Hard life for sons in the nest? Sex-dependent offspring mortality in Great Tits in urban and forest areas
Sex-biased mortality can occur in birds during development, for example due to sexual differences in energy requirement and/or environmental sensitivity, or the effects of sex hormones or sex differences in the expression of mutations linked to sex chromosomes. The extent of sex-bias in mortality ma...
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Avian Research |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716624000124 |
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| author | Nóra Ágh Henriett Anna Dalvári Krisztián Szabó Ivett Pipoly András Liker |
| author_facet | Nóra Ágh Henriett Anna Dalvári Krisztián Szabó Ivett Pipoly András Liker |
| author_sort | Nóra Ágh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sex-biased mortality can occur in birds during development, for example due to sexual differences in energy requirement and/or environmental sensitivity, or the effects of sex hormones or sex differences in the expression of mutations linked to sex chromosomes. The extent of sex-bias in mortality may also be related to environmental conditions that influence offspring development and survival. Urban areas often provide poorer conditions for nestling development resulting in higher offspring mortality compared to natural areas, which may accelerate sex differences in offspring mortality in cities. To test this hypothesis, we examined the sex ratio of dead offspring in Great Tits (Parus major), using 427 samples of unhatched eggs and dead nestlings collected in two urban and two forest sites between 2013 and 2019. The ratio of males in the whole sample of dead offspring (56.9%) was significantly higher than expected by an 1:1 ratio, and the strongest sex biases were detected in urban areas (57.6% males) and in young nestlings (<14 days old, 59.0% males). However, the sex ratios of dead offspring did not differ significantly among study sites and between offspring developmental stages. 29.3% of unhatched eggs contained a visible embryo, and the proportion of embryo-containing unhatched eggs did not differ significantly between urban and forest study sites. These results suggest male-biased offspring mortality in Great Tits, and highlight the need of large datasets to detect subtle differences between habitats and developmental stages. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-827b0ea9593b4420ba7dbae3156d7fb9 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2053-7166 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
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| series | Avian Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-827b0ea9593b4420ba7dbae3156d7fb92025-08-20T02:30:50ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Avian Research2053-71662024-01-011510016910.1016/j.avrs.2024.100169Hard life for sons in the nest? Sex-dependent offspring mortality in Great Tits in urban and forest areasNóra Ágh0Henriett Anna Dalvári1Krisztián Szabó2Ivett Pipoly3András Liker4HUN-REN-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, University of Pannonia, H-8200, Veszprém, Pf. 1158., Hungary; Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Center for Natural Sciences, University of Pannonia, H-8200, Pf. 1158., Veszprém, Hungary; Molecular Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, H-1400, Pf. 2., Budapest, Hungary; Corresponding author. HUN-REN-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, University of Pannonia, H-8200, Veszprém, Pf. 1158., Hungary.Molecular Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, H-1400, Pf. 2., Budapest, Hungary; Synlab Hungary Ltd., H-1211, Weiss Manfréd Str. 5-7, Budapest, HungaryMolecular Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, H-1400, Pf. 2., Budapest, HungaryHUN-REN-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, University of Pannonia, H-8200, Veszprém, Pf. 1158., Hungary; Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Center for Natural Sciences, University of Pannonia, H-8200, Pf. 1158., Veszprém, HungaryHUN-REN-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, University of Pannonia, H-8200, Veszprém, Pf. 1158., Hungary; Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Center for Natural Sciences, University of Pannonia, H-8200, Pf. 1158., Veszprém, HungarySex-biased mortality can occur in birds during development, for example due to sexual differences in energy requirement and/or environmental sensitivity, or the effects of sex hormones or sex differences in the expression of mutations linked to sex chromosomes. The extent of sex-bias in mortality may also be related to environmental conditions that influence offspring development and survival. Urban areas often provide poorer conditions for nestling development resulting in higher offspring mortality compared to natural areas, which may accelerate sex differences in offspring mortality in cities. To test this hypothesis, we examined the sex ratio of dead offspring in Great Tits (Parus major), using 427 samples of unhatched eggs and dead nestlings collected in two urban and two forest sites between 2013 and 2019. The ratio of males in the whole sample of dead offspring (56.9%) was significantly higher than expected by an 1:1 ratio, and the strongest sex biases were detected in urban areas (57.6% males) and in young nestlings (<14 days old, 59.0% males). However, the sex ratios of dead offspring did not differ significantly among study sites and between offspring developmental stages. 29.3% of unhatched eggs contained a visible embryo, and the proportion of embryo-containing unhatched eggs did not differ significantly between urban and forest study sites. These results suggest male-biased offspring mortality in Great Tits, and highlight the need of large datasets to detect subtle differences between habitats and developmental stages.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716624000124Great TitUrbanizationNestling mortalitySex related differences |
| spellingShingle | Nóra Ágh Henriett Anna Dalvári Krisztián Szabó Ivett Pipoly András Liker Hard life for sons in the nest? Sex-dependent offspring mortality in Great Tits in urban and forest areas Avian Research Great Tit Urbanization Nestling mortality Sex related differences |
| title | Hard life for sons in the nest? Sex-dependent offspring mortality in Great Tits in urban and forest areas |
| title_full | Hard life for sons in the nest? Sex-dependent offspring mortality in Great Tits in urban and forest areas |
| title_fullStr | Hard life for sons in the nest? Sex-dependent offspring mortality in Great Tits in urban and forest areas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hard life for sons in the nest? Sex-dependent offspring mortality in Great Tits in urban and forest areas |
| title_short | Hard life for sons in the nest? Sex-dependent offspring mortality in Great Tits in urban and forest areas |
| title_sort | hard life for sons in the nest sex dependent offspring mortality in great tits in urban and forest areas |
| topic | Great Tit Urbanization Nestling mortality Sex related differences |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716624000124 |
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