Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 20 March 2009:
Vol. 323. no. 5921, pp. 1605 - 1607
DOI: 10.1126/science.1168928
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Genetic Incompatibility Drives Sex Allocation and Maternal Investment in a Polymorphic Finch

Sarah R. Pryke* and Simon C. Griffith

Genetic compatibility may drive individual mate choice decisions because of predictable fitness effects associated with breeding with incompatible partners. In Gouldian finches (Erythrura gouldiae), females paired with genetically incompatible males of alternative color morphs overproduce sons, presumably to reduce investment in inviable daughters. We also observed a reduced overall investment in clutch size, egg size, and care to offspring resulting from incompatible matings. Within-female experimental pairings demonstrate that female birds have the ability to adaptively adjust the sex of their eggs and allocate resources on the basis of partner quality. Female Gouldian finches thus make cumulative strategic allocation decisions to minimize the costs of poor-quality pairings when faced with a genetically incompatible partner.

Department of Brain, Behaviour, and Evolution, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sarah.pryke{at}mq.edu.au

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Learning enhances female control over reproductive investment in the Japanese quail.
J. Rutkowska and E. Adkins-Regan (2009)
Proc R Soc B 276, 3327-3334
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)