Abstract
In many species, both males and females possess sexual signals, but most research focuses on understanding signal expression in males. Females are often assumed to possess signals as a non-functional by-product of selection on males, but increasing evidence demonstrates functional explanations for variation in female signals. Theory suggests that—for many bird species—differences in long-term fitness associated with female signaling are more likely to be driven by variation in offspring quality than quantity, but research paradigms developed for studying male signals have primarily focused on counting offspring produced. Here, we tested the hypothesis that female ornamentation reliably signals the ability to incubate effectively. We used temperature loggers placed in the nest of common yellowthroat warblers (Geothlypis trichas) to record incubation behavior across multiple breeding attempts. Incubation bout length and the onset of daily activity were highly variable between females, but repeatable within females across multiple nesting attempts. Females with longer bouts and later onset of activity had higher hatching success. Wing length and plumage coloration were not related to incubation length or onset of activity, but were correlated with the total percentage of time spent on the nest each day. However, there was only a trend for repeatability in percentage of time spent on the nest and this measure was not correlated with any metrics of offspring quality or hatching success that we recorded. Therefore, we did not find any single aspect of incubation behavior that was (i) consistent, (ii) related to nestling quality or success, and (iii) signaled by ornamentation. Our results demonstrate the importance of variation in incubation behavior, but also suggest that ornaments are of limited utility as a signal of incubation ability in this species. Nevertheless, our study highlights the need to explore alternative fitness proxies in order to understand variation in female ornamentation.
Significance statement
Choosing a high-quality mate is an important determinant of reproductive success and animals often attend to elaborate ornaments as signals of quality during mate choice. In many species, both males and females have ornaments, but most research has focused on male signals and female mate choice. We found that female incubation behavior is associated with both plumage ornaments and hatching success, but there was no single signal that provided reliable information about the aspects of incubation behavior that were related to reproductive success. Our findings suggest that understanding female ornamentation may depend on considering the specific ways that females contribute to offspring survival.
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Data availability
All data and code required to produce the analyses and results presented here are archived online with Mendeley Data https://doi.org/10.17632/8mv667h87t.1.
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Acknowledgements
We thank L. Duval, E. Krasner, K. Littrell, and B. Massey for assistance collecting data in the field. We also thank the two anonymous reviewers and editors who provided helpful comments on the manuscript.
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This work was financially supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, and the Francine A. Bradley Award to CCT.
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All applicable state, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. Research was conducted under UC Davis Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocol #16362 and Skidmore College IACUC protocol #69. Permission to capture and sample animals was granted by New York State (#1513) and federal (#10582) permits to CFG for this work.
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Taff, C.C., Freeman-Gallant, C.R. Female ornamentation, incubation behavior, and reproductive success in a wild bird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 75, 92 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-021-03033-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-021-03033-0