Reproductive allocation in female house wrens is not influenced by experimentally altered male attractiveness

Grana, Susan C.; Sakaluk, Scott K.; Bowden, Rachel M.; Doellman, Melissa A; Vogel, Laura A.; Thompson, Charles F.

doi:10.1007/s00265-012-1378-4

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Thus, the increased body mass and excess production of sons on high-quality territories may be a product of (i) the current breeding territory having a direct effect on food availability for offspring, or (ii) differential allocation by females in relation to male attractiveness. We suspect that the latter scenario is unlikely, as recent experiments in our study population that have manipulated male attractiveness have found no effect on pre- and post-natal allocation by females (DeMory et al 2010; Grana et al 2012), suggesting that females do not differentially allocate offspring on the basis of male attractiveness. Nonetheless, separating territory quality from male attractiveness and intrasexual competitive ability experimentally could shed light on the factors contributing to the effect of territory quality on offspring condition and sex ratios.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Maternal Natal Environment and Breeding Territory Predict the Condition and Sex Ratio of Offspring

2016

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Females in a variety of taxa adjust offspring sex ratios to prevailing ecological conditions. However, little is known about whether conditions experienced during a female’s early ontogeny influence the sex ratio of her offspring. We tested for past and present ecological predictors of offspring sex ratios among known-age females that were produced as offspring and bred as adults in a population of house wrens. The body condition of offspring that a female produced and the proportion of her offspring that were male were negatively correlated with the size of the brood in which she herself was reared. The proportion of sons within broods was negatively correlated with maternal hatching date, and varied positively with the quality of a female’s current breeding territory as predicted. However, females producing relatively more sons than daughters were less likely to return to breed in the population the following year. Although correlative, our results suggest that the rearing environment can have enduring effects on later maternal investment and sex allocation. Moreover, the overproduction of sons relative to daughters may increase costs to a female’s residual reproductive value, constraining the extent to which sons might be produced in high-quality breeding conditions. Sex allocation in birds remains a contentious subject, largely because effects on offspring sex ratios are small. Our results suggest that offspring sex ratios are shaped by various processes and trade-offs that act throughout the female life history and ultimately reduce the extent of sex-ratio adjustment relative to classic theoretical predictions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Maternal Natal Environment and Breeding Territory Predict the Condition and Sex Ratio of Offspring

2016

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“…Individual growth rate r is assumed to be constant until the offspring reaches s c (table 1). The relationship between The critical size defining the end of the juvenile stage; after this size, offspring fitness is independent of size at birth s. This metric could also be expressed as a critical age (see Grana et al [29] for details). Varied from 5 to 20. r m…”

Section: Model Description and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Females allocate differentially to offspring size and number in response to male effects on female and offspring fitness

Kindsvater

Alonzo

2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Female investment in offspring size and number has been observed to vary with the phenotype of their mate across diverse taxa. Recent theory motivated by these intriguing empirical patterns predicted both positive (differential allocation) and negative (reproductive compensation) effects of mating with a preferred male on female investment. These predictions, however, focused on total reproductive effort and did not distinguish between a response in offspring size and clutch size. Here, we model how specific paternal effects on fitness affect maternal allocation to offspring size and number. The specific mechanism by which males affect the fitness of females or their offspring determines whether and how females allocated differentially. Offspring size is predicted to increase when males benefit offspring survival, but decrease when males increase offspring growth rate. Clutch size is predicted to increase when males contribute to female resources (e.g. with a nuptial gift) and when males increase offspring growth rate. The predicted direction and magnitude of female responses vary with female age, but only when per-offspring paternal benefits decline with clutch size. We conclude that considering specific paternal effects on fitness in the context of maternal life-history trade-offs can help explain mixed empirical patterns of differential allocation and reproductive compensation.

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“…They are small (10–12 g), insectivorous, and prefer open woodland areas with dense herbaceous ground cover and few understory trees (Belles-Isles and Picman 1986; Finch 1989; Eckerle and Thompson 2006). Females typically select a mate based partly on the number and quality of potential nest-sites on his territory (Eckerle and Thompson 2006; Grana et al 2012). In the first brood (May–June), clutch size is 6–8 eggs (mode = 7 eggs), and in the second (July–August), 4–7 eggs (mode = 6 eggs).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Male settlement date was the date on which the male was heard singing near the nestbox, and at least 45–50 % of the bottom of the nestbox was covered with sticks (Eckerle and Thompson 2006; Grana et al 2012). Female settlement date was the date on which the female laid the first egg of her clutch (egg-1 day), and male time to pairing was defined as the difference between the female and male settlement dates (Eckerle and Thompson 2006; Grana et al 2012). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral Plasticity in Response to Perceived Predation Risk in Breeding House Wrens

2016

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Predation is a significant cause of nest failure in passerine birds, and, thus, natural selection is expected to favor behavioral plasticity to allow birds to respond to perceived changes in predation risk. However, behavioral plasticity in response to perceived predation risk, and its potential fitness-related costs, are understudied. In a wild population of breeding house wrens (Troglodytes aedon), we tested the hypotheses that (1) birds show behavioral plasticity in response to perceived nest-predation risk to reduce self-risk or risk to offspring, but (2) this plasticity incurs fitness-related costs. We experimentally increased the perceived risk of nest predation by enlarging the diameter of the nestbox entrance from the standard 3.2 cm to 5.0 cm once incubation began. Unexpectedly, large-hole females spent significantly less time being vigilant than small-hole (control) females during late incubation. Both males and females also exhibited plasticity in their provisioning behavior. Large-hole males increased and large-hole females decreased provisioning visits with increasing brood size, whereas small-hole males and females behaved similarly and were unaffected by brood size. Females did not show plasticity in their incubation or brooding behavior. Notwithstanding this behavioral plasticity in response to increased perceived predation risk, treatment had no effect on hatching success or early hatchling survival, nor did it affect nestling body condition or fledging success. We conclude, therefore, that house wrens show behavioral plasticity in response to perceived nest-predation risk, but that any short-term fitness-related costs associated with this flexibility appear negligible.

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Reproductive allocation in female house wrens is not influenced by experimentally altered male attractiveness

Cited by 15 publications

References 71 publications

Maternal Natal Environment and Breeding Territory Predict the Condition and Sex Ratio of Offspring

Maternal Natal Environment and Breeding Territory Predict the Condition and Sex Ratio of Offspring

Females allocate differentially to offspring size and number in response to male effects on female and offspring fitness

Behavioral Plasticity in Response to Perceived Predation Risk in Breeding House Wrens

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