Effects of maternal quality and mating status on female reproductive success in the polygynous spotless starling

Moreno, Juan; Veiga, José P.; Romasanta, Marta; Sánchez, Sara

doi:10.1006/anbe.2002.3060

Cited by 24 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…In the sibling species, the spotless starling Sturnus unicolor, the value of male parental care may be lower (Moreno et al, 2002) and we would expect less of costly competitive behaviours from already mated females. We suggest that systematic comparative studies in which both the seasonal variation in fitness consequences of differences in mating status for the participants of the sexual conflict and the intensity and effectiveness of conflict behaviours are evaluated, is a fruitful way to evaluate the sexual conflict model of avian mating systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Starling Mating System as an Outcome of the Sexual Conflict

Smith

Sandell

2005

Evol Ecol

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Many bird species demonstrate a variable mating system, with some males being monogamously mated and other males able to attract more than one mate. This variation in avian mating systems is often explained in terms of potential costs of sharing breeding partners and compensation for such costs. However, whenever there is a difference in the optimal mating system for males and females, a sexual conflict over the number of partners is expected. This paper contains a verbal model of how a conflict between male and female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), resulting from the fitness consequences of different mating systems for males and females differing over time, determines the mating system. We demonstrate that males and females have contrasting fitness interests regarding mating system, such that males gain from attracting additional mates whereas already mated females pay a cost in terms of reduced reproductive success if males are successful in attracting more mates. We demonstrate how this can be traced to the rules by which males allocate non-sharable care between different broods. Furthermore, we demonstrate that there exist male and female conflict behaviours with the potential to affect the mating system. For example, aggression from already mated females towards prospecting females can limit male mating success and males can circumvent this by spacing the nest-sites they defend. The realised mating system will emerge as a consequence of both the fitness value of the different mating systems for males and females, and the costs for males and females of intersexual competition. We discuss how this model can be developed and critically evaluated in the future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Starling Mating System as an Outcome of the Sexual Conflict

Smith

Sandell

2005

Evol Ecol

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“…It is also possible that, if the mating system of females is randomly determined, long-lived females will have higher probability to become primary or secondary females, which also results in a covariation between survival and mating status. It is noteworthy that in the spotless starlings Sturnus unicolor, female breeding success in relation to mating status seemed to be weakly affected by male assistance, but strongly dependent on inherent quality differences between females (Moreno et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Female survival, lifetime reproductive success and mating status in a passerine bird

Garamszegi

Török²,

Michl

et al. 2004

Oecologia

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In facultatively polygynous birds, secondary females of polygynously mated males typically have reduced annual reproductive success, because polygynous males provide less paternal care than monogamous males. Life history theory predicts that, as a result of increased reproductive investment, secondary females should suffer from reduced survival and lifetime reproductive success, but previous studies provided only weak support for this hypothesis. We used 7 years of data to study the fitness of female collared flycatchers Ficedula albicollis in relation to mating status by estimating survival and lifetime reproductive success. Taking differences in recapture probability into account, a mark-recapture analysis revealed that females observed at least once to breed as secondary female had higher survival than other females. This relationship was not confounded by laying date, because when we assessed the impact of laying date on survival, we found similar survival patterns. Females of polygynous males had reduced breeding success in terms of number of young fledged during the current reproductive event. However, during their lifetime females found at least once in primary or secondary mating status produced significantly more eggs, and at least the same number of fledglings and recruits as monogamous females. Thus, in the collared flycatcher, females of polygynously mated males seem to suffer from mating status during the most recent reproductive event, but considering survival and lifetime reproductive success, the apparently disadvantageous mating event is not necessarily associated with reduced residual reproductive value.

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“…during both observations and are experiencing similar environments. For example, we might expect reproductive effort in birds to be more repeatable within broods rather than across seasons (Potti et al 1999; Moreno et al 2002). In contrast, when the interval between observations is long, there is more opportunity for developmental change; individuals are more likely to undergo dramatic change such as sexual maturity or a niche shift over a longer period of time.…”

Section: Does Repeatability Decrease With the Interval Between Observations?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The repeatability of behaviour: a meta-analysis

2009

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There is increasing interest in individual differences in animal behaviour. Recent research now suggests that an individual’s behaviour, once considered to be plastic, may be more predictable than previously thought. Here, we take advantage of the large number of studies that have estimated the repeatability of various behaviours to evaluate whether there is good evidence for consistent individual differences in behaviour and to answer some outstanding questions about possible factors that can influence repeatability. Specifically, we use meta-analysis to ask whether different types of behaviours were more repeatable than others, and if repeatability estimates depended on taxa, sex, age, field versus laboratory, the number of measures and the interval between measures. Some of the overall patterns that were revealed by this analysis were that repeatability estimates were higher in the field compared to the laboratory and repeatability was higher when the interval between observations was short. Mate preference behaviour was one of the best studied but least repeatable behaviours. Our findings prompt new insights into the relative flexibility of different types of behaviour and offer suggestions for the design and analysis of future research.

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Effects of maternal quality and mating status on female reproductive success in the polygynous spotless starling

Cited by 24 publications

References 42 publications

The Starling Mating System as an Outcome of the Sexual Conflict

The Starling Mating System as an Outcome of the Sexual Conflict

Female survival, lifetime reproductive success and mating status in a passerine bird

The repeatability of behaviour: a meta-analysis

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