Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Emu Emu Society
Journal of BirdLife Australia
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MU > MU09086
REVIEW
Contents Vol 110(3)

Post-copulatory sexual selection and the Zebra Finch

T. R. Birkhead
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK. Email: t.r.birkhead@sheffield.ac.uk

Emu 110(3) 189-198 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU09086
Submitted: 2 September 2009  Accepted: 15 October 2009   Published: 18 August 2010

Abstract

The Zebra Finch Taeniopygia guttata is a model passerine and since the mid-1980s my research group has studied both domesticated birds in captivity, and wild birds in Australia, as part of a program of research designed to explore the adaptive significance and underlying mechanisms of sperm competition in birds. Extra-pair courtship is common in wild Zebra Finches, but rarely leads to mounting and as a result extra-pair paternity is infrequent, a result consistent with male Zebra Finch reproductive anatomy. Nonetheless, the species has proved to be an excellent model for sperm competition studies because its basic reproductive anatomy and reproductive processes are similar to other birds. The outcome of sperm competition in the Zebra Finch and other birds is best predicted by the passive sperm loss model, allowing for differences in sperm numbers and quality (fertilising capacity). Last male sperm precedence is not a ‘rule’ in birds but is a consequence of the way sperm competition experiments have been conducted. Several male reproductive traits, including sperm size and velocity in the Zebra Finch have a genetic basis, and, as the Zebra Finch genome project gains momentum, the genes for these traits will be identified.

Zebra Finches are often taken for granted by Australians because they are numerous, noisy and persistent, but many, including myself, admire them because they typify the “little Australian battler” – the small and insignificant, that somehow succeeds by simply hanging on and enduring the vicissitudes of the vast, harsh country of inland Australia. (Richard Zann, ‘The Zebra Finch’, 1996)


Acknowledgements

Richard Zann welcomed me to Australia and generously shared both his study population and his extensive knowledge of wild Zebra Finch biology with me in 1988. Without his help I would never had been able to evaluate properly our laboratory studies. Keith Clarkson accompanied me on that first trip to Australia and was an exemplary field assistant. I thank my wife Miriam for allowing me to abandon her for six weeks during that first visit to Australia while she cared for our three small children. In 1984 George and Jill Lewsey – the UK’s top Zebra Finch breeders – gave me my first homozygous grey Zebra Finches, which formed the basis of our captive population and I am very grateful to them for this. I also thank all those who have worked on our captive population: Clair Bennison, Patricia Brekke, Jon Blount, Terry Burke, Hector Castillo, Nick Colegrave, Bobbie Fletcher, Lynsey Gregory, Nicola Hemmings, Fiona Hunter, Kate Lessells, Ian Matthews, Fiona McPhie, Jim Mossman, Jayne Pellatt, Nichola Roddis, Jessica Stapley, Jon Slate, Alison Staples, Rachel Yeates and Phil Young. Finally, I thank the innumerable undergraduate helpers and the various funding bodies that have supported our research. Finally, I thank R. Montgomerie for his perceptive and constructive comments on the manuscript.


References

Açkay, E. , and Roughgarden, J. (2007). Extra-pair paternity in birds: review of the genetic benefits. Evolutionary Ecology Research 9, 855–868.
Alcock J. (2001). ‘The Triumph of Sociobiology.’ (Oxford University Press: Oxford, MA, USA.)

Bakst, M. R. , Wishart, G. J. , and Brillard, J.-P. (1994). Oviducal sperm selection, transport and storage in poultry. Poultry Science Reviews 5, 117–143.
Birkhead T. R. (2000). ‘Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm Competition and Sexual Conflict.’ (Faber & Faber: London.)

Birkhead T. R. (2008). ‘The Wisdom of Birds – An Illustrated History of Ornithology.’ (Bloomsbury: London.)

Birkhead, T. R. , and Biggins, J. D. (1998). Sperm competition mechanisms in birds: models and data. Behavioral Ecology 9, 253–260.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Birkhead T. R. , and Møller A. P. (1992). ‘Sperm Competition in Birds: Evolutionary Causes and Consequences.’ (Academic Press: London.)

Birkhead, T. R. , and Møller, A. P. (1993). Why do male birds stop copulating while their partners are still fertile? Animal Behaviour 45, 105–118.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Harvey W. (1981). ‘Disputations Touching the Generation of Animals.’ (Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.)

Hatch, S. A. (1983). Mechanism and ecological significance of sperm storage in the Northern Fulmar with reference to its occurrence in other birds. Auk 100, 593–600.
Hockey P. (Ed.) (2009). ‘Biology of Breeding Poultry.’ (CABI: Oxford, UK.)

Howarth J. B. (1974). Sperm storage: as a function of the female reproductive tract. In ‘The Oviduct and its Functions’. (Eds A. D. Johnson and C. W. Foley.) pp. 237–270. (Howarth Academic Press: New York.)

Immler, S. , Calhim, S. , and Birkhead, T. R. (2008). Increased postcopulatory sexual selection reduces the intra-male variation in sperm design. Evolution 62, 1538–1543.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Krebs J. R. , and Davies N. B. (1978). ‘Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach.’ 1st edn. (Blackwell Scientific Publications: Oxford, UK.)

Krebs J. R. , and Davies N. B. (1997). ‘Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach.’ 4th edn. (Blackwell Scientific Publications: Oxford, UK.)

Lack D. (1968). ‘Ecological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds.’ (Chapman Hall: London.)

Lake, P. E. , and Stewart, J. M. (1978). Artificial insemination in poultry. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Bulletin 213, 1–34.
McCleery R. H. , and Perrins C. M. (1988). Lifetime reproductive success of the Great Tit Parus major. In ‘Reproductive Success’. (Ed. T. H. Clutton-Brock.) pp. 136–153. (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL.)

Morton S. (2009). Rain and grass: lessons in how to be a zebra finch. In ‘Boom & Bust’. (Eds L. Robin, R. Heinsohn and L. Joseph.) (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)

Mossman J. (2008). The role of mitochondrial genetic variation on sperm function: empirical tests of the Frank and Hurst hypothesis. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Sheffield.

Mossman, J. , Slate, J. , Humphries, S. , and Birkhead, T. R. (2009). Sperm morphology and velocity are genetically co-determined in the zebra finch. Evolution 63, 2730–2737.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Pacey A. (2009). Sperm, human fertility and society. In ‘Sperm Biology: An Evolutionary Perspective’. (Eds T. R. Birkhead, D. Hosken and S. Pitnick.) pp. 565–597. (Academic Press: London.)

Parker, G. A. (1970). Sperm competition and its evolutionary consequences in the insects. Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 45, 525–567.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Parker G. A. (1984). Sperm competition and the evolution of animal mating strategies. In ‘Sperm Competition and the Evolution of Animal Mating Systems’. (Ed. R. L. Smith.) pp. 1–60. (Academic Press: London.)

Parker G. A. (1998). Sperm competition and the evolution of ejaculates: towards a theory base. In ‘Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection’. (Eds T. R. Birkhead and A. P. Møller.) pp. 3–54. (Academic Press: London.)

Parker G. A. (2001). Golden flies, sunlit meadows: a tribute to the yellow dungfly. In ‘Model Systems in Behavioural Ecology: Integrating Conceptual, Theoretical, and Empirical Approaches’. (Ed. L. A. Dugatkin.) pp. 3–26. (Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ.)

Parker G. A. (2006). Behavioural ecology: the science of natural history. In ‘Essays on Animal Behaviour: Celebrating 50 Years of Animal Behaviour’. (Ed. J. R. Lucas and L. W. Simmons.) pp. 23–56. (Elsevier: Burlington, MA.)

Pellatt, E. J. (1998). Changes in the size and content of the sperm storage tubules during the breeding cycle of the Zebra Finch Taeniopygia guttata. Ibis 140, 528–530.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Pitnick S. , Hosken D. , and Birkhead T. R. (2009). Sperm morphological diversity. In ‘Sperm Biology: An Evolutionary Perspective’. (Eds T. R. Birkhead, D. Hosken and S. Pitnick.) pp. 69–149. (Academic Press: London.)

Pizzari, T. , and Birkhead, T. R. (2000). Female fowl eject sperm of subdominant males. Nature 405, 787–789.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Romanoff A. L. (1960). ‘The Avian Embryo.’ (Macmillan: New York.)

Schmoll, T. , Mund, V. , and Dietrich-Bischoff, V. (2007). Male age predicts extrapair and total fertilisation success in the socially monogamous coal tit. Behavioral Ecology 18, 1073–1081.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Segerstråle U. (2000). ‘Defenders of the Truth.’ (Oxford University Press: Oxford, MA, USA.)

Short R. V. (1981). Sexual selection in man and great apes. In ‘Reproductive Biology of the Great Apes’. (Ed. C. E. Graham.) pp. 319–341. (Academic Press: London.)

Stapley, J. , Birkhead, T. R. , Burke, T. , and Slate, J. (2008). A linkage map of the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata provides new insight into avian genome evolution. Genetics 179, 651–667.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Trivers R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In ‘Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man 1871–1971’. (Ed. B. Campbell.) pp. 136–179. (Aldine-Atherton: Chicago, IL.)

Trivers R. L. (2002). ‘Natural Selection and Social Theory.’ (Oxford University Press: Oxford, MA, USA.)

Van Krey H. P. (1990). Reproductive biology in relation to breeding and genetics. In ‘Poultry Breeding and Genetics’. (Ed. R. D. Crawford.) pp. 61–90. (Elsevier: Amsterdam.)

van Noordwijk A. J. , and van Balen J. H. (1988). The Great Tit Parus major. In ‘Reproductive Success’. (Ed. T. H. Clutton-Brock.) pp. 119–135. (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL.)

Wagner, R. (1837). Fragmente zur physiologie der zeugung, vorzüglich zur mikroskopischen analyse des sperma. Abhandlungen der Koniglichen Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaft , 381–416.
Zann R. A. (1996). ‘The Zebra Finch: A Synthesis of Field and Laboratory Studies.’ (Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.)