Meeting Abstract
Female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) choose mates based on a number of factors that indicate male quality, including song rate, song complexity (Clayton and Prove, 1989; Collins, 1999), and redness of the beak (Simons and Verhulst, 2011). With regards to selecting mates based on song, females typically prefer males that spend more time singing which correlates with other fitness benefits such as territory quality, food availability and increased parental care (Alatalo, et al., 1990; Greig-Smith, 1982). Females also prefer males who sing more frequently and at a faster rate (Houtman, 1992). During an ongoing study to identify the neural mechanisms of how captive female partner preference is altered by acute stress we asked if song rate of males classified as “low quality” or “high quality” (using the parameters described above) is altered by the social context in which song is produced, including parenting and non-directed social singing with non-partner aviary mates. Male song was recorded in the presence of a partner and separately in the presence of its both its partner and offspring and general aviary cage mates (with comparisons made for variations in offspring age, sex, and clutch size). Songs were recorded for 9 males for 5 days (6 hours/day) and the differences in song rate between the different social contexts were determined. Our results show that social context alone is sufficient to alter song rate, but other factors influencing male quality are important. Male zebra finches classified as “low quality” and “high quality” can modify singing strategies when social context changes.
