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1.
The reproductive behaviour of 248 specimens comprising four size classes of the infaunal bivalve Abra alba (Wood) was investigated between September 1994 and November 1995 in Kinsale Harbour. Small males returned a very small proportion of sexually mature and spawning animals. By contrast, no spawning females were found in this size class, suggesting that males develop and mature at a smaller size than females. Mean gonad maturity indices indicated that, except for the smallest size class, A. alba exhibits two spawning events in 1 year, i.e. a lesser spring and a major autumn spawning event. The spring event was well synchronised between males and females, while the autumn spawning was more broadly synchronised between the sexes. Only one spawning event was recorded for very large males and females, also occurring in spring. Spawning stages were recorded for both sexes over all size classes between February and November, indicating only a short period of sexual repose, if any. Oocyte diameters did not show a discrete size range from developing to spawning stages. All stages were seen to contain varying proportions of smaller, less mature oocytes, suggesting that large A. alba females do not develop and spawn en bloc, but release their gametes periodically. Maturity indices showed only a broad similarity with off-bottom temperatures.Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe 相似文献
2.
Troy G. Murphy 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(6):911-918
Both males and females of many avian species maintain elaborate plumage traits, and elaborate monomorphic plumage may convey
adaptive benefits to one or both sexes as inter- or intraspecific signals. Both sexes of the turquoise-browed motmot (Eumomota superciliosa) are elaborately plumed with long racket-tipped tail. I investigated whether the racketed tail functions as a sexually selected
signal in one or both sexes by testing the predictions that males and/or females with the largest tails have: (1) greater
pairing success, (2) greater reproductive performance (clutch-initiation date, clutch size, and hatching success), and (3)
greater reproductive success. Yearling males with longer denuded rachises (wires) on the central tail feathers had greater
pairing success. In addition, adult males with longer wires paired with females who laid larger clutches, had greater hatching
success independent of clutch size, and fledged more young. There was no relationship between female tail plumage and pairing
success, reproductive performance, or fledgling success. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that male tail plumage
functions as a mate choice or status signal, but that the tail of the female does not function in a sexually selected context.
I discuss alternative hypotheses for the evolutionary maintenance of the elaborate female tail plumage. 相似文献
3.
Male limitation of female reproductive success in a pipefish: effects of body-size differences 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
Summary In the pipefish Syngnathus typhle, a species with exclusive male parental care, males limit female reproductive success because of their limited brood pouch space and long pregnancy. Sexual size dimorphism is absent in these 1-year-old animals but increases with age so that older females are larger than similarly aged males. Because fecundity is related to size in both sexes and increases more rapidly with body size in females than in males, the difference in growth increases female fecundity more, relative to male fecundity, as the fish get older. We therefore predicted that male limitation of female reproductive success is even more severe when all age classes are considered. To measure a female's maximum reproductive rate, she was provided with three males. Small 1-year-old females produced as many eggs, or produced eggs at the same rate, as a male of similar size could care for. Small females filled on average 1.06 males within the time span of one male pregnancy and actually produced on average 10 eggs fewer than needed to fill a similarly sized male. Large 2-year-old females, in contrast, produced on average a surplus of 149 eggs and filled 2.7 similarly sized males within the course of one pregnancy. The difference between females of the two size classes was highly significant. Males prefer to mate with larger females if given a choice. In nature sex ratios are equal, and males limit female reproductive success in the whole population. Therefore, small females are more severely constrained by mate availability than are larger females because males choose to mate with larger females.
Offprint requests to: A Berglund 相似文献
4.
Mass individual pairing or pseudo-copulation of the sea star Archaster angulatus was observed in November and December 2009, suggesting a late-spring/summer spawning period for this species on the west
coast of Australia. Detailed measurements were made on the second of these occasions. Density of sea stars was 1.11 per m2 and 68.5% were in mating pairs. Copulating pairs were mostly male on female, occasionally male on male. There was no difference
in size between males and females in mating pairs. No evidence was found to indicate mating and spawning is coincident with
lunar or tidal cycles. Females outnumbered males by more than 20%, but the difference in sex ratio was not statistically significant.
Analysis of the reproductive cycle revealed that gonad indices reached their peak in October and declined from then until
January. Histological sections of gonads confirmed that sea stars are in peak reproductive condition in October and November
and are fully spent by January. Males have a much lower (ca. 1/3rd) gonad index than females when each are in peak reproductive
condition, the second lowest recorded for any sea star. Pyloric caecae indices showed little annual variation and monthly
averages of just 3–4% are among the lowest ever recorded for an asteroid. It is suggested that these characteristics are associated
with the copulatory behaviour of the deposit feeding A. angulatus, enabling the species to maintain a high level of fertilisation success while also minimising the allocation of energy to
gonad development in habitats with low or variable food availability. However, it is still difficult to explain why a species
which ensures a high level of fertilisation by pseudo-copulation also does this en masse and synchronously. One hypothesis
is that competition for males and the benefits of having eggs fertilised by multiple males favours both synchrony and aggregation. 相似文献
5.
Behavioral and physiological correlates of vernal reproduction and molting were investigated experimentally in laboratory-held
spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus Latreille) from Florida to determine their control by photoperiod and temperature. Behavioral measures included courtship,
copulation and aggression; physiological measures included the timing and frequency of ecdysis, spermatophore emplacement,
oviposition, egg hatching, and setal (pleopod) and gonadal development. Behavior resembled that observed in nature, as evidenced
in the expression of complete reproductive cycles. Long daylengths and warmer temperatures enhanced courtship, spawning frequencies,
and female gonadal development, although gonadal recrudescence occurred in large females irrespective of photoperiod. A significant
interaction effect between photoperiod and temperature indicated a need to examine joint, non-independent factor effects upon
reproductive parameters. Photoperiod and temperature did not significantly influence aggression and male gonadal development.
Photoperiod did not affect molting rates significantly. However, warm temperatures enhanced molting and growth such that sub-adult
and young adult lobsters (both sexes) had highest molting rates, followed by large adult males, which in turn had higher rates
than reproductively active females. Female setal development correlated positively with female size, and changed abruptly
at ecdysis. Although setal lengths were highly variable, setae of 9 mm or more signified sexual maturity. Reproduction and
molting were size-dependent: the largest adults mated or spawned, the smallest molted, and intermediate-sized ones either
mated, or molted before mating. Spiny-lobster reproductive and molting patterns were influenced by photoperiod and temperature
in a complex manner depending upon sex, season, size and developmental state. 相似文献
6.
Summary In order to understand the causes of sexual dimorphism, mate choice and size-related fecundity were studied in two pipefish species, Syngnathus typhle and Nerophis ophidion. Sexual dimorphism is more pronounced in N. ophidion; females are larger, have sexual colourings, and are more active during courtship. In S. typhle the sexes are alike in all these respects. Males brood their offspring in both species. In N. ophidion fecundity was positively correlated with both body size and the amount of sexual colouring in females. In males no correlation between body size and fecundity, or between body size and embryo size existed. Predictably, in mate choice experiments with equal-sized females, males chose females with more extensive sexual colourings. We explain sexual dimorphism in this species as a consequence of both natural selection (fecundity increases with size in females but not in males) and sexual selection (males prefer larger females). We argue that sexual size dimorphism did not evolve by selection minimizing overlap in food niches between the sexes, because food production is high in the Zostera beds where the fishes live, and no size dimorphism was found in the sympatrically occurring S. typhle. Furthermore, in N. ophidion dimorphism is not greater in a particular mouth character than in overall body size. In S. typhle egg size and the average number of eggs transferred per spawning were positively correlated with female body size. Apparently more energy per offspring was provided by larger males than by smaller males, and larger males also carried more offspring. As predicted, large mates were preferred by both sexes in mate choice experiments. This is explicable in terms of both natural selection (fecundity increases with size in both sexes) and sexual selection (both sexes prefer large mates). As a consequence of selection acting in the same direction in both sexes, sexual dimorphism is absent in S. typhle. 相似文献
7.
Microscopic analysis and field sampling procedures were used to compare demographic and reproductive strategies of the intertidal
wedge clam Donax hanleyanus (Bivalvia: Donacidae) in two exposed sandy beaches with contrasting morphodynamics (reflective vs. dissipative) during 13
consecutive months. Histological analysis showed that: (1) the reproductive cycle of D. hanleyanus was more extended in the dissipative beach, and this was true for all the three pre-active (beginning of gonadal activity),
active (maturation) and spawning stages; and (2) males and females showed significantly smaller sizes at sexual maturity at
the reflective beach. Even though successive increments in proportion and mature at size were observed, the sigmoid function
was significantly steeper at the reflective Arachania for both sexes, suggesting an abrupt transition to maturity. Field sampling
revealed a more extended recruitment period at the dissipative beach, where recruits were also significantly more abundant
than at the reflective beach. These results give support for the habitat harshness hypothesis, which predicts that in intertidal
species capable of sustaining populations across a wide spectrum of physical conditions, such as D. hanleyanus, abundance, recruitment, size at maturity and extent of reproductive and recruitment seasons increase from reflective to
dissipative beaches. However, a recent hypothesis suggests that reflective beaches acting as sink populations were not sustained,
because mature and spawning individuals of both sexes were found in the reflective beach throughout the study period. Thus,
we suggest that post-settlement processes are critical in modulating population patterns for this bivalve. 相似文献
8.
Sjouke A. Kingma István Szentirmai Tamás Székely Veronika Bókony Maarten Bleeker András Liker Jan Komdeur 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2008,62(8):1277-1288
Melanin-based ornaments are often involved in signaling aggression and dominance, and their role in sexual selection is increasingly
recognized. We investigated the functions of a melanin-based plumage ornament (facial ‘mask’) in male Eurasian penduline tits
Remiz pendulinus in the contexts of male–male aggression, mating success, and parental care. The penduline tit is a passerine bird with a
unique mating system in which both sexes may mate with several mates in a breeding season, and one (or both) parent deserts
the clutch. Our study revealed that mask size of males is more likely an honest signal used by females in their mate choice
decisions than a trait involved in male–male competition. First, mask size increased with both age and body condition, indicating
that the mask may signal male quality. Second, males with larger masks paired more quickly and had more mates over the breeding
season than males with smaller masks. Third, we found no evidence that male mask size signals male–male aggression or dominance
during competitive encounters. The increased mating success of large-masked males, however, did not translate into higher
reproductive success, as nestling survival decreased with mask size. Therefore, we conclude that there is either no directional
selection on male mask size or males with larger masks receive indirect, long-term benefits. 相似文献
9.
Diego Rubolini Roberto Ambrosini Maria Romano Manuela Caprioli Mauro Fasola Andrea Bonisoli-Alquati Nicola Saino 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2009,63(12):1809-1819
Non-random sex allocation may occur whenever the expected reproductive value of sons and daughters differs, as is the case when the sexes differ in susceptibility to environmental conditions or maternal effects (e.g. egg size and hatch order). Under such circumstances, covariation between egg and clutch characteristics and egg sex may be expected, and this covariation should vary with maternal state or ecological conditions. In this 2-year study (2007–2008), we examined sex allocation in relation to egg and clutch traits in the yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis, a species where male chicks are larger and more susceptible to harsh rearing conditions than female ones. In 2008, eggs were more likely male early in the season in two- but not three-egg clutches, and large eggs were more likely males late in the season. No egg/clutch traits predicted egg sex in 2007. Within-clutch egg mass asymmetry (the difference in egg mass between the first- and last-laid eggs) predicted sex in both years. In 2007, clutches with smaller egg mass variation were more likely to contain males, while in 2008 this relationship held for the last-laid egg and was reversed for the preceding egg(s). Laying order and sex of the previous egg did not predict egg sex, providing no evidence of sex-specific oocyte clustering. Thus, the relationships between egg sex and egg/clutch traits differed among years, suggesting a phenotypically plastic response of females to extrinsic conditions, and involved within-clutch egg mass asymmetry, a trait likely reflecting variation in maternal quality and/or reproductive tactics, which has been largely neglected in previous studies of sex allocation. 相似文献
10.
Luc A. Wauters Simon A. de Crombrugghe Nadia Nour Erik Matthysen 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1995,37(3):189-193
In polygynous roe deer Capreolus capreolus, males are only slightly heavier than females and the overall sex ratio at birth is close to unity. We studied offspring sex ratio and litter size (range 1–4, n = 74) of culled females, in utero, which provided an opportunity to examine responses of sex ratio to maternal condition. Male embryos were heavier than their sisters, and male fawns (9 months old) heavier than female fawns, suggesting a higher growth rate in males. There was no evidence for differential mortality between the sexes from birth to 9 months old. Heavier adult females produced larger embryos than lighter, or primiparous females. The overall sex ratio of embryos did not differ from unity, but adult does had more male embryos (55%) than primiparous does (32%), and the proportion of male embryos in a litter increased with the mother's body mass. Litter size also tended to increase with maternal age and body mass. We argue that this pattern reflects adaptive variation in offspring sex ratio. 相似文献
11.
In polygynous and sexually dimorphic mammals, parents may be expected to bias their investment towards sons because variation in reproductive success is usually higher among males than among females. Moreover, male reproductive success often depends on adult body size, which, in turn, may depend on the level of parental investment. We therefore predicted that in the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), a polygynous and sexually dimorphic phocid seal, females should invest more in individual sons than in individual daughters. We found that male pups were born heavier than female pups, but that the growth rates and suckling behaviour were similar for the two sexes. The growth rates and the birth weights were not correlated for the pups of either sex. Mothers did not behave differentially towards offspring of the two sexes, except that mothers of male pups spent more time in visual contact with their pups. Male and female pups had similar activity levels and begged at similar rates. We argue that reports of equal expenditure on the two sexes can be accepted as evidence of equal investment, provided that three assumptions are fulfilled. First, parental care must be costly to the parent. Second, energy expenditure must be the most important component of parental investment. Third, there must be no negative correlation between maternal body condition and the ratio of sons to daughters produced. We argue that these assumptions are met in our study, and that our results provide evidence of equal maternal investment in the sexes in grey seals. 相似文献
12.
Joanna M. Setchell Marie Charpentier E. Jean Wickings 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2005,58(5):474-485
In sexually dimorphic, polygynous species, where males provide little parental care and competition between males for access to fertile females is high, sexual selection theory predicts sex differences in age-specific reproductive output and mortality profiles, and greater variance in lifetime reproductive success in males than in females. We examined age-specific reproductive output, mortality patterns and the extent and causes of variation in reproductive success for a semi-free-ranging colony of mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx, Cercopithecidae) in Franceville, Gabon, using long-term (20 year) demographic records and microsatellite parentage analysis. Although differences in the demography and feeding ecology of this closed, provisioned colony, in comparison with wild mandrills, limit interpretation of our results, sex differences in reproductive output and mortality showed the patterns predicted by sexual selection theory. Mortality was higher in males than in females after sexual maturity, and lifespan was significantly shorter in males (mean 14 year) than in females (>22 year). Age at first reproduction was significantly earlier in females (mean 4.2 year) than in males (11.6 year), and male reproductive output declined earlier. All females of breeding age produced offspring; while only 17 of 53 sexually mature males (32%) sired. Males sired a maximum of 41 offspring, versus 17 in females, and variance in male reproductive output was significantly greater than in females at all ages. The most important influence on variation in lifetime reproductive output in both sexes was joint variation between length of the breeding period and reproductive rate, due to lower reproductive rates in younger animals. Finally, social rank significantly influenced reproductive output in both sexes: high-ranking females began their reproductive careers earlier and had a higher subsequent reproductive rate than low-ranking females, while males that achieved top rank during their career sired far more offspring than males that did not.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at 相似文献
13.
This study devised a staging system for, and monitored, the gonad development of the limpet species Patella vulgata and Patella ulyssiponensis on the South West coast of Ireland using histological techniques. Maturation began in the males of both species in January
and in the females it began in March. There was no statistical difference in gonad development between sexes and between species.
Spawning in the male P. vulgata occurred from September to December 2003 and in September and October 2004. In female P. vulgata spawning occurred from October to December 2003, no spawning of females was observed in 2004. In male P. ulyssiponensis spawning occurred in November and December 2003 and from September 2004 to December 2004. Spawning was observed from November
2003 to January 2004 and in September 2004 in female P. ulyssiponensis. Sex ratios also varied between the species and between months sampled. Nevertheless more males were observed in both species. 相似文献
14.
Although external sexually dimorphic traits are commonly found in males of combtooth blenny species, little is known about
the benefit they can convey to male mating success. Indeed, while female preferences for large males have been demonstrated
in some species, the possible role played by dimorphic ornaments has been neglected. We now report on the tentacled blenny,
Parablennius tentacularis, a species where males are characterized by bulb glands on the anal fin and both sexes exhibit a dark spot on the dorsal
fin and orbital tentacles. Males are territorial, make nests in empty bivalve shells, and provide solitary parental care for
the eggs. Using morphometric analysis and field collected data on male and female external features, nest characteristics
and number of eggs in the nests, we have assessed the development of dimorphic traits in both sexes and male mating success.
The results reveal that orbital tentacles of males are more developed and more variable in size than those of females. Larger
males exhibit longer orbital tentacles and larger anal glands but do not necessarily occupy larger nests. Male mating success
is significantly correlated with the inner nest surface area and with orbital tentacle size but not with body size. These
results provide support for a primary role of male ornaments in enhancing blenny male mating success and are discussed in
the context of mate choice for direct and indirect benefits. 相似文献
15.
Véronique Thériault Louis Bernatchez Julian J. Dodson 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,62(1):51-65
Salmonids are known for the occurrence in sympatry of two life-history forms, one that undergoes migration to sea before returning
to freshwater to reproduce (anadromous) and one that inhabits freshwater without a migration phase (resident). Whereas one
breeding population is often suggested by population genetic studies, mating patterns have rarely been directly assessed,
especially when both sexes are found within each life-history form. By using highly polymorphic microsatellite loci and parentage
analysis in a natural population of sympatric anadromous and resident brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis), we found that gene flow occurred between the two forms and was mediated by resident males mating with both resident and
anadromous females. Determinants of reproductive success, estimated by the number of surviving juveniles (ages 1 and 2 years),
differed between the sexes. No strong evidence of the influence of size on individual reproductive success was found for males,
whereas larger females (and hence most likely to be anadromous) were more successful. The higher individual reproductive success
of anadromous fish compared to residents was mainly explained by this higher reproductive success of anadromous females. We
suggest that resident males adopt a “sneaking” reproductive tactic as a way of increasing their reproductive success by mating
with females of all sizes in all habitats. The persistence of the resident tactic among females may be linked to their advantage
in accessing spatially constrained spawning areas in small tributary streams unavailable to larger females. 相似文献
16.
Male migratory birds tend to be more faithful than females to previous breeding sites, suggesting sex differences in costs or benefits of dispersal. In Illinois, greater site fidelity by male yellow-headed blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) was associated with reduced reproductive success the following year for dispersers relative to non-dispersers. Dispersing females suffered no reduction in reproductive success the following year. Males that attracted few social mates, and thus had low reproductive success, were more likely to disperse, whereas females dispersed in response to low-patch reproductive success, regardless of their individual performance. Males that dispersed appeared to be successful acquiring territories because none was observed as a floater. The rate of dispersal by males in this low-density population was greater than in more dense populations where dispersing males may be less successful at acquiring territories. Despite success at obtaining territories, males that dispersed acquired territories on the periphery of wetlands where fewer females nested, resulting in lower reproductive success. In the second year after dispersing, however, males moved onto more central territories where they acquired larger harems. Thus, dispersal by males may be a long-term strategy requiring at least 2 years for benefits to be realized. Long-term success was enhanced because dispersing males moved to wetlands on which reproductive success was higher than on the wetlands they left. In addition to demonstrating that both individual and patch reproductive success affect dispersal decisions, these data indicate that when evaluating costs and benefits of dispersal, researchers should use a time frame beyond 1 year. 相似文献
17.
Large male advantage for access to females: evidence of male-male competition and female discrimination in a territorial salamander 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Alicia Mathis 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1991,29(2):133-138
Summary In the natural habitat visited in this study, adult male red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) found near females were significantly larger than adult males found alone; there was no evidence for size assortative associations. Previous research has indicated that females associate preferentially with males that occupy high quality territories and that larger individuals are more successful at obtaining higher quality areas. In laboratory experiments, when resource quality was held constant and males were restrained so that male-male interactions were prohibited, females discriminated behaviorally between large and small males by spending more time visually and chemically assessing larger males and more time apparently attempting to leave the chamber when near smaller males. Females were found near the larger males at the end of the trials significantly more often than predicted by chance. In a separate experiment in which only females were restrained, larger males spent significantly more time in aggressive postures when paired with smaller males than when alone with the female. Smaller males spent significantly more time in submissive postures when paired with larger males and more time near the female when alone. Therefore, large body size of males may positively affect both intra- and intersexual interactions and, ultimately, mating success of male P. cinereus. 相似文献
18.
Summary We studied oviposition, feeding and mating behavior of the water striders Limnoporus dissortis and L. notabilis in sympatric and allopatric populations occurring on semi-permanent ponds in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Here we describe the mating system of the species and consider the evolution and maintenance of reproductive strategies employed by both sexes. Females of both species oviposited along edges of floating vegetation, either with a guarding, postcopulatory male in attendance, or alone and independent of copulation. Some females ovipositing alone were discovered by males, and when pressed for copulation, either (1) abandoned oviposition or (2) copulated and then resumed oviposition. Females that oviposited with a guarding male laid more eggs than those that completed oviposition alone. Most breeding females accepted prey offered experimentally, while a large proportion of males rejected prey but responded to model gerrids with aggressive displays and mating behavior. Males displayed three mating tactics: (1) territorial-signaling (TS), (2) patrol-signaling (PS), and (3) silent patrolling (SP). All territorial males produced surface waves from oviposition sites before attempting to mate. Some patrolling males signaled, while approaching potential mates as an aid in sex discrimination, but others did not signal and mounted both males and females. When presented with dead gerrid models, males of L. notabilis discriminated between sexes while those of L. dissortis mounted both male and female conspecifics. Collectively, males employing TS tactics fertilized more eggs than patrolling males and TS males of L. notabilis fertilized relatively more eggs than those of L. dissortis. Individual males switched frequently between territorial and patrolling behavior both under natural conditions and in field exclosures. TS males gave more signals per encounter than PS males suggesting that signaling varies with male dominance. Choice of tactic did not depend upon hunger level and was not associated with significant differences in body length in single-species populations. However, in a mixed population, the smaller males of L. dissortis were rarely territorial and signaled infrequently. 相似文献
19.
Kelley J. Kissner Patrick J. Weatherhead H. Lisle Gibbs 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2005,59(2):207-214
To resolve conflicting field observations regarding the action of sexual selection, we used breeding experiments and paternity analysis of the 927 resulting offspring to assess how male size, condition, tail length, genetic similarity to the female, and variation in operational sex ratio (OSR) affected male reproductive success and the incidence of polyandry in northern watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon). Only size affected male mating success. Large males were more successful, but only when male size varied substantially and competition among males was intense (i.e., male-biased OSR). The conditional nature of the size advantage may explain why studies of free-living watersnakes have produced inconsistent results regarding the relationship between male size and mating success. Size differences between males did not affect the proportion of offspring each male sired within multiply sired litters. We found positive size-assortative mating, but only when the OSR was female biased, suggesting that smaller males had improved access to females when competition among males was reduced, but that competition with larger males still restricted mating opportunities of small males to less preferred, smaller females. Most litters (58%) were multiply sired and larger females were more likely to produce multiply sired litters, similar to free-living watersnakes. There was no association between the incidence of multiple paternity and OSR, however, suggesting that polyandry is not simply a function of opportunity, with females passively waiting for males to court them. 相似文献
20.
Amy C. Dolan Michael T. Murphy Lucas J. Redmond Debbie Duffield 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2009,63(10):1527-1537
Sex allocation theory predicts that if variance in reproductive success differs between the sexes, females who are able to
produce high-quality young should bias offspring sex ratio towards the sex with the higher potential reproductive success.
We tested the hypothesis that high-quality (i.e., heavy) female eastern kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) that bred early in the breeding season would produce male-biased clutches. A significant opportunity for sexual selection
also exists in this socially monogamous but cryptically polygamous species, and we predicted that successful extra-pair (EP)
sires would be associated with an excess of male offspring. Although population brood sex ratio did not differ from parity,
it increased significantly with female body mass and declined with female breeding date, but was independent of the morphology
and display (song) behavior (correlates of reproductive success) of social males and EP sires. Male offspring were significantly
heavier than female offspring at fledging. Moreover, the probability that male offspring were resighted in subsequent years
declined with breeding date, and was greater in replacement clutches, but lower when clutch size was large. Probability of
resighting female offspring varied annually, but was independent of all other variables. Given that variance in reproductive
success of male kingbirds is much greater than that of females, and that male offspring are more expensive to produce and
have a higher probability of recruitment if fledged early in the season, our results support predictions of sex allocation
theory: high-quality (heavy) females breeding when conditions were optimal for male recruitment produced an excess of sons. 相似文献