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Tough decisions: Reproductive timing and output vary with individuals' physiology, behavior and past success in a social opportunistic breeder
journal contribution
posted on 2015-11-01, 00:00 authored by Mylene MarietteMylene Mariette, Kate BuchananKate Buchanan, William Buttemer, Vincent CareauThis article is part of a Special Issue "SBN 2014". Photoperiod and the hormonal response it triggers are key determinants of reproductive timing in birds. However, other cues and physiological traits may permit flexibility in the timing of breeding and perhaps facilitate adaptation to global change. Opportunistic breeders are excellent models to study the adaptive significance of this flexibility, especially at the individual level. Here, we sought to quantify whether particular male physiological and behavioral traits were linked to reproductive timing and output in wild-derived zebra finches. We repeatedly assessed male stress-induced corticosterone levels (CORT), basal metabolic rate (BMR), and activity before releasing them into outdoor aviaries and quantifying each pair's breeding timing, investment, and output over a seven-month period. Despite unlimited access to food and water, the colony breeding activity occurred in waves, probably due to interpair social stimulations. Pairs adjusted their inter-clutch interval and clutch size to social and temperature cues, respectively, but only after successful breeding attempts, suggesting a facultative response to external cues. When these effects were controlled for statistically or experimentally, breeding intervals were repeatable within individuals across reproductive attempts. In addition, males' first laying date and total offspring production varied with complex interactions between pre-breeding CORT, BMR and activity levels. These results suggest that no one trait is under selection but that, instead, correlational selection acts on hormone levels, metabolism, and behavior. Together our results suggest that studying inter-individual variation in breeding strategy and their multiple physiological and behavioral underpinnings may greatly improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the evolution of breeding decisions.
History
Journal
Hormones and behaviorVolume
76Pagination
23 - 33Publisher
ElsevierLocation
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsPublisher DOI
eISSN
1095-6867Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2015, ElsevierUsage metrics
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No categories selectedKeywords
Canonical analysisCorrelational selectionCorticosteroneFitnessFledgling survivalMetabolic rateReproductive plasticityReproductive timingSelection gradientZebra finchScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineBehavioral SciencesEndocrinology & MetabolismWHITE-CROWNED SPARROWSTAENIOPYGIA-GUTTATACLUTCH SIZEDEVELOPMENTAL STRESSNATURAL-SELECTIONMETABOLIC-RATESHORMONE-LEVELSZEBRA FINCHESDAY LENGTHFOOD
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