Linked Life Data

13129485

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/13129485

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
2003-9-17
pubmed:abstractText
In a wide range of bird species, females have been shown to express active preferences for males that sing more complex songs. Current sexual selection theory predicts that for this signal to remain an honest indicator of male quality, it must be associated with an underlying cost of development or maintenance. There has been considerable debate questioning the costs associated with song production and learning. Recently, the nutritional stress hypothesis proposed that song complexity could act as an indicator of early developmental history, since the song control nuclei in the brain are laid down early in life. Here we test the nutritional stress hypothesis, by investigating the effects of dietary stress on the quality of adult song produced. In addition, we tested the effects of elevated corticosterone during development on song production to test its possible involvement in mediating the effects of developmental stress. The results demonstrate that both dietary restriction and elevated corticosterone levels significantly reduced nestling growth rates. In addition, we found that experimentally stressed birds developed songs with significantly shorter song motif duration and reduced complexity. These results provide novel experimental evidence that complex song repertoires may have evolved as honest signals of male quality, by indicating early developmental rearing conditions.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
0018-506X
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
44
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
132-9
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2003
pubmed:articleTitle
Song as an honest signal of developmental stress in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata).
pubmed:affiliation
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK. karen.spencer@bristol.ac.uk
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't