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Consequences of experimentally elevated yolk testosterone levels for intra- and inter-sexual selection in canaries

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Abstract

Hormones of maternal origin transferred to the eggs of oviparous species have been shown to significantly affect offspring development. Furthermore, there is now increasing evidence that these effects may last into adulthood. This underlines the persistence of yolk hormone-mediated maternal effects as well as their trans-generational potential as these changes may involve fitness-related traits such as mate choice behaviour, reproductive traits and longevity. Here, we tested the potential of yolk testosterone to affect sexual selection by experimentally increasing the yolk testosterone levels via egg injections. We focused on two central axes of sexual selection, male–male competition for access to a female (intra-sexual selection) and female mate choice behaviour (inter-sexual selection), using canaries (Serinus canaria) as a model species. Neither male agonistic behaviour nor access to the opposite sex, as measured in staged male–male encounters in the presence of a female, were affected by experimentally elevating yolk testosterone levels. We did not find any evidence for effects on female mate choice behaviour either, given the lack of significant effects on mate choice activity, consistency in female mate choice or choosiness. In conclusion, our results indicate that the consequences of yolk testosterone for sexual selection through changes in behavioural traits, which are expressed during pair formation or male–male competition, are probably limited.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Peter Scheys and Geert Eens for helping with animal care and experimental procedures and to Carsten Lucass, Samantha Farrell and Natalia Estramil for commenting on an earlier version of the manuscript. Wolfgang Forstmeier and two anonymous referees provided thoughtful comments that significantly improved the manuscript. This research was funded by a Ph.D. grant to JV by the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology (IWT) in Flanders and by a project granted to WM and ME by FWO Flanders (project G.0102.12N) and the University of Antwerp.

Ethical standards

This experiment was conducted under proper legislation of the Flemish and Belgian law and with approval by the animal experimentation committee of the University of Antwerp (number 2008-26).

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  1. Department of Biology-Ethology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium

    Jonas Vergauwen, Marcel Eens & Wendt Müller

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  1. Jonas Vergauwen
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  2. Marcel Eens
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  3. Wendt Müller
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Correspondence to Wendt Müller.

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Communicated by D. Rubenstein

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Vergauwen, J., Eens, M. & Müller, W. Consequences of experimentally elevated yolk testosterone levels for intra- and inter-sexual selection in canaries. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 68, 1299–1309 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1740-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1740-9

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