Do genetic, maternal and environmental effects affect sexually selected plumage traits and mate selection in the Great partridge?
Sexually selected traits signal many aspects of phenotypic quality such as competitive abilities, resistance to parasite attacks and the ability to cope with stressful environmental factors. Stressful environmental conditions and genetic predispositions have, especially during development, a strong impact on adult phenotypes. Hormones are a crucial link between genome, environment and phenotype and the endocrine system adjusts the physiology, behaviour and development to the prevailing environmental conditions.
Environmental and social stressful factors including for instance food shortage, immune challenge and the presence of predators induce an activation of the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis (HPA) including the release of glucocorticoids (corticosterone in birds). The HPA itself is also influenced by environmental conditions and conditions during development
can have long lasting effects on the ability to react to a novel stress situation. In this study we investigate the effects of stressful conditions during development and the interaction of these conditions with two different genotypes on mate choice in the great partridge.
This study is part of the reintroduction project of great partridge of the Swiss Ornithological Institute. Young partridge from 2010 will be kept in outside aviaries for release in summer 2011. These partridges will be our experimental group for the mate choice experiments. The partridges are from two different genetic origins (domesticated birds and the F1-generation of wild-captured birds) and from 4 different treatment groups (eggs produced from parents held under mildly stressful conditions (unpredictable food schedule) and from parents held under relaxed conditions (ad libitum food) and from two different rearing conditions (mildly stressful or relaxed rearing conditions). Thus in total we have 8 treatment groups and several individuals per treatment group.
We will experimentally test mate selection with a discrimination experiment, giving each female the opportunity to select males from different treatment groups. After this experimental period we will let the partridge pair for real, and we will record whether birds mate randomly or with respect to genetic and rearing conditions and whether pair formation depends on plumage coloration or on vigilance behaviour or calling frequency and structure.
The master-project starts in January 2011, experiments will be carried out during February-April in Sempach. For more information please contact Susi Jenni-Eiermann or Bettina Almasi.
Contact
Dr. Susi Jenni-Eiermann, 041 462 97 61, susi.jenni@vogelwarte.ch
Dr. Bettina Almasi, 041 462 97 68, bettina.almasi@vogelwarte.ch
Schweizerische Vogelwarte, 6204 Sempach
Sexually selected traits signal many aspects of phenotypic quality such as competitive abilities, resistance to parasite attacks and the ability to cope with stressful environmental factors. Stressful environmental conditions and genetic predispositions have, especially during development, a strong impact on adult phenotypes. Hormones are a crucial link between genome, environment and phenotype and the endocrine system adjusts the physiology, behaviour and development to the prevailing environmental conditions.
Environmental and social stressful factors including for instance food shortage, immune challenge and the presence of predators induce an activation of the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis (HPA) including the release of glucocorticoids (corticosterone in birds). The HPA itself is also influenced by environmental conditions and conditions during development
can have long lasting effects on the ability to react to a novel stress situation. In this study we investigate the effects of stressful conditions during development and the interaction of these conditions with two different genotypes on mate choice in the great partridge.
This study is part of the reintroduction project of great partridge of the Swiss Ornithological Institute. Young partridge from 2010 will be kept in outside aviaries for release in summer 2011. These partridges will be our experimental group for the mate choice experiments. The partridges are from two different genetic origins (domesticated birds and the F1-generation of wild-captured birds) and from 4 different treatment groups (eggs produced from parents held under mildly stressful conditions (unpredictable food schedule) and from parents held under relaxed conditions (ad libitum food) and from two different rearing conditions (mildly stressful or relaxed rearing conditions). Thus in total we have 8 treatment groups and several individuals per treatment group.
We will experimentally test mate selection with a discrimination experiment, giving each female the opportunity to select males from different treatment groups. After this experimental period we will let the partridge pair for real, and we will record whether birds mate randomly or with respect to genetic and rearing conditions and whether pair formation depends on plumage coloration or on vigilance behaviour or calling frequency and structure.
The master-project starts in January 2011, experiments will be carried out during February-April in Sempach. For more information please contact Susi Jenni-Eiermann or Bettina Almasi.
Contact
Dr. Susi Jenni-Eiermann, 041 462 97 61, susi.jenni@vogelwarte.ch
Dr. Bettina Almasi, 041 462 97 68, bettina.almasi@vogelwarte.ch
Schweizerische Vogelwarte, 6204 Sempach