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Impact of kin odour on reproduction in zebra finches

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Abstract

Although it has long been disregarded, the accumulating evidence suggests that birds use chemical cues for communication. However, the impact of olfaction on avian mate choice and its potential function in inbreeding avoidance remain unknown. We compared the mate choice and reproductive behaviour between females experimentally deprived of their sense of smell and intact control females. Each female was allowed to mate with two unfamiliar males, an unrelated male and a full brother. If olfactory cues are involved in kin recognition and/or mate choice, we expect the smelling females to reproduce with the unrelated males and the anosmic females to mate randomly with respect to relatedness. The paternity analysis revealed that the anosmic females reproduced randomly with respect to relatedness. Contrary to our expectations, the females with an intact olfactory mucosa demonstrated a decrease in reproduction; they produced significantly fewer eggs than the anosmic females, and the chicks in only one of the cages reached independence. Thus, the female’s ability to smell in the presence of the unfamiliar brother had the unexpected effect of impairing the reproductive behaviour of the females. This is the first study to report directly the critical role of olfactory signals in reproduction and its potential function in preventing maladaptive breeding attempts with kin in female songbirds.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by a research grant from the Ethologische Gesellschaft e.V. to BAC. ETK was funded by the Volkswagen Foundation (85994). BAC is currently a Freigeist Fellow funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. We thank Elke Hippauf for technical assistance and Ulla Kodytek, Gitta Otte and Kristina Ruhe for caring for the animals.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical standards

The experiments were conducted with the permission of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection (permit number LANU NRW Az: 8.87-51.05.20.11.042). The housing and breeding of the birds were conducted with the permission of the Veterinäramt Bielefeld, Germany (Az: 530.421630-1, 18.04.2002). All birds remained in the lab stock after the experiment was completed.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Research Group Olfactory Communication, Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Morgenbreede 45, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany

      Barbara A. Caspers

    2. Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via A. Volta 6, 56126, Pisa, Italy

      Anna Gagliardo

    3. Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Institute of Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Doernbergstr. 25-27, 29223, Celle, Germany

      E. Tobias Krause

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    1. Barbara A. Caspers
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    2. Anna Gagliardo
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    3. E. Tobias Krause
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    Correspondence to Barbara A. Caspers.

    Additional information

    Communicated by D. Rubenstein

    Barbara A. Caspers and E. Tobias Krause contributed equally to this work.

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    Caspers, B.A., Gagliardo, A. & Krause, E.T. Impact of kin odour on reproduction in zebra finches. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 69, 1827–1833 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-015-1995-9

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-015-1995-9

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