Female ornamentation does not predict aggression in a tropical songbird

Jones, John Anthony; Boersma, Jordan; Liu, Jiawen; Nason, Doka; Ketaloya, Serena; Karubian, Jordan

doi:10.1007/s00265-022-03165-x

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Previous work in this population of white-shouldered fairywrens revealed that female aggression is unrelated to her own plumage coloration and body size (Jones, Boersma, Liu, et al 2022), and thus we do not replicate those results here. We tested the relationship between male mate quality attributes on the aggression of 38 individual female white-shouldered fairywrens.…”

Section: Female Aggression With Respect To Male Phenotypic Qualitycontrasting

confidence: 81%

“…We performed all statistical analyses in R v.4.1.1 (R Core Team 2021). Following a previously established method for mirror image stimulations (Leitão et al 2019;Jones, Boersma, Liu, et al 2022), we aggregated mirror strikes, pecks, vocalizations, and displays in response to the female's mirrored reflection by summing them into one overall "Aggression" value, as the latter behaviors were infrequent on their own (Jones, Boersma, Liu, et al 2022). Using these data alongside the proportion of time spent near versus far from the mirror, we explored species differences in female aggression via a Welch's t-test (as variance was unequal between species).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Next, we generated a composite index of aggression in response to their mirrored image with separate PCAs for each species and sex individually (Leitão et al 2019;Jones, Boersma, Liu, et al 2022). Behavioral responses during mirror image stimulation assays resulted in a single component with an eigenvalue >1.0 to be retained for further analysis (sensu Leitão et al 2019;Jones et al 2022b; Table 2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on these species differences in mating systems and life-history strategy, we predicted that female white-shouldered fairywrens would be more likely to experience intense selection pressure via intrasexual competition than female red-backed fairywrens, and thus display overall higher levels of aggression. We quantified variation in how individuals respond to same-sex intruders between species through the use of mirror image simulations: behavioral assays that put individuals up against their own mirrored reflection, mimicking an intrasexual challenge against a rival of equivalent visual quality (Gallup Jr 1968;Leitão et al 2019;Jones, Boersma, Liu, et al 2022). Next, if males are a highly valued resource in tropical New Guinea that females compete over access for (sensu Lyu et al 2017), we predicted that aggression in white-shouldered fairywren females would be correlated to the phenotype of her mate, assuming that male phenotype honestly communicates his quality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, we tested if male phenotype was related to their own aggression scores in red-backed fairywrens, although we were unable to in white-shouldered fairywrens as to not interfere with a concurrent behavioral study Jones, Boersma, Liu, et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the relationship between female aggression and male phenotype in two sisterMalurusfairywren species

Jones,

Feeney,

Jones

et al. 2023

Preprint

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While the impacts of male phenotypic quality on female mating decisions are well-studied, less is known about how male attributes may influence female aggressive behavior. To address this, we evaluated the degree to which females mated to more attractive males may behave more aggressively toward simulated female rivals, as might be predicted if intrasexual competition exists over access to mates. We studied two sister taxa of fairywren (Maluridae) with distinct life-history strategies: white-shouldered fairywrens (Malurus alboscapulatus moretoni) in Papua New Guinea, a species with year-round territoriality and female-limited plumage polymorphisms, and red-backed fairywrens (M. melanocephalus melanocephalus) in temperate Australia, a species with seasonal breeding and one in which females do not exhibit any plumage ornamentation. We characterized male quality by assessing the plumage coloration alongside three morphological characteristics that are known to be important in Malurus fairywrens: body mass, cloacal protuberance volume, and tail length. We quantified female aggression using mirror image stimulations, finding that female white-shouldered fairywrens were more aggressive on average than female red-backed fairywrens. There was a non-significant tendency for more aggressive white-shouldered fairywren females to have heavier mates with longer tails, but male phenotype did not predict female behavior in the red-backed fairywrens. Overall, our results are consistent with the idea that variation in mating system and life-history help shape female aggressive behaviors between divergent species. In socially monogamous species that form long, multiyear bonds with their mates, phenotypic quality may not be the best predictor of mate choice as has historically been emphasized.

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Section: Female Aggression With Respect To Male Phenotypic Qualitycontrasting

confidence: 81%