for those offspring. In contrast, nearly all friends
who were not fathers were also not observed to consort with the mother during the days of most likely conception, suggesting
that friendships between mothers and non-fathers did not result from paternity confusion. Finally, we found no evidence that
prior friendship increased a male’s chances of mating with a female in future reproductive cycles. Our results suggest that,
for many male–female pairs at Amboseli, friendships represented a form of biparental care of offspring. Males in the remaining
friendship dyads may be trading protection of infants in exchange for some resources or services not yet identified. Our study
is the first to find evidence that female primates gain social benefits from their early associations with adult males.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 相似文献