Extra-pair mate choice in the female great tit <Emphasis Type="Italic">Parus major</Emphasis>: good males or compatible males |
| |
Authors: | Katsura M Kawano Noriyuki Yamaguchi Eiiti Kasuya Tetsukazu Yahara |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-10-1, Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan;(2) Present address: Civil Engineering and Eco-Technology Consultants Co., Ltd, 2-23-2 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170-0013, Japan;(3) Present address: School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi 1-1-1, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan |
| |
Abstract: | The good genes hypothesis and the genetic compatibility hypothesis are the two main hypotheses that focus on the genetic benefit
that a female can gain through her choice of a mate. We tested the two hypotheses on extra-pair mating in the great tit, Parus major. We found that female great tits choose males on the basis of breast stripe width, which is in accordance with the good genes
hypothesis. Although females chose less related extra-pair males, the evidence for female choice for compatible males was
overall weak. However, our data suggest a post-copulatory mechanism of inbreeding avoidance. The observed individual inbreeding
coefficient, F, was similar for within-pair offspring (WPO) and extra-pair offspring (EPO). The observed individual F of WPO was lower than the expected individual F, whereas the observed F of EPO was similar to what was expected. These results highlight the importance of processes after copulation for the outcome
of female mate choice. Our study shows that in a system with apparent pre-copulatory female choice for good genes, a post-copulatory
mechanism may still promote the production of offspring that carry compatible genes. |
| |
Keywords: | Compatible genes Criterion of female choice Extra-pair mating Genetic similarity Good genes Relatedness |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|