DOES TESTOSTERONE AFFECT THE TRADE-OFF BETWEEN INVESTMENT IN SEXUAL/TERRITORIAL BEHAVIOUR AND PARENTAL CARE IN MALE GREAT TITS?

Abstract Breeding testosterone (T) profiles of free-living male birds are hypothesized to reflect a trade-off between investment in competitive behaviour for mates or territories, typically accompanied by high T-levels, and investment in paternal care, typically accompanied by low T-levels. To test...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behaviour 2000, Vol.137 (11), p.1503-1515
Main Authors: Van Duyse, Els, Pinxten, Rianne, Eens, Marcel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aviculture
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Bird nesting
Bird songs
Breeding
Breeding seasons
Female animals
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hormones and behavior
Male animals
Mating behavior
Parental investment
Parus major
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Testosterone
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Summary:Abstract Breeding testosterone (T) profiles of free-living male birds are hypothesized to reflect a trade-off between investment in competitive behaviour for mates or territories, typically accompanied by high T-levels, and investment in paternal care, typically accompanied by low T-levels. To test this hypothesis we monitored song activity, as a measure of territorial advertisement or mate attraction, and feeding efforts, as a measure of paternal care, in great tit Parus major males that either received T-filled or empty implants in the middle of the feeding phase, a period of high paternal commitment and low T-levels. In support of the trade-off hypothesis, T-implanted males sang significantly more than controls. However, we found no significant effect of the elevated T-levels on male and female feeding behaviour despite the large increase in T following implantation. Also, no short-term effects on male fitness were found. Taken together these results do not support the trade-off hypothesis. We discuss that the low overall responsiveness in our study might be related to a high fitness cost of neglecting offspring in favour of T-enhanced behaviour.
ISSN:0005-7959
1568-539X
DOI:10.1163/156853900502691