The evolution of bird song: comparative analyses

1992 ◽  
Vol 338 (1284) ◽  
pp. 165-187 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Species Differences ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Song Complexity ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Behavioural Factors ◽  
Syllable Repertoire ◽  
Alternative Solutions ◽  
Song Repertoires

Several ecological and behavioural factors are correlated with interspecific differences in the complexity and tem poral arrangem ent of passerine songs. For example, song repertoires are larger in species where males provide more parental care; syllable repertoire sizes are greater in polygynous species; migrants have larger song and syllable repertoires; and more vocalization during a song bout is associated with higher fecundities and lower metabolic rates. These associations often differ at different taxonomic levels, suggesting that the factors causing divergence in song characters within genera are different from those responsible for divergence among more distantly related taxa. In general, correlates of greater song complexity can be interpreted as those factors likely to produce more intense inter- or intra-sexual selection (polygyny, migration, paternal care). Measures of song output are correlated with factors likely to be associated with species differences in energetic requirements (metabolic rate) or reproductive effort (fecundity). The ecological and behavioural correlates of within-song complexity differ from those of between-song complexity, suggesting that they are not alternative solutions to the same selective pressures

Moderate water restriction differentially constrains reproduction in two species of dwarf hamster (Phodopus)

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 1589-1596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Scribner ◽  
Katherine E. Wynne-Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Species Differences ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Biparental Care ◽  
Water Restriction ◽  
Phodopus Campbelli ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Northern Mongolia ◽  
Dwarf Hamster ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Response To Water

The dwarf hamsters Phodopus campbelli and P. sungorus are found in semi-arid areas of Siberia and northern Mongolia, but habitat and diet differences suggest species differences in water regulatory efficiency. These differences were investigated by examining the effect of moderate water restriction (50% of ad libitum consumption) on solitary dams and on their reproductive success. In response to water restriction, P. sungorus dams lost less body mass than P. campbelli dams, and despite similar litter sizes, P. sungorus produced heavier litters and pups than P. campbelli, indicating that P. sungorus pups were larger. These results suggest that P. sungorus is more tolerant of water restriction than P. campbelli. In a second experiment the possibility that paternal care may mitigate the effects of water restriction was examined by leaving the mated pair together throughout lactation. Pairing reduced mass loss by P. campbelli dams and increased the proportion of large P. campbelli pups at weaning, but had no effect on these measures in P. sungorus, eliminating interspecific differences in responses to water restriction. Results suggest that biparental care may be a facultative response to environmental stress in P. campbelli.

Serotiny and life history of Pinus contorta var. latifolia

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 938-945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia S. Muir ◽  
James E. Lotan
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Western Montana ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Area Growth ◽  
History Of

Mature serotinous and nonserotinous trees of Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm. in the Bitterroot Watershed of western Montana do not differ in most life-history characteristics (reproductive or vegetative). No differences between trees of the two cone types were found in height, basal area, basal area growth rates over the lives of the trees, or crown ratio. Cone number, weights of individual cones and seeds, and estimates of reproductive effort were similar in serotinous and non-serotinous trees. Reproductive characteristics were either independent of tree age, or related similarly in trees of the two cone types. Nonserotinous trees may, however, have more seeds per cone than serotinous trees. This difference in seed numbers may be adaptive if serotinous trees invest relatively heavily in cone materials to protect seeds (which are retained in cones for many years), while nonserotinous trees (which shed seeds each year) invest relatively heavily in seeds. Trees of the two cone types differ mainly in the particular types of disturbance favoring their regeneration, but they often grow in the same stands where there are similar selective pressures on most aspects of their biology. Gene flow between them probably homogenizes all but those differences maintained by strong selective pressures.

scholarly journals Testosterone and paternal care in East African foragers and pastoralists

2008 ◽  
Vol 276 (1655) ◽  
pp. 347-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin N Muller ◽  
Frank W Marlowe ◽  
Revocatus Bugumba ◽  
Peter T Ellison
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Paternal Involvement ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Committed Relationships ◽  
Challenge Hypothesis ◽  
East African ◽  
Parenting Effort

The ‘challenge hypothesis’ posits that testosterone facilitates reproductive effort (investment in male–male competition and mate-seeking) at the expense of parenting effort (investment in offspring and mates). Multiple studies, primarily in North America, have shown that men in committed relationships, fathers, or both maintain lower levels of testosterone than unpaired men. Data from non-western populations, however, show inconsistent results. We hypothesized that much of this cross-cultural variation can be attributed to differential investment in mating versus parenting effort, even among married fathers. Here, we directly test this idea by comparing two neighbouring Tanzanian groups that exhibit divergent styles of paternal involvement: Hadza foragers and Datoga pastoralists. We predicted that high levels of paternal care by Hadza fathers would be associated with decreased testosterone in comparison with non-fathers, and that no such difference between fathers and non-fathers would be evident in Datoga men, who provide minimal direct paternal care. Twenty-seven Hadza men and 80 Datoga men between the ages of 17 and 60 provided morning and afternoon saliva samples from which testosterone was assayed. Measurements in both populations confirmed these predictions, adding further support to the hypothesis that paternal care is associated with decreased testosterone production in men.

scholarly journals Variation in the Non-mimetic Vocalizations of Brood-Parasitic Indigobirds and Their Potential Role in Speciation

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. DaCosta ◽  
Michael D. Sorenson
Keyword(s):  
Regional Differences ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Species Differences ◽  
Vocal Behavior ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Female Preferences ◽  
Local Dialect ◽  
Song Repertoires

Indigobirds (Vidua spp.) are obligate brood parasites in which imprinting on heterospecific hosts shapes adult vocal behavior and mating preferences. Adult male indigobirds mimic the songs and other vocalizations of their respective hosts, which signals their own host environment to prospective mates and has important implications for speciation. In this study, we examined variation within and among indigobird species in the non-mimetic components of their vocal behavior, including both chatter calls and their impressive repertoires of intricate non-mimicry songs. We test whether indigobird species in Tanzania (V. chalybeata, V. codringtoni, V. funerea, and V. purpurascens) differ consistently in general features of their non-mimetic vocalizations, and we test whether local ecological conditions influence vocal behavior. Indigobird non-mimetic song repertories are learned from and shared with other males of the same species. We find that local dialect “neighborhoods” are variable in size among species and regions, depending on habitat continuity and the distribution of male territories. Despite the complete turnover of the specific songs comprising non-mimicry song repertoires from one local dialect to the next, we find significant species effects for more general measures of non-mimicry songs such as repertoire size and diversity, frequency, song length, and pace. For some traits, we also found significant regional differences, which may be mediated by significant relationships between elevation and morphometrics. Chatter calls were broadly similar across both species and localities, but we found significant species and region effects for frequency and to a lesser extent pace. We discuss the possibility that learning and mimicking the vocalizations of different hosts might influence the production of non-mimetic vocalizations and explain many of the species differences we detected. Whether these species differences are purely due to phenotypic plasticity or also reflect genetic divergence in traits influencing sound production and/or female preferences, they may contribute to reproductive isolation among nascent and recently evolved indigobird species.

scholarly journals The costs and benefits of paternal care in fish: a meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1935) ◽  
pp. 20201759
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Goldberg ◽  
Philip A. Downing ◽  
Ashleigh S. Griffin ◽  
Jonathan P. Green
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Offspring Survival ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Male Condition ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Male Care

Male-only parental care, while rare in most animals, is a widespread strategy within teleost fish. The costs and benefits to males of acting as sole carer are highly variable among fish species making it challenging to determine the selective pressures driving the evolution of male-only care to such a high prevalence. We conducted a phylogenetic meta-analysis to examine the costs and benefits of paternal care across fish species. We found no evidence that providing care negatively affects male condition. In contrast with other taxa, we also found limited evidence that male care has evolved as a strategy to improve offspring survival. Instead, we found that males already caring for a brood are preferred by females and that this preference is strongest in those species in which males work harder to care for larger broods. Thus, in fish, investment in offspring care does not constrain a male's mating success but rather augments it, suggesting that the relatively high prevalence of male-only care in fish may be in part explained by sexual selection through female preference for caring males.

Efforts reproducteurs comparés d'un "poireau à graines" et d'un "poireau à caïeux"

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 1815-1822 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Boscher
Keyword(s):  
Clonal Growth ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Reproductive Mode ◽  
Energy Allocation ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Annual Species ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Total Energy Content ◽  
Very High

Reproductive effort in two cultivated leek species was determined under the same conditions. Reproductive effort was estimated as the percentage energy content in sexual organs and the organs of clonal growth out of the total energy content of vegetative and reproductive tissues at the end of the plant's life. One of the plants was essentially a sexually reproducing cultivar. The other, an Allium belonging to the porrum group, had not been selected for agronomic purposes. Though more diverse in its reproductive mode, this plant spreads essentially via underground vegetative means. Its development in the centre of France still reflects the morphological growth responses to the selective pressures of its original circummediterranean habitat. The portion of reproductive effort contributed by sexual organs in the two leek species was not significantly different, 31% in the cultivar and 35% in the nonselected plants. Total reproductive effort was much higher for the nonselected plants (55%) than that for the cultivar (33%), with the energy allocation to offset bulb production (20%) in the nonselected plants. The reproductive effort of the biennial cultivar approximates that found for numerous annual species. Despite the very high mortality of cultivar seedlings and cultivar inflorescences the small number of offset bulbs produced by the nonselected plant did not ensure as rapid a propagation as observed for the cultivar.

scholarly journals Repertoire structure, song sharing, reproductive success, and territory tenure in a population of Canada Warblers (Cardellina canadensis) in central New Hampshire

2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alana D. Demko ◽  
Leonard R. Reitsma ◽  
Cynthia A. Staicer
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Song Sharing ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Territory Acquisition ◽  
Complex Song ◽  
The Social ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Song Repertoires

Sexual selection for larger repertoires and the social advantages of sharing songs with territorial neighbours are two forces that may drive the evolution of complex song repertoires in songbirds. To evaluate the influence of these two selective pressures on repertoire evolution in a species with a complex repertoire, we examined repertoire structure, song sharing, reproductive success, and territory tenure in a Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis (L., 1766)) population in New Hampshire. Over two breeding seasons, we recorded 63 singing males, classified their song repertoires, quantified male song sharing, and determined male reproductive success and territory tenure. Male Canada Warblers had complex repertoires averaging 12 phrases (particular sequences of song elements) and 55 variants (songs composed of particular sequences of phrases). Song sharing decreased significantly with distance between territories, all of which were <1.75 km apart. Network analysis revealed clusters of male neighbours with high variant sharing, which was significantly associated with longer territory tenure. Overall pairing and fledging success were high, but were not related to repertoire size or song sharing. Our results suggest that song sharing aids in male territory acquisition and defence, and that females may therefore select mates based on their ability to retain a high-quality territory.

scholarly journals Human parental effort and environmental risk

2006 ◽  
Vol 274 (1606) ◽  
pp. 121-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J Quinlan
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Survival Data ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Paternal Involvement ◽  
Environmental Hazards ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Offspring Survival ◽  
Parental Effort ◽  
Saturation Point

Parental investment decisions depend on multiple factors, including the extent that parental care benefits offspring. Humans should show reduced parental effort in environments where parenting cannot improve offspring survival. Data from the standard cross-cultural sample are used to test this prediction. The results show that maternal care was inversely associated with famine and warfare, and also showed a quadratic association with pathogen stress, increasing as pathogen stress increased to moderate levels, but decreasing at higher levels. Age at weaning showed a similar quadratic relation with pathogens. The curvilinear associations between parental effort and pathogen stress may reflect that the saturation point of parental care is a function of environmental hazards. Paternal involvement was also inversely related to pathogen stress. The association between pathogens and paternal involvement was partially mediated by polygyny. In sum, maternal and paternal care appears to have somewhat different relations with environmental hazards, presumably owing to sex-specific tradeoffs in reproductive effort.

Courtship strategies of white-tailed deer and mule deer males when living in sympatry

Behaviour ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 156 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 307-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Airst ◽  
Susan Lingle
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Species Differences ◽  
Mule Deer ◽  
Odocoileus Hemionus ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
Antipredator Behaviour ◽  
General Biology ◽  
Aggressive Interactions ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Grouping Patterns

Abstract Courtship behaviour reflects characteristics of an animal’s general biology, while also reflecting selective pressures specific to reproduction. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) are sister species that differ in antipredator behaviour and sociality. We observed sympatric mule deer and white-tailed males to document their grouping patterns, courtship tactics, and aggressive interactions during the breeding season. Consistent with the hypothesis that courtship strategies reflect species differences in antipredator tactics and sociality, mule deer males were more likely than white-tailed males to tend females in multi male–multi female groups. White-tailed males almost exclusively tended females in isolated pairs and prevented other males from joining their groups. However, both species spent more time in isolated pairs as courtship advanced, likely to reduce competition. Our results enabled us to distinguish courtship behaviours that reflect contrasting antipredator tactics and sociality from courtship behaviours that reflect reproductive selective pressures that the species share.

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