Nest size variation and its importance for mate choice in penduline tits,Remiz pendulinus

1996 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 464-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. HOI ◽  
B. SCHLEICHER ◽  
F. VALERA
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Nest Size ◽  
Remiz Pendulinus

Prey preference of a wasp determined by nest size supports the role of natural selection in body size evolution in Cassidinae leaf beetles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadashi Shinohara ◽  
Yasuoki Takami
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Prey Preference ◽  
Nest Size ◽  
Large Prey ◽  
Leaf Beetles ◽  
Body Sizes

Abstract The prey preference of a predator can impose natural selection on prey phenotypes, including body size. Despite evidence that large body size protects against predation in insects, the determinants of body size variation in Cassidinae leaf beetles are not well understood. We examined the prey preference of the digger wasp Cerceris albofasciata, a specialist predator of adult Cassidinae leaf beetles, and found evidence for natural selection on prey body size. The wasp hunted prey smaller than the size of their nest entrance. However, the wasp preferred larger prey species among those that could be carried into their nest. Thus, the benefits of large prey and the cost associated with nest expansion might determine the prey size preference. As expected from the prey species preference, the wasp preferred small individuals of the largest prey species, Thlaspida biramosa, and large individuals of the smallest prey species, Cassida piperata, resulting in natural selection on body sizes. In intermediate-sized prey species, however, there was no evidence for selection on body size. Natural selection on body size might explain the variation of prey morphologies that increase body size, such as explanate margins, in this group.

Female choice in the penduline tit Remiz pendulinus: the effects of nest size and male mask size

Behaviour ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ákos Pogány ◽  
Tamás Székely
Keyword(s):  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Nest Size ◽  
Indirect Benefit ◽  
Direct Benefit ◽  
Multiple Cues ◽  
Direct Benefits ◽  
Large Nest ◽  
Mask Size ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Remiz Pendulinus

Why do females prefer some males over others? Females often use multiple cues, and to distinguish between these cues one needs to manipulate putative male traits. We carried out a test of multiple cues hypothesis in a polygamous bird, the penduline tit Remiz pendulinus . In this passerine both males and females mate with up to six mates within a breeding season, and a single parent (male or female) incubates the eggs and raises the chicks. Males build sophisticated nests, and previous studies suggested that females prefer males with large nest to small ones, since large nests provide direct benefit to females via reduced cost of incubation. Males sport wider eye-stripes ('masks') than females, and males with large masks find a mate faster than males with small masks. In a mate choice experiment using factorial design and two levels for each trait, we show that females prefer males with large masks, whereas they do not show preference for large nests. These results suggest that in penduline tits (i) females pay more attention to a trait that signals indirect benefit (mask size) than a trait that is related to direct benefits (nest size), and (ii) nest preference may be context-dependent.

Humans copy social information in mate choice decisions

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Skyler S. Place ◽  
Peter M. Todd ◽  
Lars Penke ◽  
Jens B. Asendorpf
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Social Information

Elevated nest predation risk promotes offspring size variation in birds with prolonged parental care.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gretchen F. Wagner ◽  
Emeline Mourocq ◽  
Michael Griesser
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Reproductive Cycle ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Nest Predation ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Offspring Size ◽  
Natural Predation ◽  
Risk Spreading

Predation of offspring is the main cause of reproductive failure in many species, and the mere fear of offspring predation shapes reproductive strategies. Yet, natural predation risk is ubiquitously variable and can be unpredictable. Consequently, the perceived prospect of predation early in a reproductive cycle may not reflect the actual risk to ensuing offspring. An increased variance in investment across offspring has been linked to breeding in unpredictable environments in several taxa, but has so far been overlooked as a maternal response to temporal variation in predation risk. Here, we experimentally increased the perceived risk of nest predation prior to egg-laying in seven bird species. Species with prolonged parent-offspring associations increased their intra-brood variation in egg, and subsequently offspring, size. High risk to offspring early in a reproductive cycle can favour a risk-spreading strategy particularly in species with the greatest opportunity to even out offspring quality after fledging.

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