Endocrine correlates of mate choice and promiscuity in females of a socially monogamous avian mating system with alternative male reproductive phenotypes  

作　　者：Hubert SCHWABL Willow R. LINDSAY Douglas G. BARRON Michael S. WEBSTER 

机构地区：[1]School of Biological Sciences and Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA [2]Department of Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Goteborg University, Box 463,405 30 Goteborg, Sweden [3]Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620-7200, USA [4]Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, and Comell Laboratory for Ornithology, Comell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA

出　　处：《Current Zoology》2014年第6期804-815,共12页动物学报（英文版）

基　　金：Acknowledgement We sincerely appreciate the commendable field efforts of a large number of field technicians who assisted with data collection during the course of this study, as well as logistical support provided by B. Congdon, T. Daniel, J. Lindsay and D. Westcott. We also thank members of the Schwabl and Webster labs for their valuable input throughout. Thanks also to Becca Sail＇an and Maren Vitousek for the invitation to contribute to this volume. This research was conducted with appropriate permits and permissions from the governments of Queensland and Australia, and material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation （USA） through grants to MSW and HS and a graduate traineeship to DGB.

摘　　要：While our understanding of male reproductive strategies is informed by extensive investigations into endocrine mechanisms, the proximate mechanisms by which females compete for mates and adjust reproduction to social environment remains enigmatic. We set out to uncover endocrine correlates of mate choice, social environment, and reproductive investment in female red-backed fairy-wrens Malurus melanocephalus. In this socially monogamous, yet highly sexually promiscuous species, females experience discrete variation in the phenotype of their mates, which vary in both plumage signals and level of paternal care, and in the composition of their breeding groups, which consist of either the pair alone or with an additional cooperative auxiliary; fe- male investment varies according to these social parameters. We found that androgen, estrogen, and glucorticoid levels varied with reproductive stage, with highest androgen and estrogen concentrations during nest construction and highest corticosterone concentrations during the pre-breeding stage. These stage-dependent patterns did not vary with male phenotype or auxiliary presence, though androgen levels during pre-breeding mate selection were lower in females obtaining red/black mates than those obtaining brown mates. We found no evidence that androgen, estrogen, or corticosterone levels during the fertile period were re- lated to extra-pair young （EPY） frequency. This study demonstrates clear changes in steroid levels with reproductive stage, though it found little support for variation with social environment. We suggest hormonal responsiveness to social factors may be physiologically constrained in ways that are bypassed through exogenous hormone manipulations.

关 键 词：ANDROGEN Estrogen GLUCOCORTICOID Mate choice PROMISCUITY Alternative phenotypes 

分 类 号：Q492.4[生物学—生理学] S83[农业科学—畜牧学]