The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Brood sex ratio adjustment in collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis): results differ between populations

På svenska

Author

Summary, in English

Recently, a number of studies have found adaptive brood sex ratio (BSR) manipulation in birds. The reason for such manipulations is thought to be the different reproductive value of male and female nestlings. Several studies have found that parental quality and food supply can affect BSR, however results are sometimes inconsistent between species and populations. We investigated BSR patterns in a Hungarian population of Collared Flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) and compared the results with those obtained in a previous study of the same species in Sweden. We found two significant differences. First, the male forehead patch size, a heritable, sexually selected trait, affected the brood sex ratio in the Swedish population, but not in our Hungarian study population. This difference might be a consequence of the different information content of the forehead patch size in the two populations. Second, a seasonal shift in BSR (more sons late in the season) was observed in the Hungarian, but not in the Swedish population.

Publishing year

2004

Language

English

Pages

346-351

Publication/Series

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

Volume

56

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Biological Sciences

Status

Published

Research group

  • Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1432-0762