A trade-off between reproduction and a condition-dependent sexually selected ornament in the house sparrow Passer domesticus |
| |
Authors: | Griffith S C |
| |
Institution: | Department of Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Sweden. simon.griffith@ebc.uu.se |
| |
Abstract: | Reproductive effort was manipulated in a free-living population of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) to investigate the trade-off between reproductive investment and the expression of a condition-dependent sexually selected ornament. Phenotypic plasticity in the expression of this trait was related to the experimentally manipulated size of the brood reared by a male. Males that invested more in current reproduction subsequently became more attractive to females in this population as they showed a preference for males with smaller badges. This supports the argument that direct benefits are a primary focus for mate choice by females. Trade-offs between reproductive effort and the expression of sexual ornaments are a potentially important source of phenotypic variation in both sexual ornaments and life-history traits. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|