排序方式: 共有10条查询结果,搜索用时 31 毫秒
1
1.
Certainty of paternity covaries with paternal care in birds 总被引:5,自引:0,他引:5
Summary Male investment in parental care has been hypothesized to be affected or not to be affected by their certainty of paternity, depending on the particular assumptions of theoretical models. We used data on paternal care and extra-pair paternity from 52 bird species to determine whether male parental care was related to certainity of paternity. Paternal care was measured as the relative male contribution to nest building, courtship feeding, incubation, and feeding of nestlings, respectively. Males of avian taxa did not provide less parental care during nest building, courtship feeding and incubation if the frequency of extra-pair paternity was high. However, male participation in feeding of offspring was significantly negatively related to the frequency of extra-pair paternity. This was also the case when the effects of potentially confounding variables such as developmental mode of offspring (which may result in males being freed from parental duties), extent of polygyny (which may result in less paternal care), and the frequency of multiple clutches during one breeding season (which may increase the probability of finding fertile females during the nestling period) were controlled statistically. These results suggest that the extent of paternal care has been affected by certainty of paternity, and that sex roles during the energetically most expensive parts of reproduction have been shaped by sperm competition. 相似文献
2.
Extra-pair paternity and intraspecific brood parasitism in wild zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata,revealed by DNA fingerprinting 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
T. R. Birkhead T. Burke R. Zann F. M. Hunter A. P. Krupa 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1990,27(5):315-324
Summary The frequency of extra-pair parentage in a wild population of zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata was examined by DNA fingerprinting. A total of 25 families, comprising 16 pairs of parents and 92 offspring (in broods of 1 to 6) were examined. Ten cases of extra-pair parentage, presumed to constitute intraspecific brood parasitism, were detected (10.9% of offspring or 36% of broods), including one possible instance of quasi-parasitism (parasitism by a female fertilized by the male nest owner). The average number of parasitic eggs per clutch detected by fingerprinting was 1.10±0.32 SD, very similar to the one egg difference in average clutch size between parasitised (6.0±0.82) and unparasitised nests (5.0±0.95). Two cases of extra-pair paternity (EPP) were detected among 82 offspring whose maternity was confirmed: 2.4% of offspring, or 8% of broods. In both cases EPP accounted for only a single offspring within a brood. Behavioural observations show that EPP occurs through extra-pair copulation rather than rapid mate switching. The results are discussed in the light of what is known about the fertile period and sperm precedence patterns in this species.
Offprint requests to: T.R. Birkhead 相似文献
3.
Copulatory plug displacement and prolonged copulation in the Iberian rock lizard (Lacerta monticola)
Male Iberian rock lizards (Lacerta monticola) produce copulatory plugs that adhere firmly inside the female cloaca and occlude both oviducts. These plugs do not prevent rival male insemination, as they neither reduce female attractiveness or receptivity to rival males nor do they function as chastity belts. Prior to copulation, males bite various regions of the female body, including the cloacal region. A previous plug in the female cloaca is expelled only after rival male intromission. We hypothesized that: (1) such male pre-copulatory behaviours function to loosen plug adherence to the female cloaca, thereby facilitating intromission, and that (2) the hemipenis plays a role in displacing a previous plug prior to the delivery of a new plug. Neither of these hypotheses was supported. Instead, our results indicate that rival males can intromit the hemipenis past a previous plug in the female cloaca and deliver their own plug underneath it. Consequently, previous plugs are pushed away from the oviductal openings and even dislodged from the female cloaca. Copulation duration was determined both by the time used by males to deliver a plug and by the fact that males prolonged copulation beyond plug delivery. There seemed to be sexual conflict over prolonged copulation, which was resolved by the male/female head-length ratio. The adaptive value of Iberian rock lizard copulatory plugs and prolonged copulation in Iberian rock lizards is discussed in the context of sperm competition.Communicated by S. Downes 相似文献
4.
Summary We built models of sperm competition and compared their predictions with observations from domestic chickens in an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of sperm competition. The models suggest that (1) observed levels of precedence of sperm are not merely a passive consequence of the greater mortality of sperm from earlier inseminations; (2) displacement of existing sperm from sperm storage tubules by incoming sperm explains observed levels of sperm precedence and disappearance from the reproductive tract, even in the absence of recognition of sperm from different inseminations; (3) stratification of sperm within the sperm storage tubules fails as an explanation of observed patterns of sperm precedence and disappearance because long-term levels of sperm precedence as high as those observed can only be predicted in combination with rates of disappearance of sperm much lower than those observed in chickens. The predictions of sperm precedence levels following multiple inseminations also suggest that displacement rather than stratification is the most likely mechanism of sperm competition in chickens. We discuss the consequences of male or female control of sperm competition, non-uniform distribution of sperm between sperm storage tubules, and variation in sperm precedence with time after the last insemination, and suggest ways in which the models may be used in future to aid in the elucidation of mechanisms of sperm competition.
Offprint requests to: C.M. Lessells 相似文献
5.
Stefan Lüpold George M. Linz Tim R. Birkhead 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2009,63(6):899-909
Post-copulatory sexual selection (PCSS) is thought to be one of the evolutionary forces responsible for the rapid and divergent
evolution of sperm design. However, whereas in some taxa particular sperm traits are positively associated with PCSS, in other
taxa, these relationships are negative, and the causes of these different patterns across taxa are poorly understood. In a
comparative study using New World blackbirds (Icteridae), we tested whether sperm design was influenced by the level of PCSS
and found significant positive associations with the level of PCSS for all sperm components but head length. Additionally,
whereas the absolute length of sperm components increased, their variation declined with the intensity of PCSS, indicating
stabilising selection around an optimal sperm design. Given the diversity of, and strong selection on, sperm design, it seems
likely that sperm phenotype may influence sperm velocity within species. However, in contrast to other recent studies of passerine
birds, but consistent with several other studies, we found no significant link between sperm design and velocity, using four
different species that vary both in sperm design and PCSS. Potential reasons for this discrepancy between studies are discussed.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 相似文献
6.
Patterns of courtship behavior and ejaculate characteristics in male red-winged blackbirds 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
David F. Westneat Lisa A. McGraw Jennifer M. Fraterrigo Tim R. Birkhead F. Fletcher 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1998,43(3):161-171
Sperm competition in birds is likely to have important effects on the behavior and physiology of reproduction in both sexes.
For males, such competition should select for large sperm reserves and behavioral adjustment of copulation when reserves are
low. We investigated both these possibilities in free-living red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), a highly polygynous species with apparently strong sperm competition. We found that the recent copulatory behavior of males
did not affect the propensity to copulate with a model female. Ejaculates collected from individual males at 1-h intervals
showed no evidence of sperm depletion, yet repeated ejaculates collected less than 10 min apart did. Male ejaculate size was
significantly larger if it was the first one of the day (i.e., after an overnight rest). The average ejaculate size was 12.5
(±12.5 SD) million sperm. Males captured during the breeding season had an average of 111.7 (±52.8) million sperm stored in
their seminal glomera. Because males average a peak copulation rate of six per female per day, in one day a male might utilize
all the sperm in his seminal glomera if more than two females on his territory are fertilizable. We hypothesize that polygyny
and sperm competition in this species have combined to select for rapid replenishment of the seminal glomera throughout the
day, in contrast to other species that have been studied. Testis size and sperm reserves of male red-winged blackbirds are
intermediate between monogamous species and species with intense sperm competition. Several possible explanations for this
are discussed.
Received: 21 October 1997 / Accepted after revision: 15 February 1998 相似文献
7.
Stefan Lüpold Tim R. Birkhead David F. Westneat 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2012,66(12):1607-1617
Many reproductive traits, including ejaculate characteristics, usually show remarkable seasonal variation, but the potential for such dynamics in sperm morphology has been overlooked. Several studies have revealed high within-male repeatability in sperm morphology, but samples have typically been collected within a few hours or days, and the consistency of sperm morphology over longer periods remains unexplored. Here, we tested whether ejaculate traits, including sperm morphology, sperm number, and sperm velocity, exhibit seasonal phenotypic plasticity in a long-lived seasonal breeder, the red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). We found absolute and/or relative flagellum length and sperm velocity to increase across the season, whereas sperm numbers within ejaculates declined. Sperm morphological traits were further positively associated with harem size or the total number of offspring that fledged in each male’s territory, suggesting that sperm morphology is likely to be linked to male reproductive quality. The underlying mechanisms of these patterns of seasonal variation remain unresolved, but we discuss our results in the context of dynamics of reproductive hormones, testicular structures and function, and reproductive behavior. 相似文献
8.
Summary Male passerine birds store sperm in a cloacal protuberance during the breeding season. We consider three hypotheses to explain interspecific variation in relative cloacal protuberance size. The copulation efficiency hypothesis states that a relatively large cloacal protuberance facilitates sperm transfer and predicts more rapid copulation in species with larger protuberances. There is insufficient data to test this idea rigorously, but we found no evidence for such an effect. The spermatozoa size hypothesis is a non-functional hypothesis which states that cloacal protuberance size is merely a consequence of sperm size, and predicts that species with larger spermatozoa have relatively larger cloacal protuberances. Sperm length was positively correlated with protuberance size, providing support for this hypothesis, although it seems unlikely that variation in sperm size alone is sufficient to account for variation in protuberance size because the numbers of sperm stored in the cloacal protuberance were also positively correlated with its size. The sperm competition hypothesis states that the cloacal protuberance is a sperm store and predicts that when sperm competition is intense, as measured by male copulation frequency and or mating system, males will have relatively large protuberances and testes mass. The sperm competition hypothesis was supported: in a comparative study in which we controlled for phylogenetic effects, relative cloacal protuberance size was significantly and positively correlated with copulation frequency. Across all mating systems protuberance size was also positively correlated with the mass of seminal glomera tissue, the number of sperm stored in the seminal glomera, and with relative testes size. These results suggest that where sperm competition is intense, a large cloacal protuberance is required to maintain a large sperm reserve for a high copulation rate.Correspondence to: T.R. Birkhead 相似文献
9.
The buffalo weavers, Bubalornis spp., are unique amongst birds in possessing a phalloid organ, a phallus-like structure anterior to the cloaca. We studied the red-billed buffalo weaver Bubalornis niger, to determine whether the phalloid organ has evolved in response to sperm competition. The phalloid organ was significantly longer in males that were resident at nests than in non-resident males, and among resident males was significantly longer in those males with a harem than in those without. Red-billed buffalo weavers bred colonially and had either a cooperatively polygynandrous (usually two unrelated males and several females) or a polygynous (one male and several females) mating system. Cooperative polygynandry provided females with the opportunity to copulate with more than one male and paternity analyses using DNA fingerprinting revealed that 63% of 16 multiple-offspring broods, comprising 43 offspring, had multiple sires, which included both nest-owning males and extra-group males. Sperm competition was therefore intense. Observations and experiments with buffalo weavers in captivity revealed that the phalloid organ was not intromittent during copulation, but functioned as a stimulatory organ which necessitated protracted copulation in order to induce male 'orgasm' and ejaculation, a feature apparently unique to this species. 相似文献
10.
Sexual selection in the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata : condition, sex traits and immune capacity 总被引:5,自引:2,他引:3
The aim of this study was to test two hypotheses: (1) that condition-dependent secondary sexual traits reflect an individual's
immune capacity and (2) that immune capacity and secondary sexual traits covary with primary sex traits, specifically ejaculate
quality. We used the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata as a study species, since the traits that females find attractive in males of this species, song rate and beak colour, are
well established. A paired experimental design comprising 31 pairs of brothers was used; for each pair, one male was assigned
to a control group provided with ad libitum food and no additional exercise, and the other male was assigned to an experimental
group which experienced additional exercise and a reduced rate of food intake. After 11 weeks, the experimental group differed
significantly from the control group in a range of variables, including body mass, haematocrit, granulocyte:lymphocyte (G:L)
ratio and several primary sex traits, indicating that condition in this group was reduced. Birds in the experimental group
showed a differential response to the treatment. We used the rank order in which birds could be captured by an experimenter
as an index of condition. Birds easily caught were assumed to be in poorer condition than those which were more difficult
to capture. Rank capture order was repeatable and was significantly correlated with the G:L ratio in the experimental group,
but not in the control group. In the experimental group, rank capture order was correlated significantly with both secondary
sex traits: birds in better condition had redder beaks and a higher song rate. However, beak colour and song rate did not
covary significantly, suggesting that these two traits provide different types of information. Secondary sex traits did not
covary with primary sex traits or any sperm features. Thus, there was no evidence for Trivers' sexual-competence hypothesis
or the phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis. We used four assays of immune capacity, two general (G:L ratio and spleen mass)
and two specific [antibody titres to sheep red blood cells (SRBCs) and Brucella abortus (BA)]. The G:L ratio was significantly higher in the experimental group, spleen mass (absolute and relative) did not differ
between the groups, anti-SRBC antibody titres were significantly higher in the control group (contrary to expectation), and
anti-BA antibody titres were close to being significantly lower in the experimental group. Within the experimental group,
there was no evidence that antibody titres covaried with secondary sex traits. Although we demonstrated that beak colour and
song rate were condition dependent, our experiment provided no evidence that either of these traits covaried with immune capacity
or sperm features.
Received: 9 February 1998 / Accepted after revision: 5 September 1998 相似文献
1