Simulating winning in the wild - The behavioral and hormonal response of black redstarts to single and repeated territorial challenges of high and low intensity

被引:29
作者
Apfelbeck, Beate [1 ]
Stegherr, Johanna [1 ]
Goymann, Wolfgang [1 ]
机构
[1] Max Planck Inst Ornithol, Abt Verhaltensneurobiol, D-82319 Seewiesen, Germany
关键词
Challenge hypothesis; Simulated territorial intrusions; Aggression; Territorial behavior; Testosterone; Corticosterone; Winner-loser effect; MALE ANDROGEN RESPONSIVENESS; SOCIAL MODULATION; TESTOSTERONE LEVELS; AGGRESSIVE-BEHAVIOR; MELOSPIZA-MELODIA; PLASMA-LEVELS; SONG SPARROW; CORTICOSTERONE; VERTEBRATES; MECHANISMS;
D O I
10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.08.005
中图分类号
B84 [心理学]; C [社会科学总论]; Q98 [人类学];
学科分类号
03 ; 0303 ; 030303 ; 04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
In many vertebrates testosterone increases during aggressive interactions and the surges in this hormone may be responsible for the winner effect. So far studies on this relationship have been done in captivity only, because simulating a winning situation for a territory owner in the field is difficult. However, an increasing number of studies show that territorial aggression is not necessarily accompanied by elevated testosterone after a single simulated territorial intrusion (STI) and therefore it has been proposed that STIs may even create a losing experience. We examined whether free-living male black redstarts (Phoenicurus ochruros) show changes in androgens, corticosterone and behavior following repeated Sib of high or low intensity and in contrast to being challenged only once. Repeated intrusions had no influence on androgen and corticosterone levels regardless of intrusion intensity. In contrast, the behavioral response changed over days depending on the intensity of the intrusion. Only birds challenged with high-level intruders approached the decoy significantly faster during the third intrusion than during the first one, stayed closer to the decoy, and sang more songs than males challenged with low-level intruders. Thus, although black redstarts reacted differently to STIs varying in frequency and intensity, these behavioral differences were not reflected in androgen or corticosterone levels. Our data show that it is unlikely that STIs induce a losing experience. Furthermore, they indicate that a hormonal effect of winning an encounter may not be universal in vertebrates and may depend on the ecological or life-history context. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:565 / 571
页数:7
相关论文
共 49 条
[1]   Hormonal anticipation of territorial challenges in cichlid fish [J].
Antunes, Raquel A. ;
Oliveira, Rui F. .
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 2009, 106 (37) :15985-15989
[2]   Ignoring the challenge? Male black redstarts (Phoenicurus ochruros) do not increase testosterone levels during territorial conflicts but they do so in response to gonadotropin-releasing hormone [J].
Apfelbeck, Beate ;
Goymann, Wolfgang .
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 2011, 278 (1722) :3233-3242
[4]   Contest outcome in a territorial butterfly: the role of motivation [J].
Bergman, Martin ;
Olofsson, Martin ;
Wiklund, Christer .
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 2010, 277 (1696) :3027-3033
[5]   AGGRESSIVE INTERACTIONS AND INTER-CONTEST INTERVAL - HOW LONG DO WINNERS KEEP WINNING [J].
CHASE, ID ;
BARTOLOMEO, C ;
DUGATKIN, LA .
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR, 1994, 48 (02) :393-400
[6]   The deterrent effect of bird song in territory defense [J].
de Kort, Selvino R. ;
Eldermire, Erin R. B. ;
Cramer, Emily R. A. ;
Vehrencamp, Sandra L. .
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY, 2009, 20 (01) :200-206
[7]   Testosterone release and social context: When it occurs and why [J].
Gleason, Erin D. ;
Fuxjager, Matthew J. ;
Oyegbile, Temitayo O. ;
Marler, Catherine A. .
FRONTIERS IN NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, 2009, 30 (04) :460-469
[8]   Progesterone modulates aggression in sex-role reversed female African black coucals [J].
Goymann, Wolfgang ;
Wittenzellner, Andrea ;
Schwabl, Ingrid ;
Makomba, Musa .
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 2008, 275 (1638) :1053-1060
[9]   Distinguishing seasonal androgen responses from male-male androgen responsiveness - Revisiting the Challenge Hypothesis [J].
Goymann, Wolfgang ;
Landys, Meta M. ;
Wingfield, John C. .
HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR, 2007, 51 (04) :463-476
[10]   Use of ethanol for preserving steroid and indoleamine hormones in bird plasma [J].
Goymann, Wolfgang ;
Schwabl, Ingrid ;
Trappschuh, Monika ;
Hau, Michaela .
GENERAL AND COMPARATIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY, 2007, 150 (02) :191-195