Date: May 31, 2018
Source: Imperial College London
When female birds have chicks as
the result of an extra-marital fling, the fathers are almost always older
males, and scientists are finding out why.
Many birds, particularly
songbirds like sparrows, form social pair bonds. They usually stick with one
partner for life to raise chicks, but may have affairs that result in 'illegitimate'
children. From previous studies, it is known that older males are more likely
to sire illegitimate children, but exactly why has remained a mystery.
Now, a team of researchers led by
Imperial College London have studied the behaviour of a captive population of
sparrows at the Silwood Park campus to find out why older males are so
successful. Their results are published this week in the current issue
of Scientific Reports.
They tested two possibilities:
that older males are better at coercing females into extra-pair affairs (the
'male manipulation' hypothesis), or that females solicit more sex from older
males than from younger males (the 'female choice' hypothesis).
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