Abstract
Plasma concentration of androgens and gonad development were studied in wild cooperatively breeding bell miners (Manorina melanophrys) of different age, sex and social status. Plasma levels of androgens increased with age of birds. For sexually mature (SM) bell miners, androgen levels were higher in breeders than in nonbreeding (NB) helpers (P < 0.005), and they were marginally higher in females than in males (P < 0.10). Thus female breeders showed the highest plasma levels of androgens. This pattern may be explained by an asymmetry between the sexes in the levels of competition needed to reach and defend breeding status; the degree of intra-sexual competition seems to be higher among female bell miners than among males. In general, male breeders had larger gonads than male SMNB helpers; male breeder gonads produced spermatozoa whereas most helpers' gonads did not. However, old (i.e. ≧ 34 months) SMNB male helpers had large gonads producing spermatozoa in spite of having low plasma levels of androgens. We suggest that young male bell miners may be under a “voluntary” mechanism of reproductive suppression perhaps favoured by inbreeding avoidance; although some aggressive interactions observed between very young helpers (about 2 months) and adult members of the breeding unit suggests that a certain degree of imposition also occurs at young ages. Older male helpers may avoid aggression with the male breeder and imposed reproductive suppression, hence the low circulating levels of androgens, but they have the potential to sneak extra-pair copulations. Gonad size decreased during the non-breeding season in both sexes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abraham GE, Gaza A, Manlimos FS (1977) Radioimmunoassay of steroids. In: Abraham GE (ed) Handbook of radioimmunoassay. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 591–656
Adkins-Regan E, Abdelnabi M, Mobarak M, Ottinger MA (1990) Sex steroid levels in developing and adult male and female zebra finches (Poephila guttata). Gen Comp Endocrinol 78:93–109
Arctander P (1988) Comparative studies of avian DNA by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis: convenient procedures based on blood samples from live birds. J Ornithol 129:205–216
Balthazart J (1983) Hormonal correlates of behavior. In: Farner DS, King JR, Parkes KC (eds) Avian biology, vol 7. Academic Press, New York, pp 221–365
Baptista LF, Le Wolfe BB, Avery-Beausoleil L (1987) Testosterone, aggression, and dominance in Gambel's white-crowed sparrows. Wilson Bull 99:86–91
Barholomew GA (1949) The effect of light and day length on reproduction in the English sparrow. Bull Mus Comp Zool 101:433–476
Bell HL, Ford HA (1986) A comparison of social organization of three syntopic species of Australian thornbill, Acanthiza. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 19:381–392
Bowman LA, Dilley SR, Keverne EB (1978) Suppression of oestrogen-induced LH surges by social subordination in talapoin monkeys. Nature 275:56–58
Brooker MG, Rowley I, Adams M, Baverstock PR (1990) Promiscuity: an inbreeding avoidance mechanism in a socially monogamous species? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 26: 191–199
Brown JL (1974) Alternative routes to sociality in jays — with a theory for the evolution of altruism and communal breeding. Am Zool 14:63–80
Brown JL (1978) Avian communal breeding systems. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 9:123–155
Brown JL (1985) The evolution of helping behavior — an ontogenetic and comparative perspective. In: Gollins ES (ed) The comparative development of adaptive skills: evolutionary implications. LEA Publishers, New Jersey, pp 137–171
Brown JL (1987) Helping and communal breeding in birds. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Brown JL, Horvath EG (1989) Geographic variation of group size, ontogeny, rattle calls, and body size in Aphelocoma ultramarina. Auk 106:124–128
Burger HG, Lee VWK, Rennie GC (1972) A generalized computer program for the treatment of data from competitive proteinbinding assays including radioimmunoassays. J Lab Clin Med 80:302–312
Burke T, Davies NB, Bruford MW, Hatchwell BJ (1989) Parental care and mating behaviour of polyandrous dunnocks Prunella modularis related to paternity by DNA fingerprinting. Nature 338:249–251
Chard T (1987) An introduction to radioimmunoassay and related techniques. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Clarke MF (1984) Co-operative breeding by the Australian bell miner Manorina melanophrys Latham: a test of kin selection theory. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 14:137–146
Clarke MF (1988) The reproductive behaviour of the bell miner Manorina melanophrys. Emu 88:88–100
Clarke MF (1989) The pattern of helping in the bell miner (Manorina melanophrys). Ethology 80:292–306
Clarke MF, Heathcote CF (1988) Methods for sexing and ageing the bell miner Manorina melanophrys. Emu 88:118–121
Clarke MF, Heathcote CF (1990) Dispersal, survivorship and demography in the co-operatively breeding bell miner Manorina melanophrys. Emu 90:15–23
Clayden EC (1962) Practical section cutting and staining. J & A Churchill
Collins K, Borgia G (1992) Age-related effects of testosterone, plumage, and experience on aggression and social dominance in juvenile male satin bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus). Auk 109:422–434
Creel SR, Creel NM (1991) Energetics, reproductive suppression and obligate communal breeding in carnivores. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 28:263–270
Creel SR, Waser PM (1991) Failures of reproductive suppression in dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula): accident or adaptation? Behav Ecol 2:7–15
Crook JH, Butterfield PA (1968) Effects of testosterone propionate and luteinizing hormone on agonistic and nest building behaviour of Quelea quelea. Anim Behav 16:370–384
Davies NB (1985) Cooperation and conflict among dunnocks, Prunella modularis, in a variable mating system. Anim Behav 33:628–648
Donham RS, Wingfield JC, Mattocks PWJr, Farner DS (1982) Changes in testicular and plasma androgens with photoperiodically induced increase in plasma LH in the House Sparrow. Gen Comp Endocrinol 48:342–347
Dow DD (1975) Displays of the honey-eater Manorina melanocephala. Z Tierpsychol 38:70–96
Dow DD (1978) Breeding biology and development of the young of Manorina melanocephala, a communally breeding honeyeater. Emu 78:207–222
Dufty AMJr (1989) Testosterone and survival: a cost of aggressiveness? Horm Behav 23:185–193
Dunbar RIM (1988) Primate social systems. Croom Helm, London
Elwood RW, Ostermeyer MC (1984) Does copulation inhibit infanticide in male rodents? Anim Behav 32:293–294
Farner DS, Wilson AC (1957) A quantitative examination of testicular growth in the white-crowned sparrow. Biel Bull 113:254–267
Farner DS, Follett BK, King JR, Morton ML (1966) A quantitative examination of ovarian growth in the white-crowned sparrow. Biol Bull 130:67–75
Francis RC (1988) On the relationship between aggression and social dominance. Ethology 78:223–237
Francis RC, Jacobson B, Wingfield JC, Fernald RD (1992) Castration lowers aggression but not social dominance in male Haplochromis burtoni (Ciclidae). Ethology 90:247–255
Grant R (1990) The significance of subadult plumage in Darwin's finches, Geospiza fortis. Behav Ecol 1:161–170
Gratto-Trevor CL, Oring LW, Fivizzani AJ (1991) Effects of blood sampling stress on hormone levels in the Semipalmated Sandpiper. J Field Ornithol 62:19–27
Harvey S, Phillips JG, Rees A, Hall TR (1984) Stress and adrenal function. J Exp Zool 232:633–645
Hegner RE, Wingfield JC (1987a) Effects of brood-size manipulations on parental investment, breeding success, and reproductive endocrinology of house sparrows. Auk 104:470–480
Hegner RE, Wingfield JC (1987b) Effects of experimental manipulation of testosterone levels on parental investment and breeding success in male house sparrows. Auk 104:462–469
Hinde RA (ed) (1983) Primate social relationships. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford
Hoysak DJ, Weatherhead PJ (1991) Sampling blood from birds: a technique and an assessment of its effect. Condor 93:746–752
Kerlan JT, Jaffe RB (1974) Plasma testosterone levels during the testicular cycle of the redwinged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniculus). Gen Comp Endocrinol 22:428–432
Ketterson ED, Nolan VJr, Wolf L, Ziegenfus C, Dufty AMJr, Ball GF, Johnsen TS (1991) Testosterone and avian life histories: the effect of experimentally elevated testosterone and corticosterone on body mass in dark-eyed juncos. Horm Behav 25:489–503
Koenig WD, Pitelka FA (1979) Relatedness and inbreeding avoidance: counterploys in the communally nesting acorn woodpecker. Science 206:1103–1105
Lawton M, Guindon CF (1981) Flock composition, breeding success, and learning in the brown jay. Condor 83:27–33
Lawton MF, Lawton RO (1985) Heterochrony, deferred breeding, and avian sociality. Curr Ornithol 3:187–222
Ligon JD (1988) The question of parent-pffspring conflict in cooperatively breeding birds. In: Quellet H (ed) Proceedings of the 19th international ornithological congress, Ottawa, Ottawa Press, pp 1231–1243
Lovegrove BG (1991) The evolution of eusociality in molerats (Bathyergidae): a question of risks, numbers, and costs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 28:37–45
Masters-Vleck C, Dobrott SJ (1993) Testosterone, antiandrogen, and alloparental behavior in bobwhite quail foster fathers. Horm Behav 27:92–107
Mays NA, Masters-Vleck C, Dawson J (1991) Plasma luteinizing hormone, steroid hormones, behavioral role, and nest stage in cooperatively breeding Harris' hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus). Auk 108:619–637
Moehlman P (1986) Ecology of cooperation in canids. In: Rubenstein DI, Wrangham RW (eds) Ecological aspects of social evolution. Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp 64–86
Morton ML, Peterson LE, Burns DM, Allan N (1990) Seasonal and age-related changes in plasma testosterone levels in mountain white-crowned sparrows. Condor 92:166–173
Mumme RL, Koenig WD, Zink RM, Marten JA (1985) Genetic variation and parentage in a California population of acorn woodpeckers. Auk 102:305–312
Peterson AT (1991) Sociality and ontogeny of coloration in the blue-and-black jays. Wilson Bull 103:59–67
Poiani A (1992a) Hormonal, behavioural and ecological aspects of cooperative breeding in the bell miner (Manorina melanophrys, Meliphagidae). PhD Thesis, Department of Zoology, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia
Poiani A (1992b) Feeding of the female breeder by male helpers in the bell miner Manorina melanophrys. Emu 92:233–237
Poiani A (1993a) Social structure and the development of helping in the bell miner (Manorina melanophrys, Meliphagidae). Ethology 93:62–80
Poiani A (1993b) Reproductive biology of the bell miner (Manorina melanophrys, Meliphagidae) at Healesville, South-eastern Victoria. Wildl Res 20 (in press)
Poiani A (1993c) Effects of clutch size manipulation on reproductive behavior and nesting success in the cooperatively breeding bell miner (Manorina melanophrys). Evol Ecol 7:329–356
Poiani A (1993d) A possible case of intra-specific brood parasitism in the bell miner. Corella 17:61–62
Poiani A, Rogers A, Rogers K, Rogers D (1990) Asymmetrical competition between the bell miner (Manorina melanophrys, Meliphagidae) and other honeyeaters: evidence from southeastern Victoria, Australia. Oecologia 85:250–256
Procter-Gray E, Holmes RT (1981) Adaptive significance of delayed attainment of plumage in male American redstarts: tests of two hypotheses. Evolution 35:742–751
Rabenold KN (1985) Cooperation in breeding by nonreproductive wrens: kinship, reciprocity and demography. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 17:1–17
Rabenold PP, Rabenold KN, Piper WH, Haydock J, Zack SW (1990) Shared paternity revealed by genetic analysis in cooperatively breeding tropical wrens. Nature 348:538–540
Reyer H-U, Dittami JP, Hall MR (1986) Avian helpers at the nest: are they psychologically castrated? Ethology 71:216–228
Rood JP (1980) Mating relationships and breeding suppression in the dwarf mongoose. An Behav 28:143–150
Rowell TE (1966) Hierarchy in the organization of a captive baboon group. Anim Behav 14:430–443
Rowley I (1965) The life history of the superb blue wren Malurus cyaneus. Emu 64:250–297
Rowley I, Russell E, Payne RB, Payne LL (1989) Plural breeding in the splendid fairy-wren, Malurus splendens (Aves: Maluridae), a cooperative breeder. Ethology 83:229–247
Saitoh T (1990) Lifetime reproductive success in reproductively suppressed female voles. Res Popul Ecol 32:391–406
Schilling A, Perret M, Predine J (1984) Sexual inhibition in a prosimian primate: a pheromone-like effect. J Endocrinol 102:143–151
Schmidt LG, Bradshaw SD, Follett BK (1991) Plasma levels of luteinizing hormone and androgens in relation to age and breeding status among cooperatively breeding Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen Latham). Gen Comp Endocrinol 83:48–55
Schoech SJ, Mumme RL, Moore MC (1991) Reproductive endocrinology and mechanisms of breeding inhibition in cooperatively breeding Florida scrub jays (Aphelocoma c. coerulescens). Condor 93:354–364
Scott DM, Middleton ALA (1968) The annual testicular cycle of the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater). Can J Zool 46:77–87
Siegel HS (1980) Physiological stress in birds. Bioscience 30:529–534
Silverin B (1980) Effects of long-acting testosterone treatment on free-living pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca, during the breeding period. Anim Behav 28:906–912
Silverin B (1982) Endocrine correlates of brood size in adult pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca. Gen Comp Endocrinol 47:18–23
Silverin B (1991) Behavioral, hormonal, and morphological responses of free-living male pied flycatchers to estradiol treatment of their mates. Horm Behav 25:38–56
Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1981) Biometry, 2nd edn. Freeman, New York
Sossinka R (1980) Ovarian development in an opportunistic breeder, the zebra finch Poephila guttata castanotis. J Exp Zool 211:225–230
Tsutsui K, Wingfield JC, Bottjer SW (1991) Adenohypophysectomy in the zebra finch. Gen Comp Endocrinol 81:163–173
Vehrencamp SL (1983) A model for the evolution of despotic versus egalitarian societies. Anim Behav 31:667–682
Vogel C (1985) Helping, cooperation, and altruism in primate societies. In: Holldobler B, Lindauer M (eds) Experimental behavioral ecology. Fisher, New York, pp 375–389
Walsberg GE (1983) Avian ecological energetics. In: Farner DS, King JR, Parkes KC (eds) Avian biology vol 7. Academic Press, New York, pp 161–220
Wasser SK, Barash DP (1983) Reproductive suppression among female mammals: implications for biomedicine and sexual selection theory. Q Rev Biol 58:513–538
Wingfield JC (1980) Fine temporal adjustment of reproductive functions. In: Epple A, Stetson MH (eds) Avian endocrinology. Academic Press, New York, pp 367–389
Wingfield JC (1984a) Environmental and endocrine control of reproduction in the song sparrow, Melospiza melodia. I Temporal organizaton of the breeding cycle. Gen Comp Endocrinol 56:406–416
Wingfield JC (1984b) Environmental and endocrine control of reproduction in the song sparrow, Melospiza melodia. II Agonistic interactions as environmental information stimulating secretion of testosterone. Gen Comp Endocrinol 56:417–424
Wingfield JC, Farner DS (1976) Avian endocrinology — field investigations and methods. Condor 78:570–573
Wingfield JC, Lewis DM (1993) Hormonal and behavioural responses to simulated territorial intrusion in the cooperatively breeding white-browed sparrow weaver, Plocepasser mahali. Anim Behav 45:1–11
Wingfield JC, Smith JP, Farner DS (1982) Endocrine responses of white-crowned sparrows to environmental stress. Condor 8:399–409
Wingfield JC, Ball GF, Dufty AM Jr, Hegner RE, Ramenofsky M (1987) Testosterone and aggression in birds. Am Sci 75:602–608
Wingfield JC, Hegner RE, Dufty AM Jr, Ball GF (1990) The “challenge hypothesis”: theoretical implications for patterns of testosterone secretions, mating systems, and breeding strategies. Am Nat 136:829–846
Wingfield JC, Hegner RE, Lewis DM (1991) Circulating levels of luteinizing hormone and steroid hormones in relation to social status in the cooperatively breeding white-browed sparrow weaver, Plocepasser mahali. J Zool London 225:43–58
Wingfield JC, Hegner RE, Lewis DM (1992) Hormonal responses to removal of a breeding male in the cooperatively breeding white-browed sparrowweaver, Plocepasser mahali. Horm Behav 26:145–155
Winterstein SR (1985) Ecology and sociobiology of black-throated magpie-jay. Ph.D. thesis, New Mexico State University, New Mexico, USA
Wolff JO (1992) Parents suppress reproduction and stimulate dispersal in opposite-sex juvenile white-footed mice. Nature 359:409–410
Wrege PH, Emlen ST (1987) Biochemical determination of parental uncertainty in white-fronted bee-eaters. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 20:153–160
Zar JH (1984) Biostatistical analysis, 2nd edn. Prentice Hall, New Jersey
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Poiani, A., Fletcher, T. Plasma levels of androgens and gonadal development of breeders and helpers in the bell miner (Manorina melanophrys). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 34, 31–41 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00175456
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00175456