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Effects of paternal care on reproductive success in the polygynous spotless starling Sturnus unicolor

Abstract:

For males of socially polygynous avian species like the spotless starling, there may exist a trade-off between investing in paternal care and controlling several nests. To determine how the intensity of paternal care affects reproductive success per brood sired or expressed as the total number of young raised in all nests controlled by the same male, it is necessary to manipulate paternal care. Testosterone (T) has been shown to depress the tendency for males to care for their young, and induces them to acquire more mates. The effects of paternal care on reproductive success were studied by treating certain male starlings with exogenous T and others with the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate (CA), and comparing the parental behavior of T- and CA-males throughout the breeding season with that of controls. CA-males fed their chicks more during the first week after hatching than T-males, with controls …