Early female bonds boost male birds' mating success

Male zebra finches that fail to socialise with females during adolescence are less successful at courtship later in life, a study says.

This effect mimics the "loser effect" where, after a defeat, an animal is more likely to lose a subsequent fight.

Social friendships at a young age were also found to be more important than physical and social attractiveness.

The findings are reported in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

The loser effect has been well demonstrated in many species, from spiders and fish to birds. After a fight hormonal levels change which negatively affects performance in further fights.

“He may just court less attractive females. He's not a loser for life,” said Dr Mylene MarietteUniversity de Saint-Etienne, France

Now scientists have found a similar effect for mating. Adolescent males who failed to pair with a juvenile female were later unsuccessful with females they encountered in adulthood.

Continued