Can eggs in a cavity be a female secondary sexual signal? Male nest visits and modelling of egg visual discrimination in blue tits

Eggshell colouration is thought to function as a female-specific secondary sexual trait. While tests of this idea are rapidly accumulating in cavity-nesting birds, some fundamental underlying assumptions remain rarely investigated: namely, can males see eggshell coloration and perceive colour differences between the eggs of different females? We tested these two key assumptions in a natural population of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Using transponders, we tracked male nest visits and found that all males visited their nest-boxes while eggs were present and often visually accessible. Interestingly, some males also visited neighbouring nests. We then tested whether birds could detect eggshell coloration using models of avian colour vision; models were performed with and without limitations on visual performance owing to dim light. Both models found that differences in eggshell brightness were often easier to discriminate than differences in colour; there was more contrast in white eggshell background between clutches than within and its contrast against nest background was repeatable within clutches, suggesting these features could act as signals. Yet, the detectability of these contrasts depended entirely on model assumptions of visual limitations. Consequently, we need a better understanding of underlying visual mechanisms in dim-light environments and behavioural discrimination experiments before confirming the signalling potential of eggshell coloration.     

Experimental evidence for state-dependent nest weight in the blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus

Parental investment in reproduction is generally limited by food availability, and so avian life-history research has traditionally focused on the brood rearing phase, when food requirements are greatest. Only relatively recently has the focus extended to the incubation phase, and even more recently to the nest-building phase, where observational and comparative evidence suggest that avian nest building is an energetically expensive and time-consuming activity. We aimed to experimentally test the limitations on this cost in a hole-breeding passerine, the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), by providing supplementary food to experimental pairs during the nest-building period. In comparison with control females, that did not receive supplementary food, experimental females constructed heavier nests, with greater amounts of moss base but similar amounts of cup lining, despite there being no differences in the time taken to build the nest. This study provides empirical support for the hypothesis that avian nest building is a costly behaviour, limited by food availability.     

Experimental manipulation of testosterone and condition during molt affects activity and vocalizations of male blue tits

Testosterone (T) is a key hormone regulating behavioral trade-offs in male birds, shifting investment towards sexual and competitive behaviors. However, the role of T in regulating male behavior during the molt has received very little attention, although this is a crucial life-history stage. Since the effect of T on behavior may be condition-dependent, particularly during the costly molt period, we studied the effects of T and condition in a two-way design. We manipulated T under two dietary regimes (standard and improved, resulting in an enhanced condition) in captive blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) undergoing the first pre-basic molt. T treatment increased song frequency, indicating that song is T-dependent also at this time of year. Males on the improved diet sang less than males in relatively worse condition, providing no support for song as an indicator of male condition. T-treated males exhibited greater locomotor activity than control males, but only when fed the standard diet. Neither T- nor diet-treatment affected plumage maintenance (preening). Although T treatment resulted in a delay in molt progress all birds completed the molt. Taken together our results show that during the molt male birds are sensitive to relatively small fluctuations in T. Similar to its commonly observed effects during the breeding season, T stimulated an increase in song and locomotion. While there might be some benefits associated with such T effects, these must be traded-off against costs associated with conspicuous behavior and increased molt duration.     

Sex roles in nest keeping – how information asymmetry contributes to parent‐offspring co‐adaptation

Parental food provisioning and offspring begging influence each other reciprocally. This makes both traits agents and targets of selection, which may ultimately lead to co‐adaptation. The latter may reflect co‐adapted parent and offspring genotypes or could be due to maternal effects. Maternal effects are in turn likely to facilitate in particular mother‐offspring co‐adaptation, further emphasized by the possibility that mothers are sometimes found to be more responsive to offspring need. However, parents may not only differ in their sensitivity, but often play different roles in postnatal care. This potentially impinges on the access to information about offspring need. We here manipulated the information on offspring need as perceived by parents by playing back begging calls at a constant frequency in the nest‐box of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). We measured the parental response in provisioning to our treatment, paying particular attention to sex differences in parental roles and whether such differences alter the perception of the intensity of our manipulation. This enabled us to investigate whether an information asymmetry about offspring need exists between parents and how such an asymmetry relates to co‐adaptation between parental provisioning and offspring begging. Our results show that parents indeed differed in the frequency how often they perceived the playback due to the fact that females spent more time with their offspring in the nest box. Correcting for the effective exposure of an adult to the playback, the parental response in provisioning covaried more strongly (positive) with offspring begging intensity, independent of the parental sex, indicating coadaptation on the phenotypic level. Females were not more sensitive to experimentally increased offspring need than males, but they were exposed to more broadcasted begging calls. Therefore, sex differences in access to information about offspring need, due to different parental roles, have the potential to impinge on family conflicts and their resolution.