The importance of pair duration and biparental care to reproductive success in the monogamous Australian magpie-lark

1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle L. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Biparental Care ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
Previous Season ◽  
Socially Monogamous ◽  
First Clutch ◽  
Breeding Attempt ◽  
First Time ◽  
Australian Magpie

Biparental care is common in birds, where monogamy is the predominant mating system. Australian magpie-larks (Grallina cyanoleuca) are socially monogamous, and relatively unusual among passerines in the extent to which parental care is shared. Males contributed as much or more to parental care as females, sharing nest-building, incubation, brooding and feeding of nestlings and fledglings. Biparental care was thus important to survival of offspring, and probably constrained partners to stay together thoughout a breeding attempt. However, partners usually remained together longer. Pairs that had bred together in the previous season tended to lay their first clutch earlier, were more likely to fledge two broods in the season, and had higher annual reproductive success than pairs breeding together for the first time. Females benefitted from staying with a male they had bred with previously, as females in established pairs decreased their feeding rates and their partners compensated to some extent. Differences between new and established pairs may have been due to the effects of the age and experience of each partner, or to pair duration, or both. Divorce rates were low, consistent with benefits associated with staying together, but also with high costs of divorce as year-round territoriality probably limited opportunities for taking different partners.

Mating system, mate choice and parental care in a bark beetle

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (5) ◽  
pp. 611-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Baruch ◽  
Z. Mendel ◽  
I. Scharf ◽  
A. R Harari
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Mating System ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Bark Beetle ◽  
Biparental Care ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Male Body Size

AbstractThe cypress bark beetle,Phloeosinus armatus, is a common element of the dying cypress tree system in East-Mediterranean countries. Adult beetles congregate for breeding on this ephemeral resource. We studied three traits that characterize this beetle's sexual behavior and linked them to its reproductive success: mating system, mate choice, and parental care. We found that the females are the ‘pioneering sex’, excavating the mating chamber. The average female is slightly larger than the male, and female and male body size is correlated, demonstrating size-assortative mating. The time it takes for a male to enter the mating chamber is positively correlated with female size and negatively correlated with its own size, which is perhaps responsible for this assortative mating. Males remain in the gallery during the period of oviposition, gradually leaving soon after the eggs hatch. The number of eggs laid and tunnel length are positively correlated with male body size. Finally, in the presence of both parents, more eggs are laid than when the female alone is present, demonstrating the important contribution of biparental care for reproductive success. We suggest that the interaction between a monogamous mating system, assortative mating, and biparental care contributes to reproductive success.

scholarly journals Sharing the burden: on the division of parental care and vocalizations during incubation

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 1062-1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwa M Kavelaars ◽  
Luc Lens ◽  
Wendt Müller
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Biparental Care ◽  
Parental Effort ◽  
Levels Of Care ◽  
Incubation Behavior ◽  
Evolutionary Conflict ◽  
Larus Fuscus ◽  
Nestling Period

Abstract In species with biparental care, individuals only have to pay the costs for their own parental investment, whereas the contribution of their partner comes for free. Each parent hence benefits if its partner works harder, creating an evolutionary conflict of interest. How parents resolve this conflict and how they achieve the optimal division of parental tasks often remains elusive. In this study, we investigated whether lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus) divide parental care during incubation equally and whether this correlates with the extent of vocalizations between pair-members during incubation. We then investigated whether pairs showing more evenly distributed incubation behavior had a higher reproductive success. To this end, we recorded incubation behavior and vocalizations for 24-h time periods. Subsequently, we experimentally increased or decreased brood sizes in order to manipulate parental effort, and followed offspring development from hatching till fledging. Although incubation bouts were, on average, slightly longer in females, patterns varied strongly between pairs, ranging from primarily female incubation over equal sex contributions to male-biased incubation. Pairs contributing more equally to incubation vocalized more during nest relief and had a higher reproductive output when brood sizes were experimentally increased. Thus, vocalizations and a more equal division of parental care during incubation may facilitate higher levels of care during the nestling period, as suggested by a greater reproductive success when facing high brood demand, or they indicate pair quality.

scholarly journals Nest defense in the face of cuckoldry: evolutionary rather than facultative adaptation to chronic paternity loss

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Zimmermann ◽  
Karoline Fritzsche ◽  
Jonathan M. Henshaw ◽  
Cyprian Katongo ◽  
Taylor Banda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Nest Defense ◽  
Stabilizing Selection ◽  
Study Group ◽  
Evolutionary Response ◽  
Socially Monogamous ◽  
The Face ◽  
Primary Form

Abstract Background Raising unrelated offspring is typically wasteful of parental resources and so individuals are expected to reduce or maintain low levels of parental effort when their parentage is low. This can involve facultative, flexible adjustments of parental care to cues of lost parentage in the current brood, stabilizing selection for a low level of paternal investment, or an evolutionary reduction in parental investment in response to chronically low parentage. Results We studied parental care in Variabilichromis moorii, a socially monogamous, biparental cichlid fish, whose mating system is characterized by frequent cuckoldry and whose primary form of parental care is offspring defense. We combine field observations with genetic parentage analyses to show that while both parents defend their nest against intruding con- and hetero-specifics, males and females may do so for different reasons. Males in the study group (30 breeding pairs) sired 0–100% (median 83%) of the fry in their nests. Males defended less against immediate threats to the offspring, and more against threats to their territories, which are essential for the males’ future reproductive success. Males also showed no clear relationship between their share of defense and their paternity of the brood. Females, on the other hand, were related to nearly all the offspring under their care, and defended almost equally against all types of threats. Conclusion Overall, males contributed less to defense than females and we suggest that this asymmetry is the result of an evolutionary response by males to chronically high paternity loss in this species. Although most males in the current study group achieved high parentage in their nests, the average paternity in V. moorii, sampled across multiple seasons, is only about 55%. We highlight the importance and complexity of studying nest defense as a form of parental care in systems where defense may serve not only to protect current offspring, but also to ensure future reproductive success by maintaining a territory.

scholarly journals Opposite differential allocation by males and females of the same species

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 20120835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Limbourg ◽  
A. Christa Mateman ◽  
C. M. Lessells
Keyword(s):  
Biparental Care ◽  
Differential Allocation ◽  
Parental Effort ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
Experimental Protocol ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
First Time ◽  
Blue Tits ◽  
Uv Coloration

Differential allocation (DA)—the adjustment of an individual's parental investment in relation to its mate's attractiveness—is increasingly recognized as an important component of sexual selection. However, although DA is expected by both sexes of parents in species with biparental care, DA by males has rarely been investigated. We have previously demonstrated a decrease in the feeding rates of female blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus when their mate's UV coloration was experimentally reduced (i.e. positive DA). In this study, we used the same experimental protocol in the same population to investigate DA by male blue tits in relation to their female's UV coloration. Males mated to UV-reduced females had higher feeding rates than those mated to control females (i.e. negative DA). Thus, male and female blue tits display opposite DA for the same component of parental effort (chick provisioning), the first time that this has been reported for any species.

Female convict cichlids adjust gonadal investment in current reproduction in response to relative risk of brood predation

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Wisenden
Keyword(s):  
Relative Risk ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Nest Site ◽  
Site Quality ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Biparental Care ◽  
Care Theory ◽  
Convict Cichlids

Parental care theory predicts that investment in current reproduction should be increased when the prospects of success in current reproductive effort are relatively high, and reduced when they are poor relative to expected success from future reproductive effort. A number of studies have shown that levels of postspawning parental investment (brood defence, parents' willingness to risk predation) increase when the brood is augmented. However, few studies have shown a change in pre-spawning (gonadal) investment in response to indirect indicators of reproductive success, such as nest site quality. Convict cichlids (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum) are small freshwater fish that have biparental care of their young. Pairs of convict cichlids were required to spawn in either "risky" or "secure" spawning caves in the presence of potential egg predators. As predicted by parental care theory, females laid significantly more eggs in secure spawning caves than in risky spawning caves. The ability of this iteroparous fish to adjust gonadal investment in this manner would serve to optimize the use of its resources under varying environmental conditions and ultimately allow it to realize maximize lifetime reproductive success.

scholarly journals Being the Winner Is Being the Loser When Playing a Parental Tug-of-War – A New Framework on Stability of Biparental Care

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Evolutionary Stability ◽  
Biparental Care ◽  
Parental Burden ◽  
Breeding Attempt ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Cost ◽  
New Framework

Because there are basic sexual differences in reproductive potential, and the cost of parental care is assumed to be high, biparental care is viewed as a constant tug-of-war between the partners. This raises the question of the system’s evolutionary stability. Several models have been proposed to resolve this problem but none has received unequivocal support. Here, I propose a framework that not only integrates the earlier theoretical ideas (sealed bids, negotiation) but also considers the importance of the environment (frequently neglected in previous models) and views the cost of parental care from a different perspective (costly in terms of parent’s survival only when performed close to the boundary of parental capacity). The framework suggests that sexual conflict may not be such a significant factor mediating parental care as commonly assumed, and that a parent trying to shift the parental burden onto the partner – assumed to be the winner in the tug-of-war interplay – is actually more likely to be a loser, as doing so may put the success of the current breeding attempt in jeopardy, thereby reducing overall fitness of the parent. Once it is realized that the importance of sexual conflict is actually much less than it seems, it becomes clear that the stability of the biparental care system no longer seems to be such a puzzling issue.

scholarly journals Tri-axial accelerometry shows differences in energy expenditure and parental effort throughout the breeding season in long-lived raptors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascual LÓPEZ-LÓPEZ ◽  
Arturo M PERONA ◽  
Olga EGEA-CASAS ◽  
Jon ETXEBARRIA MORANT ◽  
Vicente URIOS
Keyword(s):  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Biparental Care ◽  
Breeding Ecology ◽  
Parental Effort ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Movement Trajectories

Abstract Cutting-edge technologies are extremely useful to develop new workflows in studying ecological data, particularly to understand animal behaviour and movement trajectories at the individual level. Although parental care is a well-studied phenomenon, most studies have been focused on direct observational or video recording data, as well as experimental manipulation. Therefore, what happens out of our sight still remains unknown. Using high-frequency GPS/GSM dataloggers and tri-axial accelerometers we monitored 25 Bonelli’s eagles (Aquila fasciata) during the breeding season to understand parental activities from a broader perspective. We used recursive data, measured as number of visits and residence time, to reveal nest attendance patterns of biparental care with role specialization between sexes. Accelerometry data interpreted as the Overall Dynamic Body Acceleration, a proxy of energy expenditure, showed strong differences in parental effort throughout the breeding season and between sexes. Thereby, males increased substantially their energetic requirements, due to the increased workload, while females spent most of the time on the nest. Furthermore, during critical phases of the breeding season, a low percentage of suitable hunting spots in eagles’ territories led them to increase their ranging behaviour in order to find food, with important consequences in energy consumption and mortality risk. Our results highlight the crucial role of males in raptor species exhibiting biparental care. Finally, we exemplify how biologging technologies are an adequate and objective method to study parental care in raptors as well as to get deeper insight into breeding ecology of birds in general.

scholarly journals Host density predicts the probability of parasitism by avian brood parasites

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1769) ◽  
pp. 20180204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iliana Medina ◽  
Naomi E. Langmore
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Host Density ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Parasitism Rates ◽  
Analyse Data ◽  
First Time ◽  
Determining Factor

The spatial distribution of hosts can be a determining factor in the reproductive success of parasites. Highly aggregated hosts may offer more opportunities for reproduction but can have better defences than isolated hosts. Here we connect macro- and micro-evolutionary processes to understand the link between host density and parasitism, using avian brood parasites as a model system. We analyse data across more than 200 host species using phylogenetic comparative analyses and quantify parasitism rate and host reproductive success in relation to spatial distribution using field data collected on one host species over 6 years. Our comparative analysis reveals that hosts occurring at intermediate densities are more likely to be parasitized than colonial or widely dispersed hosts. Correspondingly, our intraspecific field data show that individuals living at moderate densities experience higher parasitism rates than individuals at either low or high densities. Moreover, we show for the first time that the effect of host density on host reproductive success varies according to the intensity of parasitism; hosts have greater reproductive success when living at high densities if parasitism rates are high, but fare better at low densities when parasitism rates are low. We provide the first evidence of the trade-off between host density and parasitism at both macro- and micro-evolutionary scales in brood parasites. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern’.

Clutch quality is related to embryonic development duration, hatchling body size and telomere length in the spined toad (Bufo spinosus)

2021 ◽  
Vol 133 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-142
Author(s):  
Marion Cheron ◽  
Frédéric Angelier ◽  
Cécile Ribout ◽  
François Brischoux
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Mate Selection ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Egg Quality ◽  
Parental Quality ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Development Duration

Abstract Reproductive success is often related to parental quality, a parameter expressed through various traits, such as site selection, mate selection and energetic investment in the eggs or progeny. Owing to the complex interactions between environmental and parental characteristics occurring at various stages of the reproductive event, it is often complicated to tease apart the relative contributions of these different factors to reproductive success. Study systems where these complex interactions are simplified (e.g. absence of parental care) can help us to understand how metrics of parental quality (e.g. gamete and egg quality) influence reproductive success. Using such a study system in a common garden experiment, we investigated the relationships between clutch hatching success (a proxy of clutch quality) and offspring quality in an amphibian species lacking post-oviposition parental care. We found a relationship between clutch quality and embryonic development duration and hatchling phenotype. We found that hatchling telomere length was linked to hatching success. These results suggest that clutch quality is linked to early life traits in larval amphibians and that deciphering the influence of parental traits on the patterns we detected is a promising avenue of research.

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