Plumage coloration, ejaculate quality and reproductive phenotype in the red-backed fairy-wren

Rowe, Melissah; Swaddle, John P.; Pruett‐Jones, Stephen; Webster, Michael S.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.02.020

Cited by 58 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…We used the program CLRv1.05 (Montgomerie, 2008) to quantify variation in: (1) brightness (R total ), (2) hue (λ Rmax ), (3) red chroma (R 625-700nm /R total ) and (4) UV chroma (i.e. saturation in the ultraviolet range of the spectrum; R 320-400nm /R total ) (for more details, see Lindsay et al, 2011;Rowe et al, 2010).…”

Section: Analysis Of Feather Reflectance Spectramentioning

confidence: 99%

Testosterone activates sexual dimorphism including male-typical carotenoid but not melanin plumage pigmentation in a female bird

Lindsay

Barron

Webster

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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In males it is frequently testosterone (T) that activates the expression of sexually selected morphological and behavioral displays, but the role of T in regulating similar traits in females is less clear. Here, we combine correlational data with results from T and gonadotropinreleasing hormone (GnRH) manipulations in both sexes to assess the role of T in mediating sexually dimorphic coloration and morphology in the red-backed fairy-wren (Malurus melanocephalus). We show that: (1) natural variation in female expression of ornamental traits (darkened bills and red back feathers) is positively associated with age and circulating androgen titres, (2) females have the capacity to express most male-typical traits in response to exogenous T, including carotenoid-pigmented body plumage, shorter feathers, darkened bill and enlarged cloacal protuberance, but (3) appear constrained in production of male-typical melanin-pigmented plumage, and (4) low androgen levels during the pre-nuptial molt, probably because of low ovarian capacity for steroid production (or luteinizing hormone sensitivity), prevent females from developing male-like ornamentation. Thus, females appear to retain molecular mechanisms for hormonally regulated male-typical ornamentation, although these are rarely activated because of insufficient production of the hormonal signal.

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Section: Analysis Of Feather Reflectance Spectramentioning

confidence: 99%

Testosterone activates sexual dimorphism including male-typical carotenoid but not melanin plumage pigmentation in a female bird

Lindsay

Barron

Webster

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Rowe at al. (2) reported that ejaculate quality was assessed in terms of sperm numbers and sperm quality, whereas the samples of ejaculate were collected using a technique for massage of the cloaca. Furthermore, standard semen analysis involved evaluating a number of parameters such as motility, sperm concentration, live or dead counts, and morphology of spermatozoa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the ejaculate quality of the red jungle fowl, domestic chicken, and bantam chicken in Malaysia

Malik¹,

Haron²,

Yusoff³

et al. 2013

Turk J Vet Anim Sci

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“…Negative relationships between secondary sexual traits and ejaculate quality have been reported among different taxa [22,23]. It is known that males from the polygamous lines had evolved to produce competitively superior ejaculates characterized by high sperm numbers and greater sperm motility [12,14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female social preference for males that have evolved via monogamy: evidence of a trade-off between pre- and post-copulatory sexually selected traits?

Firman

2014

Biol. Lett.

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When females mate with multiple males both pre- and post-copulatory sexual selections occur. It has been suggested that females benefit from polyandry when better-quality males are successful in sperm competition and sire high-quality offspring. Indeed, studies of experimental evolution have confirmed that sperm competition selects for both increased ejaculate quality and elevated offspring viability. Fewer investigations have explored whether these fitness benefits are evident beyond early life-history stages. Here, I used house mice ( Mus domesticus ) from selection lines that had been evolving for 25 generations under either polygamy or monogamy to test whether females preferred males from lines that had evolved with sperm competition. Males from the polygamous lines had previously been shown to achieve a fitness advantage under semi-natural conditions, deeming them to be of high genetic quality and leading to the a priori expectation that females would prefer males that had evolved with sperm competition compared with males that had not. Contrary to expectation, the data showed that sexually receptive females spent more time associating with males from the monogamous lines. This unexpected but interesting result is discussed in relation to sperm competition theory that predicts a trade-off between male investment in pre- and post-copulatory sexually selected traits.

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Plumage coloration, ejaculate quality and reproductive phenotype in the red-backed fairy-wren

Cited by 58 publications

References 60 publications

Testosterone activates sexual dimorphism including male-typical carotenoid but not melanin plumage pigmentation in a female bird

Testosterone activates sexual dimorphism including male-typical carotenoid but not melanin plumage pigmentation in a female bird

Evaluation of the ejaculate quality of the red jungle fowl, domestic chicken, and bantam chicken in Malaysia

Female social preference for males that have evolved via monogamy: evidence of a trade-off between pre- and post-copulatory sexually selected traits?

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