Mate Choice in Zebra Finches

[GregH]

Oscar Wilde was never cited but in this weeks New Scientist (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1 ... birds.html) there is a story which reports on a paper from the Proceedings of the Royal Sociey
(http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/ ... .2009.1222)that would fit perfectly into "The importance of being Earnest" except its about zebra finches!

Birds prefer not to play out of their league. Some female zebra finches have been found to choose low-quality males rather than their superior competitors. It's the first time anything like this has been observed in nature.

Marie-Jeanne Holveck and Katharina Riebel of Leiden University, the Netherlands, separated zebra finch chicks into either small groups of two to three chicks or larger groups of five to six chicks. The idea is that birds that grow up in big broods have fewer resources devoted to them and will be of a lower quality: weaker, weedier and poorer singers.

Once the chicks had grown up, both low and high-quality females were placed in a cage where they could choose to listen to either a low or high-quality male song by pecking one of two red buttons. Of the 24 birds observed, every low-quality female chose the low-quality male song, and the high-quality females opted for males with high-quality songs.

Holveck and Riebel then tested how birds of the same and different quality mated. When in a cage together, birds of the same quality were much quicker to mate than mismatched birds.

Great mate

When a low-quality female did mate with a high-quality partner, her eggs were larger. The authors reckon this is because the female knows she is doing better than she deserves, and will invest more nutrients into the eggs she lays.

Zebra finches mate seasonally, so might they not have time to wait around for Mr Perfect. Mating out of their league could result in "divorce" if the male leaves for a higher-quality female.

The authors say their finding echoes a popular perception that humans choose partners who they think are as attractive as themselves, or have the same "market value". If perceived market value can affect mate choice in such diverse species, it could be a general phenomenon, says Holveck.

"The results are striking," says Tim Fawcett of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. "I expect this behaviour will also be found in other animals."

[finchbreeder]

Sounds like a good reason to put them in with just one or two choices and instructions to get on with it.
LML

[Mickp]

I love it when people say that zebras breed seasonally, but then forget to inform you that the zebra finch season lasts twelve months

[gomer]

Very interesting article.Its strange how a poor quality hen would pick a cock of the same genectic value.instead of improving her ofspring.

[finchbreeder]

Are you picking on Zebras?
They don't breed 12 months of the year!
I'm sure it's only 11 1/2!
LML

[Diane]

When a low-quality female did mate with a high-quality partner, her eggs were larger.

If the female who mates with the "higher quality male lays bigger eggs, the price of choosing a "higher quality mate" just might be death.