Reproductive success in the barn owl is linked to partner compatibility in glucocorticoid levels

Abstract

In biparental species, reproductive success depends not only on the quality of the parents, the care they each provide and many environmental factors such as territory quality and food availability, but also on the ability of the parents to collaborate and divide reproductive tasks.Because hormones, such as corticosterone (CORT), modulate physiological and behavioural functions that are associated to reproductive success, hormonal compatibility between pair members is likely to have consequences on reproductive success. Here, we investigated in the barn owl (Tyto alba) whether baseline and stress-induced CORT levels are correlated between breeding partners and whether this correlation is associated to fitness parameters (i.e., clutch size, offspring number and body mass). We found that the combination of CORT levels in the two partners predicts reproductive parameters. Pairs with similar baseline CORT levels during incubation produced more fledglings than pairs with dissimilar baseline CORT levels. On the other hand, pairs showing dissimilar stress-induced CORT responses during the period of offspring rearing produced more fledglings than pairs with similar stress-induced responses. Offspring body mass was associated only with maternal (baseline and stress-induced) CORT levels and depended on the context with baseline CORT being potentially adjusted to environmental conditions but also to the energetic demand of reproduction. Hence, to produce large broods good quality mothers might increase their baseline CORT to meet the energetic demand of the brood, while mothers in unfavourable habitats may have smaller broods but still need to increase baseline CORT to cope with the environmental challenges. Taken together, the results show that the association between parental CORT levels and reproductive success are context-dependent and rely on the combination of parental CORT levels. Assuming that CORT levels reflect investment in parental care, our study suggests that parents coordinate their reproductive activities in a complex way to ensure a high reproductive success.

What’s in a Moment: What Can Be Learned About Pair Bonding From Studying Moment-To-Moment Behavioral Synchrony Between Partners?

“…In great tits, pairs with high reproductive success have similar baseline corticosterone levels ( Ouyang et al, 2014 ); additionally, circulating corticosterone levels become more similar between pairs the longer they are together ( Ouyang et al, 2014 ). Similarly, in barn owls ( Tyto alba ) reproductive success is higher for pairs that have greater similarity in baseline corticosterone levels during incubation, but a greater dissimilarity in stress-induced circulating corticosterone levels during provisioning of chicks ( Béziers et al, 2019 ). However, for eastern bluebird ( Sialia sialis) parents, similarity in hormone levels (within the pair) does not appear related to reproductive success; although, individual hormonal levels are related to the expression of male and female parental behavior ( Burtka et al, 2016 ).…”