NDLI: Age before beauty? Relationships between fertilization success and age-dependent ornaments in barn swallows

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Lifjeld, Jan T. Kleven, Oddmund Jacobsen, Frode McGraw, Kevin J. Safran, Rebecca J. Robertson, Raleigh J.
Copyright Year	2011
Abstract	When males become more ornamented and reproduce more successfully as they grow older, phenotypic correlations between ornament exaggeration and reproductive success can be confounded with age effects in cross-sectional studies, and thus say relatively little about sexual selection on these traits. This is exemplified here in a correlative study of male fertilization success in a large colony of American barn swallows (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster). Previous studies of this species have indicated that two sexually dimorphic traits, tail length and ventral plumage coloration, are positively correlated with male fertilization success, and a mechanism of sexual selection by female choice has been invoked. However, these studies did not control for potential age-related variation in trait expression. Here, we show that male fertilization success was positively correlated with male tail length but not with plumage coloration. We also show that 1-year-old males had shorter tails and lower fertilization success than older males. This age effect accounted for much of the covariance between tail length and fertilization success. Still, there was a positive relationship between tail length and fertilization success among older males. But as this group consisted of males from different age classes, an age effect may be hidden in this relationship as well. Our data also revealed a longitudinal increase in both tail length and fertilization success for individual males. We argue that age-dependent ornament expression and reproductive performance in males complicate inferences about female preferences and sexual selection.
Starting Page	1687
Ending Page	1697
Page Count	11
File Format	PDF
ISSN	03405443
Journal	Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Volume Number	65
Issue Number	9
e-ISSN	14320762
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2011-03-22
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Extrapair paternity Hirundo rustica Life-history variation Plumage coloration Sexual selection Tail length Behavioural Sciences Evolutionary Biology Zoology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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Male tail streamer length predicts fertilization success in the North American barn swallow (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster)

Age before beauty? Relationships between fertilization success and age-dependent ornaments in barn swallows

Data from: Haemosporidian parasites depress breeding success and plumage coloration in female barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) (Dataset)

Variation in sperm morphometry and sperm competition among barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) populations

Age before beauty? Relationships between fertilization success and age-dependent ornaments in barn swallows

Experimental manipulation of tail length in female barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) affects their future reproductive success

Settlement patterns of female barn swallows Hirundo rustica across different group sizes: access to colorful males or favored nests?

Data from: Lifetime reproductive success, selection on lifespan and multiple sexual ornaments in male European barn swallows (Dataset)

Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) in East Asia show strong tolerance against nest mites (Dataset)

Age before beauty? Relationships between fertilization success and age-dependent ornaments in barn swallows

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Male tail streamer length predicts fertilization success in the North American barn swallow (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster)

Age before beauty? Relationships between fertilization success and age-dependent ornaments in barn swallows

Data from: Haemosporidian parasites depress breeding success and plumage coloration in female barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) (Dataset)

Variation in sperm morphometry and sperm competition among barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) populations

Age before beauty? Relationships between fertilization success and age-dependent ornaments in barn swallows

Experimental manipulation of tail length in female barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) affects their future reproductive success

Settlement patterns of female barn swallows Hirundo rustica across different group sizes: access to colorful males or favored nests?

Data from: Lifetime reproductive success, selection on lifespan and multiple sexual ornaments in male European barn swallows (Dataset)

Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) in East Asia show strong tolerance against nest mites (Dataset)

Age before beauty? Relationships between fertilization success and age-dependent ornaments in barn swallows