Maternal steroids in egg yolk as a pathway to translate predation risk to offspring: Experiments with great tits

Coslovsky, Michael; Groothuis, Ton G. G.; Vries, Bonnie de; Richner, Heinz

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2012.01.013

Cited by 33 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Among the diff erent predators the predation risk imposed by birds of prey in the surrounding of their nest should be the most predictable, since their presence in the territory is persistent throughout the breeding season of fl ycatchers. Th is could partially explain why the only evidences of variation in androgen transfer to the eggs, this study and Coslovsky et al (2012), were found after exposure to acoustic cues or in proximity to nests of birds of prey. It remains unclear whether maternal transfer of androgens to eggs is adaptive, in terms of off spring survival or maternal fi tness, and which environmental factors are used as cues by females to determine egg composition.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Th ese stressors can also indirectly aff ect off spring growth and survival (Metcalfe and Monaghan 2001, Clinchy et al 2004, Gasparini et al 2007, Sheriff et al 2009, Coslovsky and Richner 2011, Sheriff and Love 2013. Indeed both food availability and perceived predation risk may aff ect egg composition and the size of eggs and off spring in many vertebrates (Bian et al 2005, Saino et al 2005, Th omson et al 2006, Sheriff et al 2009, Coslovsky and Richner 2011, Giesing et al 2011, Zanette et al 2011, Coslovsky et al 2012, Morosinotto et al 2013. Th erefore, to optimize maternal fi tness and off spring survival, we can expect that maternal allocation of resources to the off spring will vary according to food availability and predation risk at the breeding site (Marshall and Uller 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Maternal transfer of androgens in eggs is affected by food supplementation but not by predation risk

Morosinotto

Thomson

Ruuskanen

et al. 2016

Journal of Avian Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mothers may aff ect the future success of their off spring by varying allocation to eggs and embryos. Allocation may be adaptive based on the environmental conditions perceived during early breeding. We investigated the eff ects of food supplementation and predation risk on yolk hormone transfer in the pied fl ycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca . In a food supplementation experiment, females were food-supplemented prior to and during egg-laying and androgen concentrations were measured throughout the laying order. Predation risk was investigated in three diff erent studies combining both correlative data, where fl ycatchers bred in close proximity to two diff erent predator species that prey upon adult fl ycatchers (either Tengmalm ' s owl Aegolius funereus or pygmy owl Glaucidium passerinum ), and an experimental manipulation, where fl ycatchers were exposed to cues of a nest predator (least weasel Mustela nivalis ). Females receiving food supplementation laid eggs with lower concentrations of androstenedione (A4) than females not receiving food supplements. Yolk testosterone (T) concentration showed the same pattern but the diff erence was not statically signifi cant. Testosterone (but not A4) concentration increased within clutches, from the fi rst to the last egg, independently of the food supplementation. Females breeding under high predation risk did not diff er from control females in their yolk androgen levels (A4, T or progesterone). However, concentrations of A4 tended to be lower in the proximity of pygmy owls, which could indirectly increase off spring survival after fl edging. Food supplementation during egg-laying seems to have a stronger impact on maternal transfer of androgens than predation risk. Food availability and predation risk could diff erentially aff ect the trade-off s of androgen allocation for the off spring when raised in good vs. dangerous environments.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal transfer of androgens in eggs is affected by food supplementation but not by predation risk

Morosinotto

Thomson

Ruuskanen

et al. 2016

Journal of Avian Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…All of these factors have been shown to influence yolk hormones. For example, high quality food increased yolk testosterone (Vergauwen et al, 2012); in Great tits (Parus major), experimentally increased predation risk resulted in lower yolk testosterone (Coslovsky et al, 2012), and yolk testosterone was lower when females were exposed to nidicolous hen fleas (Heylen et al, 2012) and in nests with high ectoparasite loads (Tschirren et al, 2004). A significant higher load of red fowl mites (Dermanyssus gallinae) in the second year of our study (data not shown) could have been a cause of the lower yolk testosterone levels in that year.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gwinner

Yohannes

Schwabl

2013

Avian Biology Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

“…Androgens, in particular, have a special appeal in the evolutionary ecological study of maternal effects for at least three reasons. First, they are transferred to the eggs in amounts that partly depend on extrinsic conditions such as predation risk (Coslovsky et al, 2012), population density (van Dijk et al, 2013) and mate sexual attractiveness (Krištofik et al, 2014; but see Saino et al, 2006). Therefore, they have the potential to mechanistically and functionally link maternal experience of environmental conditions to offspring phenotype (Marshall and Uller, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting effects of increased yolk testosterone content on development and oxidative status in gull embryos

Parolini

Romanò

Possenti

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hormone-mediated maternal effects generate variation in offspring phenotype. In birds, maternal egg testosterone (T) exerts differential effects on offspring traits after hatching, suggesting that mothers experience a trade-off between contrasting T effects. However, there is very little information on T pre-natal effects. In the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis), we increased yolk T concentration within physiological limits and measured the effects on development and oxidative status of late-stage embryos. T-treated embryos had a larger body size but a smaller brain than controls. Males had a larger brain than females, controlling for overall size. T treatment differentially affected brain mass and total amount of pro-oxidants in the brain depending on laying order. T-treatment effects were not sex dependent. For the first time in the wild, we show contrasting T prenatal effects on body mass and brain size. Hence, T may enforce trade-offs between different embryonic traits, but also within the same trait during different developmental periods.

show abstract

Maternal steroids in egg yolk as a pathway to translate predation risk to offspring: Experiments with great tits

Cited by 33 publications

References 30 publications

Maternal transfer of androgens in eggs is affected by food supplementation but not by predation risk

Maternal transfer of androgens in eggs is affected by food supplementation but not by predation risk

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

Contrasting effects of increased yolk testosterone content on development and oxidative status in gull embryos

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About