Probability of incubation by male Japanese Barn Swallows increases with plasma testosterone level |
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Authors: | Masaru Hasegawa Emi Arai Masahiko Nakamura |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, Sokendai (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama-machi, Kanagawa, 240-0115 Japan;2. Laboratory of Animal Ecology, Department of Biology, Joetsu University of Education, 1 Yamayashiki-machi, Joetsu-shi, Niigata, 943-8512 Japan |
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Abstract: | Empirical studies often support the notion that testosterone inhibits paternal behaviour in animals, although most studies have focused on high, as opposed to low, levels of paternal care. We studied the relationship between plasma testosterone levels and incubation in male Japanese Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica gutturalis, in which some males participate in incubation. Contrary to our prediction, the probability of incubation by males increased with plasma testosterone level. Male incubation behaviour might have emerged as part of nest monitoring behaviour by high-testosterone males in some subspecies that experience high nest predation rates. |
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Keywords: | androgen male parental care nest attentiveness plasma testosterone level |
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