Paternal attractiveness and the effects of differential allocation of parental investment

Arnold, Kathryn E.; Gilbert, Lucy; Gorman, Helen E.; Griffiths, Kate; Adam, Aileen; Nager, Ruedi G.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.12.013

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 63 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Arnold et al 2016, reviewed in Harris and Uller 2009, Horváthová et al 2012. Our finding, that female G. pennsylvanicus display some evidence of DA based on male calling song effort, adds both empirical support to the theory and strengthens earlier evidence of DA in field crickets (Head et al 2006).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Listening to male song induces female field crickets to differentially allocate reproductive resources

Ting¹,

Judge²,

Gwynne³

2017

JOR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Differential investment in offspring by mothers is predicted when there is substantial variation in sire quality. Whether females invest more resources in the offspring of high-quality mates (differential allocation, DA) or in the offspring of low-quality mates (reproductive compensation, RC) is not consistent in the literature and both effects can be predicted by theoretical models. In the field cricket, Gryllus pennsylvanicus Burmeister, 1838 (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Gryllinae), females are attracted more to calling songs of high-quality males than to those of low-quality males. We tested whether females invest reproductive resources differentially based on perceived mate quality. We manipulated female perception of male quality by allowing virgin females to approach a speaker broadcasting either highor low-quality calling song (high or low calling effort respectively), and then mated them with a randomly chosen male that had been rendered incapable of calling. In the week following mating, females exposed to highquality calling song gained less weight, laid more embryos, and laid larger embryos than females exposed to low-quality calling song, although only the first of these effects was statistically significant. These results support the DA hypothesis and suggest that females invest their reproductive output based on a trait (calling effort) that is an honest indicator of male quality. Successful demonstration of differential investment requires careful manipulative experiments (Sheldon 2000) where the male trait that is subject to female mating preference is experimentally manipulated and the reproductive output of females mated to manipulated males is measured. This kind of manipulative experiment has the advantage of controlling for confounding male traits that may directly cause changes to females' reproductive output (e.g. material benefits). For example, male attractiveness in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata [Vieillot, 1817]) was manipulated by adding leg bands with colors preferred by females. In response to this manipulation, mothers invested more mass in eggs sired by attractive males than in eggs sired by unattractive males (Gilbert et al. 2006). Mated female canaries (Serinus canaria [Linnaeus, 1758]) were exposed to recordings of either attractive or unattractive male songs before they laid their first clutch, and then the opposite song type before laying their second clutch. Females allocated more testosterone (an important egg resource) to eggs when exposed to attractive male songs (Gil et al. 2004). In another bird, the North African houbara (Chlamydotis undulata [Jacquin, 1784]), artificially inseminated females visually stimulated by highly displaying males had higher hatching success, and allocated more androgens to their eggs leading to increased growth rates in chicks (Loyau and Lacroix 2010 Key words

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Listening to male song induces female field crickets to differentially allocate reproductive resources

Ting¹,

Judge²,

Gwynne³

2017

JOR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nonetheless, there was evidence of female differential allocation based on social mate quality during the egg phase: Females produced heavier eggs when mated to males with extra‐pair success (Figure 2a), and females mated to HI‐diet males tended to produce larger clutches (Table 2). Differential allocation toward eggs in response to male quality/attractiveness has been demonstrated previously, both in this species (Gilbert et al., 2006; Arnold et al., 2016; but see Bolund et al., 2009) and other avian species (Cunningham & Russell, 2000; Horvathova et al., 2012). The effects of greater allocation toward offspring sired by attractive males often last into adulthood (Arnold et al., 2016; Cunningham & Russell, 2000; Gilbert et al., 2006), confounding demonstration of possible genetic benefits from sires to offspring.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

“…Differential allocation toward eggs in response to male quality/attractiveness has been demonstrated previously, both in this species (Gilbert et al., 2006; Arnold et al., 2016; but see Bolund et al., 2009) and other avian species (Cunningham & Russell, 2000; Horvathova et al., 2012). The effects of greater allocation toward offspring sired by attractive males often last into adulthood (Arnold et al., 2016; Cunningham & Russell, 2000; Gilbert et al., 2006), confounding demonstration of possible genetic benefits from sires to offspring.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Female differential allocation in response to extrapair offspring and social mate attractiveness

Wilson

Burley

2021

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Renewed debate over what benefits females might gain from producing extra‐pair offspring emphasizes the possibility that apparent differences in quality between within‐pair and extra‐pair offspring are confounded by greater maternal investment in extra‐pair offspring. Moreover, the attractiveness of a female's social mate can also influence contributions of both partners to a reproductive attempt. Here, we explore the complexities involved in parental investment decisions in response to extra‐pair offspring and mate attractiveness with a focus on the female point of view. Adult zebra finches paired and reproduced in a colony setting. A male's early‐life diet quality and his extra‐pair reproductive success were used as metrics of his mating attractiveness. Females paired with males that achieved extra‐pair success laid heavier eggs than other females and spent less time attending their nests than their mates or other females. Extra‐pair nestlings were fed more protein‐rich hen's egg than within‐pair nestlings. Females producing extra‐pair offspring had more surviving sons than females producing only within‐pair offspring. Collectively, results show that females differentially allocate resources in response to offspring extra‐pair status and their social mate's attractiveness. Females may also obtain fitness benefits through the production of extra‐pair offspring.

show abstract

“…Our main questions were: (1) does a 1h sampling window at a random time of day provide equally accurate prediction of daily parental effort compared to a 3h sampling window, based on the extent of within-individual diurnal and reproductive stage-dependent variation? We chose 3h and 1h sampling windows based on a random selection of ten publications with non-automated sampling of parental care during incubation and nestling provisioning in zebra finches [10, 20, 22, 24, 26–31]. These studies used 3.2 ± 1.8 h (mean ± SD, range: 0.5–8 h) sampling windows, and we intended to compare the average sampling window with one from the lower range.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diurnal and Reproductive Stage-Dependent Variation of Parental Behaviour in Captive Zebra Finches

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Parental care plays a key role in ontogeny, life-history trade-offs, sexual selection and intra-familial conflict. Studies focusing on understanding causes and consequences of variation in parental effort need to quantify parental behaviour accurately. The applied methods are, however, diverse even for a given species and type of parental effort, and rarely validated for accuracy. Here we focus on variability of parental behaviour from a methodological perspective to investigate the effect of different samplings on various estimates of parental effort. We used nest box cameras in a captive breeding population of zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, a widely used model system of sexual selection, intra-familial dynamics and parental care. We investigated diurnal and reproductive stage-dependent variation in parental effort (including incubation, brooding, nest attendance and number of feedings) based on 12h and 3h continuous video-recordings taken at various reproductive stages. We then investigated whether shorter (1h) sampling periods provided comparable estimates of overall parental effort and division of labour to those of longer (3h) sampling periods. Our study confirmed female-biased division of labour during incubation, and showed that the difference between female and male effort diminishes with advancing reproductive stage. We found individually consistent parental behaviours within given days of incubation and nestling provisioning. Furthermore, parental behaviour was consistent over the different stages of incubation, however, only female brooding was consistent over nestling provisioning. Parental effort during incubation did not predict parental effort during nestling provisioning. Our analyses revealed that 1h sampling may be influenced heavily by stochastic and diurnal variation. We suggest using a single longer sampling period (3h) may provide a consistent and accurate estimate for overall parental effort during incubation in zebra finches. Due to the large within-individual variation, we suggest repeated longer sampling over the reproductive stage may be necessary for accurate estimates of parental effort post-hatching.

show abstract

Paternal attractiveness and the effects of differential allocation of parental investment

Cited by 9 publications

References 63 publications

Listening to male song induces female field crickets to differentially allocate reproductive resources

Listening to male song induces female field crickets to differentially allocate reproductive resources

Female differential allocation in response to extrapair offspring and social mate attractiveness

Diurnal and Reproductive Stage-Dependent Variation of Parental Behaviour in Captive Zebra Finches

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About