Influence of mating preferences on yolk testosterone in the grey partridge

Garcia-Fernandez, Violaine; Guasco, B.; Tanvez, Aurélie; Lacroix, André; Cucco, Marco; Leboucher, Gérard; Malacarne, Giorgio

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.03.023

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…yolk, albumen or shell mass. This agrees with studies on these egg components in the house sparrow Passer domesticus (MAZUC et al 2003) and the grey partridge (GARCIA-FERNANDEZ et al 2010b), while female canaries exposed to a dominant male song laid eggs with a greater yolk ratio than females exposed to a subordinate male song (GARCIA-FERNANDEZ et al 2010a). In our study, we found that females of the RND group laid eggs with high shell and albumen weights.…”

Section: Preference Effectsupporting

confidence: 94%

“…We did not find any significant difference in egg mass or size. The result is similar to that reported in the grey partridge (GARCIA-FERNANDEZ et al 2010b) and confirms the high repeatability of egg mass as a reproductive trait (CHRISTIANS 2002;CUCCO et al 2006CUCCO et al , 2009. Our result agrees with a number of studies on Passeriformes (MAZUC et al 2003;TANVEZ et al 2004;MICHL et al 2005) but contrasts with data obtained on the mallard Anas platyrhynchos, the Chinese quail Coturnix chinensis, the peafowl Pavo cristatus and the zebra finch, which laid larger eggs when mated with more attractive males (CUNNINGHAM & RUSSEL 2000;ULLER et al 2005;GILBERT et al 2006;LOYAU et al 2007).…”

Section: Preference Effectsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Concerning maternal effects, it was shown in the peafowl Pavo cristatus that females paired with more ornamented males laid larger eggs and deposited higher amounts of testosterone in the egg yolk (LOYAU et al 2007). In the grey partridge Perdix perdix, eggs laid by females paired with preferred males were not heavier but contained a higher yolk testosterone concentration than those of females paired with non-preferred males (GARCIA-FERNANDEZ et al 2010b), and showed a higher hatchability (DESSÌ-FULGHERI et al 1990). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Egg-sequence rather than mating preference influences female egg investment in the red-legged partridge

Cucco

Grenna

Pellegrino

et al. 2011

Ethology Ecology & Evolution

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In precocial bird species, the eggs represent a strong maternal allocation of resources and constitute most of the maternal investment since parents do not feed the young after they hatch. Females can differentially allocate resources in their eggs as a response to the environment experienced during the laying period, including the quality of their mate. To assess the importance of female selection on egg composition in the red-legged partridge, we tested breeding females in a choice trial in which they were allowed to choose between males. After the choice trials, the females were mated with their preferred male (P group), with a non-preferred one (NP group) or with a randomly selected male (RND group). Eggs laid by females of the three groups did not differ significantly in mass, shape, yolk, albumen or shell weight. Moreover, there was no significant difference in egg lysozyme concentration (an important albumen antimicrobial component). There was a significant difference in egg characteristics in relation to position in the laying order, with last-laid eggs being heavier and more spherical. Last-laid eggs contained more albumen but their shell was lighter and the albumen contained less lysozyme. This study shows that partner attractiveness may not influence the characteristics of egg quality, and that in this partridge species the females are able to invest in large clutches without a decrease of egg size but with a progressive decrease of egg quality.

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Section: Preference Effectsupporting

confidence: 94%

Section: Preference Effectsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Egg-sequence rather than mating preference influences female egg investment in the red-legged partridge

Cucco

Grenna

Pellegrino

et al. 2011

Ethology Ecology & Evolution

Self Cite

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“…Yolk testosterone concentrations have been shown to be related to variation of plumage or leg colour, tail length, and song quality (Gil et al, 2004;Loyau et al, 2007;Kingma et al, 2009;Garcia-Fernandez et al, 2010;Alonso-Alvarez et al, 2012). Our study suggests that, male presentation of green plants to the female, an integral component of male starling courtship display behaviour, and/or the presence of green plants in the nest, induce an increase of yolk testosterone concentrations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Nest Composition and Yolk Hormones: Do Female European Starlings Adjust Yolk Androgens to Nest Quality?

Gwinner

Yohannes

Schwabl

2013

Avian Biology Research

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The nest is a key element of avian reproductive fitness. It provides the developmental environment for the embryo and nestling thereby affecting their quality and survival. Nests are often constructed by the male and nest quality, elaboration, and ornamentation vary among males in a species. Therefore, male nest-building behaviour is likely under sexual selection and females may use male nest-building behaviour and nest features as cues in mate choice and their own reproductive investment. We tested this hypothesis in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). Male starlings present green plants to females during their courtship display and furbish their nests with variable quantities of fresh green plants. The highest frequency of plant incorporation into the nest occurs during pair formation and oogenesis. We determined nest composition and measured yolk testosterone concentrations in eggs. Yolk testosterone concentrations were positively correlated with the amount of green plant material in nests. Because males use green nest material in courtship and green nest material positively affects nestlings' development, we suggest that female European starlings use male nest-building effort, ritualised courtship display of green plants, and nest characteristics in mate choice, and adjust yolk testosterone levels in the eggs to the quality of the nest to optimise offspring growth.

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“…Since the same genetic origin and kind of nutrition (commercial pellets) was used for both groups, the larger body size of the Natural birds may be related solely to the free mating system adopted. Garcia-Fernandez et al (2010) observed that female gray partridges allowed to choose their mate, laid eggs with a higher yolk testosterone concentration than did females of imposed couples. Maternal testosterone levels in the egg yolk influences both the embryo and chick development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

First Evaluation of Different Captive Rearing Techniques for the Re-Establishment of the Red Legged Partridge Populations

Santilli¹,

Galardi²,

Bagliacca

2012

Avian Biology Research

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In Tuscany, the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) became extinct at the beginning of the 20th century. Recently, some attempts have been made to re-establish wild populations in Tuscany using farm reared birds, but in most cases the released populations have shown difficulties in reaching sufficient viability, even in areas where the habitat can be considered suitable. Modern technologies for rearing game-birds may be not suitable for reintroduction purposes. For this reason we carried out preliminary research to evaluate the survival of red legged partridges reared under natural condition (Natural) compared to those farm reared (Artificial). Natural rearing occurred in a large pen where birds were allowed to mate freely and to nest. Natural reared birds reached a larger size than artificially-reared birds. Partridges were released in a 7.56 sq km protected area located in the province of Leghorn (western Tuscany, Italy). We followed the fate of 22 young radio-tagged red-legged female partridges (half Natural and half Artificial) and 56 young red-legged partridges (25 Artificial and 31 Natural) marked with different coloured ponchos. The survival of Natural radio-tagged red-legged partridges was double that of the Artificial red-legged partridges. After six months, the re-sighting rate of the Natural poncho-marked birds reached 22.6% whereas none of the Artificial stock was re-sighted. The preliminary results of this research suggest that Natural rearing may be an important tool to improve the success of partridge reintroduction

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Influence of mating preferences on yolk testosterone in the grey partridge

Cited by 15 publications

References 49 publications

Egg-sequence rather than mating preference influences female egg investment in the red-legged partridge

Egg-sequence rather than mating preference influences female egg investment in the red-legged partridge

Nest Composition and Yolk Hormones: Do Female European Starlings Adjust Yolk Androgens to Nest Quality?

First Evaluation of Different Captive Rearing Techniques for the Re-Establishment of the Red Legged Partridge Populations

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