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Female aggressive response and hormonal correlates—an intrusion experiment in a free-living passerine

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Abstract

The optimal mating system is rarely the same for males and females—whereas males usually benefit from attracting additional females to the territory, this could incur costs for the resident female. Females should therefore prevent prospecting females from settling on the territory. We studied the male and female behavioral and hormonal responses to simulated female territorial intrusions in free-living bluethroats during the pre-laying period. In the study population, polygyny occurs with potential fitness costs for the resident female. We recorded different aspects of aggressive behavior before and after presentation of a live female decoy and playback of female song. These behaviors were compared with a set of intrusions using a male decoy. At the end of a trial, the birds were captured, and blood samples were analyzed for androstenedione, testosterone, estradiol and corticosterone. During the pre-intrusion period, none of the females were observed. Females generally responded strongly to the female decoy by increased flight rate, vocalizations, and by conspicuous perching. Nearly half of the males displayed to the female decoy but never while the resident female was present. We suggest that resident female aggression in bluethroats prevents courtship by her mate and signals her mating status to the female intruder. Female aggression could therefore prevent additional females to settle on the territory and shape the mating system. Females that responded with song had higher levels of estradiol. These findings suggest that estradiol may support aggression in breeding female birds.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Roger Dahl, Roar Rismark, Dave Showler and the whole Lifjeld laboratory for dedicated support in the field, and Ivar Herfindal, Christophe Pélabon and two anonymous referees for valuable comments on the manuscript. We thank Arild Johnsen and Jan Lifjeld for sharing with us valuable information on polygyny levels and field observations of female aggression. The STI experiment was approved by the Norwegian Animal Research Authority. Financial support was provided by Norwegian Research Council.

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  1. Karin M. Lindström

    Present address: Population Biology and Conservation Biology Department of Ecology and Evolution, Norbyvägen 18D, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Henrik Pärn & Trond Amundsen

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, 106 Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    Karin M. Lindström

  3. Department of Animal Ecology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden

    Maria Sandell

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  1. Henrik Pärn
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Correspondence to Henrik Pärn.

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Communicated by J. Graves.

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Pärn, H., Lindström, K.M., Sandell, M. et al. Female aggressive response and hormonal correlates—an intrusion experiment in a free-living passerine. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62, 1665–1677 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-008-0595-3

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