Most birds engage in extrapair copulations despite great differences across and within species. Besides cost and benefit considerations of the two sex environmental factors have been found to alter mating strategies w...Most birds engage in extrapair copulations despite great differences across and within species. Besides cost and benefit considerations of the two sex environmental factors have been found to alter mating strategies within or between populations and/or over time. For socially monogamous species, the main advantage that females might gain from mating with multiple males is probably increasing their offspring＇s genetic fitness. Since male （genetic） quality is mostly not directly meas- urable for female birds, （extrapair） mate choice is based on male secondary traits. In passerines male song is such a sexual ornament indicating male phenotypic and/or genetic quality and song repertoires seem to affect female mate choice in a number of species. Yet their role in extrapair mating behavior is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the proportion of extrapair paternity （EPP） in a population of common nightingales Luscinia megarhynchos. We found that EPP rate was rather high （21.5% of all offspring tested） for a species without sexual dimorphism and high levels of paternal care. Furthermore, the occurrence of EPP was strongly related to the spatial distribution of male territories with males settling in densely occupied areas having higher proportions of extrapair young within their own brood. Also, song repertoire size affected EPP： here larger repertoires of social mates were negatively related to the probability of being cuck- olded. When directly comparing repertoires sizes of social and extrapair mates, extrapair mates tended to have larger repertoires. We finally discuss our results as a hint for a flexible mating strat- egy in nightingales where several factors--including ecological as well as male song features-- need to be considered when studying reproductive behavior in monogamous species with complex song.展开更多
Hybrid speciation is increasingly recognized as a mechanism for novel evolutionary trajectories. However, we know very little about the ecology of a contact zone that has arisen in sympatry. This study examines the fo...Hybrid speciation is increasingly recognized as a mechanism for novel evolutionary trajectories. However, we know very little about the ecology of a contact zone that has arisen in sympatry. This study examines the foraging behavior and fitness of two species of Darwin＇s tree finches （Camarhynchus parvulus, C pauper） and hybrid offspring on Floreana Island. Previous study showed that the percentage of hybrids in the tree finch population increased from 19% in 2005 to 41% in 2010, and their body and beak size increased by -5% （parental phenotype did not change）. In 2005-2006, all three tree finch groups （two paren- tal species and hybrid birds） used the same foraging substrate, technique, and height. By 2010-2013, the small tree finch C. par- vulus had changed its foraging technique and the medium tree finch C. pauper had changed its foraging height. Both parental species had higher body condition when foraging at （divergent） mean foraging heights per species but hybrid birds did not. We discuss the implications of conserving forest to facilitate vertical niche expansion and the role of hybridization for genetic persis- tence [Current Zoology 61 （1）： 181-190, 2015].展开更多
文摘Most birds engage in extrapair copulations despite great differences across and within species. Besides cost and benefit considerations of the two sex environmental factors have been found to alter mating strategies within or between populations and/or over time. For socially monogamous species, the main advantage that females might gain from mating with multiple males is probably increasing their offspring＇s genetic fitness. Since male （genetic） quality is mostly not directly meas- urable for female birds, （extrapair） mate choice is based on male secondary traits. In passerines male song is such a sexual ornament indicating male phenotypic and/or genetic quality and song repertoires seem to affect female mate choice in a number of species. Yet their role in extrapair mating behavior is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the proportion of extrapair paternity （EPP） in a population of common nightingales Luscinia megarhynchos. We found that EPP rate was rather high （21.5% of all offspring tested） for a species without sexual dimorphism and high levels of paternal care. Furthermore, the occurrence of EPP was strongly related to the spatial distribution of male territories with males settling in densely occupied areas having higher proportions of extrapair young within their own brood. Also, song repertoire size affected EPP： here larger repertoires of social mates were negatively related to the probability of being cuck- olded. When directly comparing repertoires sizes of social and extrapair mates, extrapair mates tended to have larger repertoires. We finally discuss our results as a hint for a flexible mating strat- egy in nightingales where several factors--including ecological as well as male song features-- need to be considered when studying reproductive behavior in monogamous species with complex song.
文摘Hybrid speciation is increasingly recognized as a mechanism for novel evolutionary trajectories. However, we know very little about the ecology of a contact zone that has arisen in sympatry. This study examines the foraging behavior and fitness of two species of Darwin＇s tree finches （Camarhynchus parvulus, C pauper） and hybrid offspring on Floreana Island. Previous study showed that the percentage of hybrids in the tree finch population increased from 19% in 2005 to 41% in 2010, and their body and beak size increased by -5% （parental phenotype did not change）. In 2005-2006, all three tree finch groups （two paren- tal species and hybrid birds） used the same foraging substrate, technique, and height. By 2010-2013, the small tree finch C. par- vulus had changed its foraging technique and the medium tree finch C. pauper had changed its foraging height. Both parental species had higher body condition when foraging at （divergent） mean foraging heights per species but hybrid birds did not. We discuss the implications of conserving forest to facilitate vertical niche expansion and the role of hybridization for genetic persis- tence [Current Zoology 61 （1）： 181-190, 2015].
