Natural Variation in a Testosterone-Mediated Trade-off between Mating Effort and Parental Effort

2007 ◽  
Vol 170 (6) ◽  
pp. 864
Author(s):  
McGlothlin ◽  
Jodie M. Jawor ◽  
Ketterson
2007 ◽  
Vol 170 (6) ◽  
pp. 864-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel W. McGlothlin ◽  
Jodie M. Jawor ◽  
Ellen D. Ketterson

1992 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bobbi S. Low

Broadly defined, political activity normally involves some form of coalition, usually centering upon resource acquisition, and is not restricted to humans. Male and female mammals appear to have evolved to seek and use resources differently—males to get mates (mating effort) and females to raise healthy, successful offspring (parental effort). Because the return curves for these two types of effort differ in shape, several predictions follow about sex differences in political activity. These predictions are tested using the 93 odd-numbered societies of the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample. Results offer insights into current patterns of male and female political activity in Western societies.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 601-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cas Eikenaar ◽  
Megan Whitham ◽  
Jan Komdeur ◽  
Marco van der Velde ◽  
Ignacio T. Moore
Keyword(s):  

The Auk ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne H. Brunton

Abstract The reproductive investment strategies of the sexes during the breeding season are detailed for Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), a monogamous plover. I measured the energy investments of the sexes in reproductive, mating, and parental effort. As predicted, males expend more mating effort than females; however, the sexes expend equal amounts of parental effort. Total energy expenditure in reproductive effort (mating and parental effort) during a successful nesting attempt was also equal for the sexes. However, early parental effort expenditures by females, early mating effort expenditures by males, and high rates of nest failure combine to result in female reproductive energy expenditures being significantly higher over the breeding season. This suggests that energy expenditure alone is not adequate for accurate comparisons of the relative investments of the sexes. Studies investigating male and female investments need to consider the degree and pattern of nest failures along with patterns of energy expenditure. The advantages to male and female Killdeer of sharing parental care is demonstrated using adult removal experiments. In general, a deserted parent expends more energy in parental effort than a bi-parental parent and has significantly lower reproductive success. However, males are able to hatch chicks, whereas females lose or abandon their nests within a few days of mate removal. Thus, monogamy in Killdeer appears to result from high nest failure rates, the necessity of two parents for any reproductive success, and the generalizable nature of Killdeer parental care.


Behaviour ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 120 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 123-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Rangeley ◽  
JEAN-GUY J. Godin

AbstractParental convict cichlids, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum, responded to the presence of a potential brood predator by decreasing net energy gains (food intake decreased and energy expenditure increased) while increasing parental effort (large allocation of time to brood defense). These behaviours are important factors in the life-history trade-off between current and future reproductive investments. The allocation of energy into defense behaviours and elevated activity levels, combined with a voluntary reduction of food consumption, represent an investment in the current brood which could (in nature) reduce future reproduction. Contrary to parental investment theory predictions, consistent increases in parental effort with brood age were not evident.


Behaviour ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Eens ◽  
Veerle Darras ◽  
Lutgarde Arckens ◽  
Elke de Ridder ◽  
Rianne Pinxten

In temperate-zone birds, seasonal testosterone (T) profiles often vary among species with different mating systems. The trade-off hypothesis suggests that T levels in male birds represent a trade-off between additional mating effort, stimulated by high T, and paternal effort, inhibited by high T. To study the role of T in mediating the trade-off between paternal and mating effort in the facultatively polygynous European starling ( Sturnus vulgaris ), we monitored seasonal fluctuations in T levels and song activity, which functions mainly in mate attraction, and we investigated natural covariation between plasma T levels and male parental and song behaviour during the parental phase. T concentrations peaked during nest building, remained high during the fertile period, and then decreased gradually during the period of paternal care. This resembles the profile typically found in polygynous species with biparental care. Seasonal variation in song activity paralleled seasonal changes in T. The proportion of time spent incubating was significantly negatively correlated with T levels in individual males. There was a positive, but non-significant, correlation between song activity at an additional nest box and T levels during incubation. We suggest that this negative correlation between T and incubation behaviour may be partly explained by T increases in males responding to the presence of prospecting females with additional nestbox occupation and mate attraction song, rather than that high T levels stimulate mate attraction song. During the feeding period, characterized by a very low availability of unmated females, variation in T levels was low and there was no covariation between T and feeding. T levels during the parental phase reflect, but do not seem to directly regulate, the trade-off between parental and additional mating effort and other factors such as opportunities for additional matings may influence the resolution of this reproductive trade-off.


PLoS Genetics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. e1002814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seifollah Poormohammad Kiani ◽  
Charlotte Trontin ◽  
Matthew Andreatta ◽  
Matthieu Simon ◽  
Thierry Robert ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonin Jean Johan Crumière ◽  
David Armisén ◽  
Aïdamalia Vargas-Lowman ◽  
Martha Kubarakos ◽  
Felipe Ferraz Figueiredo Moreira ◽  
...  

AbstractSexual conflict may result in the escalating coevolution of sexually antagonistic traits. However, our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of antagonistic traits and their role in association with sex-specific escalation remains limited. Here we study sexually antagonistic coevolution in a genus of water striders called Rhagovelia. We identified a set of male grasping traits and female anti-grasping traits used during pre-mating struggles and show that natural variation of these traits is associated with variation in mating performance in the direction expected for antagonistic co-evolution. Phylogenetic mapping detected signals of escalation of these sexually antagonistic traits suggesting an ongoing arms race. Moreover, their escalation appears to be constrained by a trade-off with dispersal through flight in both sexes. Altogether our results highlight how sexual interactions may have shaped sex-specific antagonistic traits and how constraints imposed by natural selection may have influenced their evolution.


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