| Title |
Aggressive behavior of the male parent predicts brood sex ratio in a songbird
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
The Science of Nature, June 2014
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00114-014-1204-0 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Eszter Szász, László Zsolt Garamszegi, Gergely Hegyi, Eszter Szöllősi, Gábor Markó, János Török, Balázs Rosivall |
| Abstract |
Brood sex ratio is often affected by parental or environmental quality, presumably in an adaptive manner that is the sex that confers higher fitness benefits to the mother is overproduced. So far, studies on the role of parental quality have focused on parental morphology and attractiveness. However, another aspect, the partner's behavioral characteristics, may also be expected to play a role in brood sex ratio adjustment. To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether the proportion of sons in the brood is predicted by the level of territorial aggression displayed by the father, in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis). The proportion of sons in the brood was higher in early broods and increased with paternal tarsus length. When controlling for breeding date and body size, we found a higher proportion of sons in the brood of less aggressive fathers. Male nestlings are more sensitive to the rearing environment, and the behavior of courting males may often be used by females to assess their future parental activity. Therefore, adjusting brood sex ratio to the level of male aggression could be adaptive. Our results indicate that the behavior of the partner could indeed be a significant determinant in brood sex ratio adjustment, which should not be overlooked in future studies. |
X Demographics
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Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2 | 40% |
| Hungary | 1 | 20% |
| Unknown | 2 | 40% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 3 | 60% |
| Scientists | 1 | 20% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 20% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 33 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 | 3% |
| Portugal | 1 | 3% |
| Unknown | 31 | 94% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 9 | 27% |
| Researcher | 7 | 21% |
| Student > Bachelor | 6 | 18% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 4 | 12% |
| Professor | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 2 | 6% |
| Unknown | 4 | 12% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 20 | 61% |
| Environmental Science | 4 | 12% |
| Psychology | 4 | 12% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 2 | 6% |
| Engineering | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown | 2 | 6% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 25 January 2015.
All research outputs
#13,808,503
of 23,794,258 outputs
Outputs from The Science of Nature
#1,770
of 2,195 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#110,629
of 228,487 outputs
Outputs of similar age from The Science of Nature
#14
of 20 outputs
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