Hinde Camilla A, Kilner Rebecca M
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2007 Jan 7;274(1606):53-60. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2006.3692.
Adults provisioning dependent young are in conflict with their partners, who would prefer a greater level of effort, and with their offspring, who would prefer a greater supply of food. To what extent, then should adults negotiate their provisioning behaviour with other family members? We used experimental manipulations of brood size, and targeted playback of begging calls to determine the extent to which adult great tits Parus major adjust their provisioning rates in response to the behaviour of their partner and their brood. We found that males and females behaved similarly, both responding more to each other's behaviour than to chick calling. We also found that the degree to which adults negotiated their provisioning rates with each other varied between years. A review of the literature suggests that the extent of negotiation over provisioning is likely to vary not only between species of diverse taxa, but also between and within (this study) populations of the same species. We suggest that provisioning behaviour lies on a 'negotiation continuum', which describes the extent to which parents respond to the actions of other family members. We argue that an individual's location on the 'negotiation continuum' is determined partly by the extent to which it can physically respond to the behaviour shown by other members of the family and partly by the quality of information on offer.
为依赖自己的幼雏提供食物的成年个体，会与它们的伴侣产生冲突，伴侣更希望它们付出更多努力；同时也会与它们的后代产生冲突，后代更希望得到更多食物供应。那么，成年个体在多大程度上应该与其他家庭成员协商它们的育雏行为呢？我们通过对窝雏数进行实验性操控，并针对性地播放乞食叫声，来确定成年大山雀（Parus major）在多大程度上会根据伴侣和雏鸟的行为来调整它们的育雏率。我们发现，雄性和雌性的行为相似，二者对彼此行为的反应都比对雏鸟叫声的反应更强烈。我们还发现，成年个体之间协商育雏率的程度在不同年份有所不同。对文献的综述表明，育雏协商的程度不仅可能在不同分类群的物种之间有所不同，而且在同一物种的不同种群之间以及种群内部（本研究）也会有所不同。我们认为，育雏行为处于一个“协商连续统”上，该连续统描述了父母对其他家庭成员行为的反应程度。我们认为，个体在“协商连续统”上的位置，部分取决于它对家庭其他成员所表现行为的实际反应程度，部分取决于所提供信息的质量。
