TY - JOUR
T1 - Prolactin concentrations predict parental investment and nest survival in a free-living shorebird
AU - Wang, Yuqi
AU - Székely, Tamás
AU - Zhang, Zhengwang
AU - Que, Pinjia
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful to professor Zhendan Shi from Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences for help with the hormone assay, and Shuai Zhang from Beijing Raptor Rescue Center for veterinary instructions. Also, we thank Zhiwei Tian from Daqinghe Rescuer Center, China, who coordinated our fieldwork with local saltworks. Lastly, we would like to thank our volunteers, Jiawen Li, Marnon Fontaine and Sergio Briones Martin, for their assistance with data collection. This study was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31600297 and 31572288).
Funding Information:
We are grateful to professor Zhendan Shi from Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences for help with the hormone assay, and Shuai Zhang from Beijing Raptor Rescue Center for veterinary instructions. Also, we thank Zhiwei Tian from Daqinghe Rescuer Center, China, who coordinated our fieldwork with local saltworks. Lastly, we would like to thank our volunteers, Jiawen Li, Marnon Fontaine and Sergio Briones Martin, for their assistance with data collection. This study was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31600297 and 31572288 ). Appendix A
PY - 2020/3/31
Y1 - 2020/3/31
N2 - The hormonal milieu that exists during reproduction is one of the key factors influencing the trade-off between reproductive investment and self-maintenance. Much previous work in birds has focused on prolactin as a physiological mediator since prolactin is involved in the onset and maintenance of parental care. However, how prolactin relates to reproductive success in terms of altering parental behavior in wild bird populations is not fully understood. Here, we report prolactin concentrations in breeding Kentish plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus), a small shorebird with variable mating systems and parental care, as an ecological model of mating system evolution. Throughout the breeding season, we estimated the circulating prolactin concentrations in male and female plovers during incubation. In addition, we monitored parental behavior and determined the fate of nests. We found that prolactin concentrations decreased during incubation but increased with clutch completion date. In addition, males and females with high prolactin concentrations spent more time on incubation than those with low prolactin concentrations. Importantly, higher prolactin concentrations in either males or females predict higher nest survival. Our results suggest that prolactin is an indicator of parental behavior in a wild shorebird population, although additional studies including experimental manipulation of prolactin concentrations are necessary to verify this relationship.
AB - The hormonal milieu that exists during reproduction is one of the key factors influencing the trade-off between reproductive investment and self-maintenance. Much previous work in birds has focused on prolactin as a physiological mediator since prolactin is involved in the onset and maintenance of parental care. However, how prolactin relates to reproductive success in terms of altering parental behavior in wild bird populations is not fully understood. Here, we report prolactin concentrations in breeding Kentish plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus), a small shorebird with variable mating systems and parental care, as an ecological model of mating system evolution. Throughout the breeding season, we estimated the circulating prolactin concentrations in male and female plovers during incubation. In addition, we monitored parental behavior and determined the fate of nests. We found that prolactin concentrations decreased during incubation but increased with clutch completion date. In addition, males and females with high prolactin concentrations spent more time on incubation than those with low prolactin concentrations. Importantly, higher prolactin concentrations in either males or females predict higher nest survival. Our results suggest that prolactin is an indicator of parental behavior in a wild shorebird population, although additional studies including experimental manipulation of prolactin concentrations are necessary to verify this relationship.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075832474&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104633
DO - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104633
M3 - Article
C2 - 31785284
AN - SCOPUS:85075832474
SN - 0018-506X
VL - 119
JO - Hormones and Behavior
JF - Hormones and Behavior
M1 - 104633
ER -