Does Reproductive Synchrony Limit Male Opportunities or Enhance Female Choice for Extra-Pair Paternity?

Behaviour ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 134 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 551-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart Kempenaers
Keyword(s):  
Female Choice ◽  
Timing Of Breeding ◽  
Parus Caeruleus ◽  
Male Quality ◽  
Blue Tit ◽  
Fertile Period ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Reproductive Synchrony ◽  
Extra Pair Paternity ◽  
Breeding Synchrony

AbstractBreeding synchrony has been suggested as one factor that might explain the variation in frequency of extra-pair paternity, both between and within species. Reproductive synchrony might limit the opportunities for males to engage in extra-pair copulations (EPCs), because males face a trade-off with guarding their own fertile partner. Alternatively, breeding synchrony may promote extra-pair paternity, because of reduced male-male competition for EPCs or because of enhanced possibilities for females to assess male quality. In this study, I investigated the influence of synchrony on the occurrence of extra-pair paternity in the blue tit Parus caeruleus. Over four years, breeding synchrony and extra-pair paternity were positively related. Within a season, extra-pair paternity occurred independently of the timing of breeding. The fertile period of the extra-pair male's social mate and that of the extra-pair female often overlapped considerably. However, males who performed EPCs during the fertile period of their social mate were not more likely to lose paternity than males who performed EPCs after the fertile period of their mate. These data suggest that breeding synchrony has little influence on the occurrence of extra-pair paternity in the blue tit.

Breeding synchrony does not affect extra-pair paternity in great reed warblers

Behaviour ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 141 (7) ◽  
pp. 863-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjörn von Schantz ◽  
Debora Arlt ◽  
Staffan Bensch ◽  
Dennis Hasselquist ◽  
Bengt Hansson
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Acrocephalus Arundinaceus ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Extra Pair Paternity ◽  
Breeding Synchrony ◽  
Mate Assessment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Polygynous Mating System

AbstractBreeding synchrony is hypothesised to influence the occurrence and frequency of extra-pair fertilisations (EPFs) in birds irrespective of the social mating system. The two proposed hypotheses make opposite predictions. (1) Synchronous breeding leads to a lower frequency of EPFs because males face a trade-off between mate guarding and obtaining additional matings via extra-pair copulations (EPCs) ('guarding constraint' hypothesis). (2) Synchronous breeding promotes EPFs because females are able to compare displaying males simultaneously, which provides them with more reliable cues for extra-pair mate choice ('mate assessment' hypothesis). In a study of great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) from 1987-1998, annual breeding was asynchronous and the frequency of EPFs was rather low (extra-pair young occurring in 6.4% of the broods). Within this population, however, there was no relationship between the frequency of EPFs and breeding synchrony, thus not favouring any of the two hypotheses. Contrary to assumptions of the hypotheses, mate guarding did not seem to constrain males from engaging in EPCs (disfavouring the 'guarding constraint' hypothesis), and females seem to have repeated opportunities to compare males irrespective of breeding synchrony (disfavouring the 'mate assessment' hypothesis). Our results suggest that breeding synchrony is not an important factor influencing patterns of EPFs in great reed warblers. The low frequency of EPFs may instead be explained by the socially polygynous mating system, where females are less constrained in their choice of a social male.

Relationship between temperature and the timing of breeding of the Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus) in two Mediterranean oakwoods

1991 ◽  
Vol 132 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Dominique Bellot ◽  
Alain Dervieux ◽  
Paul Isenmann
Keyword(s):  
Timing Of Breeding ◽  
Parus Caeruleus ◽  
Blue Tit

scholarly journals Sexual selection favours male parental care, when females can choose

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1734) ◽  
pp. 1784-1790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne H. Alonzo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Current Theory ◽  
Sharp Contrast ◽  
Recent Theory ◽  
Extra Pair Paternity ◽  
Female Promiscuity ◽  
Male Care

Explaining the evolution of male care has proved difficult. Recent theory predicts that female promiscuity and sexual selection on males inherently disfavour male care. In sharp contrast to these expectations, male-only care is often found in species with high extra-pair paternity and striking variation in mating success, where current theory predicts female-only care. Using a model that examines the coevolution of male care, female care and female choice; I show that inter-sexual selection can drive the evolution of male care when females are able to bias mating or paternity towards parental males. Surprisingly, female choice for parental males allows male care to evolve despite low relatedness between the male and the offspring in his care. These results imply that predicting how sexual selection affects parental care evolution will require further understanding of why females, in many species, either do not prefer or cannot favour males that provide care.

scholarly journals Amplifiers and the origin of animal signals

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1832) ◽  
pp. 20160324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurens Bogaardt ◽  
Rufus A. Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Signal Detection ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Signal Detection Theory ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Detection Theory ◽  
Direct Selection ◽  
Simple Explanation ◽  
Male Quality ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Selection For

In 1989, Hasson introduced the concept of an ‘amplifier’ within animal communication. This display reduces errors in the assessment of traits for which there is direct selection and renders differences in quality among animals more obvious. Amplifiers can evolve to fixation via the benefit they confer on high-quality animals. However, they also impose a cost on low-quality animals by revealing their lower quality, potentially leading these to refrain from amplifying. Hence, it was suggested that, if the level of amplification correlates with quality, direct choice for the amplifying display might emerge. Using the framework of signal detection theory, this article shows that, if the use of an amplifier is observable, direct choice for the amplifying display can indeed evolve. Consequently, low-quality animals may choose to amplify to some extent as well, even though this reveals their lower quality. In effect, the amplifier evolves to become a signal in its own right. We show that, as amplifiers can evolve without direct female choice and are likely to become correlated with male quality, selection for quality-dependent amplification provides a simple explanation for the origin of reliable signals in the absence of pre-existing preferences.

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