Costliness and reliability in the singing vigour of Ipswich sparrows

Reid, Mary L.

doi:10.1016/s0003-3472(87)80066-0

Cited by 98 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Of course, cause and effect cannot be distinguished by these correlations, but they do suggest that changes in repertoire composition are the result of malemale interaction. The singing rate in some species appears to be limited by food resources available on the territories (Davies and Lundberg 1984;Gottlander 1987;Reid 1987). Males given supplemental food sing more, especially on cold days.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Song overproduction and selective attrition lead to song sharing in the field sparrow (Spizella pusilla)

Nelson

1992

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

130

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Male field sparrows settling on particular territories for the first time often sing two or more song types. Vocal experience with neighboring males then leads in most cases to the deletion from the male's repertoires of all but one song type. In 2 years, settling males retained the song type that most closely resembled that of a neighbor. Focal observations in 1 year revealed that the most actively singing neighbor was the one the new birds resembled. Songs were not selected on the basis of their absolute acoustic characteristics, but rather by their resemblance to neighbors' songs. After the attrition process is complete, males retain their song for the rest of their lives. Evidence supports the hypothesis that the actual acquisition of a song need not take place at the time and place as males occupy territories. Rather, males may acquire an abundance of song models earlier in life and then select songs from this repertoire that most closely resemble those of their neighbors. The development of mature repertoires and of local dialects is the outcome of one process in this species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Song overproduction and selective attrition lead to song sharing in the field sparrow (Spizella pusilla)

Nelson

1992

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

130

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“…In any event, much of the foraging by Savannah sparrows is done off-territory in undefended areas (pers. obs., Welsh 1975;Reid 1987). Apparently, female Savannah sparrows at Kent Island are not trading off reduced male parental care in exchange for a superior habitat, as predicted by the polygyny threshold model (Verner and Willson 1966;Orians 1969).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Polygyny and male parental care in Savannah sparrows: effects on female fitness

Wheelwright

Schultz

Hodum

1992

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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To determine the effects of male mating status on female fitness, we compared the reproductive success, survival, and future fecundity of female Savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) mated to monogamous vs. polygynous males in a 5-year study on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada. The proportion of males with more than one mate varied from 15 to 43% between years and sites. Polygynous and monogamous males fledged young of equal size in every year of the study. Females who shared paternal care with other females laid as many eggs per clutch and clutches per season as monogamously mated females. In most years polygynously mated females showed no delay in laying a second clutch, and they suffered no reduction in fecundity the following year. Recruitment of a female's offspring into the breeding population was generally independent of her mating status. Fitness costs of being mated to a polygynous male were only apparent in one year of the study, during which females mated to polygynous males had higher over-winter mortality than those mated to monogamous males. That same year, young raised by polygynous males were only one-third as likely to survive to reproductive maturity (as inferred by returns) as those raised by monogamous males. A male's mating status had no effect on his own survivorship. A male's mating status did not necessarily reflect his contributions to raising nestlings, which may partially explain why monogamously and polygynously mated females had equal fitness. At 35 nests the proportion of food deliveries brought by individual males varied from 0 to 75%; on average, males brought fewer than 30% of all food deliveries. Yet parental care by polygynous males was no less than that of monogamous males, at least at the nests of their primary females. Secondary females tended to receive less male assistance during the nestling stage, but their reproductive success was indistinguishable from that of primary females. Females feeding young without male assistance made as many food deliveries/h as did pairs in which males brought at least 30% of Correspondence to. N.T. Wheelwright all food deliveries. Unassisted females did not suffer diminished fledging success or produce smaller fledglings. The benefits of polygyny for male Savannah sparrows are clear: polygynous males recruit more surviving offspring into the breeding population than monogamous males. The fitness of females, on the other hand, appears to be unaffected by whether their mate was monogamous or polygynous except in occasional years. Polygyny may be maintained in this population by the constraints of a female-biased sex ratio, the inability of females to predict a male's paternal care based on his morphology or behavior, the poor correlation between a male's mating status and his assistance at the nest, and inconsistent natural selection against mating with a polygynous male.

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“…When the metabolic demands o f birds are increased in such a manner, more energy must be used for self-maintainance, leaving less energy for advertising and defending a territory. This energetic strain seems to have two synergistically related behavioural outcomes, a decrease in song production (Garson andHunter 1979, Higgins 1979) and an increase in foraging behaviour to restore optimal energetic stores (Thomas and Cuthill 2002, Strain and Mumme 1988, Reid 1987. In other words, a cold bird has less energy to sing or call, and restoring that energy by foraging competes temporally with singing or calling.…”

Section: Vocal Outputmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, song and other territorial calling output appears to be food limited in almost all species tested (e.g. Thomas 1999, Reid 1987, suggesting it is a sensitive indicator of food availability in the habitat.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Monitoring habitat quality and condition of Queen Charlotte saw-whet owls (Aegolius acadicus brooksi) using vocal individuality.

Holschuh¹

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Costliness and reliability in the singing vigour of Ipswich sparrows

Cited by 98 publications

References 24 publications

Song overproduction and selective attrition lead to song sharing in the field sparrow (Spizella pusilla)

Song overproduction and selective attrition lead to song sharing in the field sparrow (Spizella pusilla)

Polygyny and male parental care in Savannah sparrows: effects on female fitness

Monitoring habitat quality and condition of Queen Charlotte saw-whet owls (Aegolius acadicus brooksi) using vocal individuality.

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