When less is best: female brown-headed cowbirds prefer less intense male displays.

Sexual selection theory predicts that females should prefer males with the most intense courtship displays. However, wing-spread song displays that male brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) direct at females are generally less intense than versions of this display that are directed at other males....

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Adrian L O'Loghlen, Stephen I Rothstein
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b27782bebfad46518bd48174e8bdbcf2
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:b27782bebfad46518bd48174e8bdbcf2
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b27782bebfad46518bd48174e8bdbcf22021-11-18T07:19:55ZWhen less is best: female brown-headed cowbirds prefer less intense male displays.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0036130https://doaj.org/article/b27782bebfad46518bd48174e8bdbcf22012-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22567131/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Sexual selection theory predicts that females should prefer males with the most intense courtship displays. However, wing-spread song displays that male brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) direct at females are generally less intense than versions of this display that are directed at other males. Because male-directed displays are used in aggressive signaling, we hypothesized that females should prefer lower intensity performances of this display. To test this hypothesis, we played audiovisual recordings showing the same males performing both high intensity male-directed and low intensity female-directed displays to females (N = 8) and recorded the females' copulation solicitation display (CSD) responses. All eight females responded strongly to both categories of playbacks but were more sexually stimulated by the low intensity female-directed displays. Because each pair of high and low intensity playback videos had the exact same audio track, the divergent responses of females must have been based on differences in the visual content of the displays shown in the videos. Preferences female cowbirds show in acoustic CSD studies are correlated with mate choice in field and captivity studies and this is also likely to be true for preferences elucidated by playback of audiovisual displays. Female preferences for low intensity female-directed displays may explain why male cowbirds rarely use high intensity displays when signaling to females. Repetitive high intensity displays may demonstrate a male's current condition and explain why these displays are used in male-male interactions which can escalate into physical fights in which males in poorer condition could be injured or killed. This is the first study in songbirds to use audiovisual playbacks to assess how female sexual behavior varies in response to variation in a male visual display.Adrian L O'LoghlenStephen I RothsteinPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 5, p e36130 (2012)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Adrian L O'Loghlen Stephen I Rothstein When less is best: female brown-headed cowbirds prefer less intense male displays.
description	Sexual selection theory predicts that females should prefer males with the most intense courtship displays. However, wing-spread song displays that male brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) direct at females are generally less intense than versions of this display that are directed at other males. Because male-directed displays are used in aggressive signaling, we hypothesized that females should prefer lower intensity performances of this display. To test this hypothesis, we played audiovisual recordings showing the same males performing both high intensity male-directed and low intensity female-directed displays to females (N = 8) and recorded the females' copulation solicitation display (CSD) responses. All eight females responded strongly to both categories of playbacks but were more sexually stimulated by the low intensity female-directed displays. Because each pair of high and low intensity playback videos had the exact same audio track, the divergent responses of females must have been based on differences in the visual content of the displays shown in the videos. Preferences female cowbirds show in acoustic CSD studies are correlated with mate choice in field and captivity studies and this is also likely to be true for preferences elucidated by playback of audiovisual displays. Female preferences for low intensity female-directed displays may explain why male cowbirds rarely use high intensity displays when signaling to females. Repetitive high intensity displays may demonstrate a male's current condition and explain why these displays are used in male-male interactions which can escalate into physical fights in which males in poorer condition could be injured or killed. This is the first study in songbirds to use audiovisual playbacks to assess how female sexual behavior varies in response to variation in a male visual display.
format	article
author	Adrian L O'Loghlen Stephen I Rothstein
author_facet	Adrian L O'Loghlen Stephen I Rothstein
author_sort	Adrian L O'Loghlen
title	When less is best: female brown-headed cowbirds prefer less intense male displays.
title_short	When less is best: female brown-headed cowbirds prefer less intense male displays.
title_full	When less is best: female brown-headed cowbirds prefer less intense male displays.
title_fullStr	When less is best: female brown-headed cowbirds prefer less intense male displays.
title_full_unstemmed	When less is best: female brown-headed cowbirds prefer less intense male displays.
title_sort	when less is best: female brown-headed cowbirds prefer less intense male displays.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2012
url	https://doaj.org/article/b27782bebfad46518bd48174e8bdbcf2
work_keys_str_mv	AT adrianlologhlen whenlessisbestfemalebrownheadedcowbirdspreferlessintensemaledisplays AT stephenirothstein whenlessisbestfemalebrownheadedcowbirdspreferlessintensemaledisplays
_version_	1718423620043145216

When less is best: female brown-headed cowbirds prefer less intense male displays.

Ejemplares similares