Sperm competition in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris): An experimental study of mate switching
(1996) In Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences 263(1371). p.797-801- Abstract
- In apparently monogamous or polygynous birds, sperm from several males may compete to fertilize the eggs laid by one female. In this study we evaluate sperm competition in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) by means of a mate-switching experiment. Already-mated males were removed between 1-7 d before their mates started egg-laying, resulting in the female remating with a new male. The original males' parentage in the subsequent clutches was evaluated using DNA-fingerprinting. The original males fathered only two out of 46 eggs of those which were not likely to have been fertilized already when the males were removed. The low success of the original males can be attributed to a high within-pair copulation frequency during the assumed... (More)
- In apparently monogamous or polygynous birds, sperm from several males may compete to fertilize the eggs laid by one female. In this study we evaluate sperm competition in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) by means of a mate-switching experiment. Already-mated males were removed between 1-7 d before their mates started egg-laying, resulting in the female remating with a new male. The original males' parentage in the subsequent clutches was evaluated using DNA-fingerprinting. The original males fathered only two out of 46 eggs of those which were not likely to have been fertilized already when the males were removed. The low success of the original males can be attributed to a high within-pair copulation frequency during the assumed fertile period before laying and throughout the laying period, resulting in replacement males fathering most offspring. Thus the success of extra-pair copulations more than 2 d before egg-laying is probably very low. The results are discussed in relation to contrasting results from other mate-switching studies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1747730
- author
- Smith, Henrik LU ; Wennerberg, Liv LU and von Schantz, Torbjörn LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 1996
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- frequency, extra-pair paternity, intraspecific brood parasitism, female control, dna, zebra finch, birds, copulation, cuckoldry
- in
- Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences
- volume
- 263
- issue
- 1371
- pages
- 797 - 801
- publisher
- Royal Society Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:0030474671
- ISSN
- 1471-2954
- DOI
- 10.1098/rspb.1996.0119
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 39480249-f7e4-4931-9c17-83b94d0fbe98 (old id 1747730)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 15:50:23
- date last changed
- 2024-01-10 20:42:34
@article{39480249-f7e4-4931-9c17-83b94d0fbe98, abstract = {{In apparently monogamous or polygynous birds, sperm from several males may compete to fertilize the eggs laid by one female. In this study we evaluate sperm competition in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) by means of a mate-switching experiment. Already-mated males were removed between 1-7 d before their mates started egg-laying, resulting in the female remating with a new male. The original males' parentage in the subsequent clutches was evaluated using DNA-fingerprinting. The original males fathered only two out of 46 eggs of those which were not likely to have been fertilized already when the males were removed. The low success of the original males can be attributed to a high within-pair copulation frequency during the assumed fertile period before laying and throughout the laying period, resulting in replacement males fathering most offspring. Thus the success of extra-pair copulations more than 2 d before egg-laying is probably very low. The results are discussed in relation to contrasting results from other mate-switching studies.}}, author = {{Smith, Henrik and Wennerberg, Liv and von Schantz, Torbjörn}}, issn = {{1471-2954}}, keywords = {{frequency; extra-pair paternity; intraspecific brood parasitism; female control; dna; zebra finch; birds; copulation; cuckoldry}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{1371}}, pages = {{797--801}}, publisher = {{Royal Society Publishing}}, series = {{Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences}}, title = {{Sperm competition in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris): An experimental study of mate switching}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1996.0119}}, doi = {{10.1098/rspb.1996.0119}}, volume = {{263}}, year = {{1996}}, }