Argüelles-Ticó Araceli, Küpper Clemens, Kelsh Robert N, Kosztolányi András, Székely Tamás, van Dijk René E
Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY UK.
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN UK ; Institute of Zoology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria.
Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 2016;70:49-60. doi: 10.1007/s00265-015-2024-8. Epub 2015 Oct 24.
Sexual selection determines the elaboration of morphological and behavioural traits and thus drives the evolution of phenotypes. Sexual selection on males and females can differ between populations, especially when populations exhibit different breeding systems. A substantial body of literature describes how breeding systems shape ornamentation across species, with a strong emphasis on male ornamentation and female preference. However, whether breeding system predicts ornamentation within species and whether similar mechanisms as in males also shape the phenotype of females remains unclear. Here, we investigate how different breeding systems are associated with male and female ornamentation in five geographically distinct populations of Kentish plovers . We predicted that polygamous populations would exhibit more elaborate ornaments and stronger sexual dimorphism than monogamous populations. By estimating the size and intensity of male ( = 162) and female ( = 174) melanin-based plumage ornaments, i.e. breast bands and ear coverts, we show that plumage ornamentation is predicted by breeding system in both sexes. A difference in especially male ornamentation between polygamous (darker and smaller ornaments) and monogamous (lighter and larger) populations causes the greatest sexual dimorphism to be associated with polygamy. The non-social environment, however, may also influence the degree of ornamentation, for instance through availability of food. We found that, in addition to breeding system, a key environmental parameter, rainfall, predicted a seasonal change of ornamentation in a sex-specific manner. Our results emphasise that to understand the phenotype of animals, it is important to consider both natural and sexual selection acting on both males and females.
性选择决定了形态和行为特征的精细化，从而推动了表型的进化。不同种群中雄性和雌性的性选择可能存在差异，尤其是当种群表现出不同的繁殖系统时。大量文献描述了繁殖系统如何塑造物种间的装饰性，其中重点强调了雄性装饰和雌性偏好。然而，繁殖系统是否能预测物种内部的装饰性，以及与雄性类似的机制是否也塑造了雌性的表型，仍不明确。在此，我们研究了不同的繁殖系统如何与凤头麦鸡五个地理上不同种群中的雄性和雌性装饰性相关联。我们预测，多配偶制种群比单配偶制种群会表现出更精致的装饰和更强的两性异形。通过估计雄性（n = 162）和雌性（n = 174）基于黑色素的羽毛装饰（即胸带和耳羽）的大小和强度，我们发现两性的羽毛装饰都可由繁殖系统预测。多配偶制（颜色更深且更小的装饰）和单配偶制（颜色更浅且更大的装饰）种群之间，尤其是雄性装饰的差异，导致最大的两性异形与多配偶制相关联。然而，非社会环境也可能影响装饰程度，例如通过食物的可获得性。我们发现，除了繁殖系统外，一个关键的环境参数——降雨量，以性别特异性的方式预测了装饰性的季节性变化。我们的结果强调，要理解动物的表型，考虑作用于雄性和雌性的自然选择和性选择都很重要。
