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Appearance, “state,” and behavior in male zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata

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Abstract

Secondary sexual traits are often costly to produce and therefore an individual’s appearance can signal its quality. As the quality of an individual influences the payoffs associated with the actions it can perform, its appearance should also influence its behavior. Here we investigate whether male zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, change their behavior (and their energetic states) after artificial manipulations of their appearance, using different colored leg bands, and if such effects carry over after the end of the manipulation, as might be expected if appearance-mediated social dynamics “lock” individuals into different states. During three experimental phases, in which all males in a group wore neutral colored leg bands at the beginning (phase I), then wore attractive, unattractive, and neutral colored bands, respectively (phase II), before wearing the neutral color again (phase III), we found no evidence of an effect of the appearance manipulation on state, weight or any behavioral traits we measured. Nevertheless, we found that individuals that stored more fat were more likely to initiate and win aggressive interactions but were less likely to be recipients of aggression. This association between energetic state and aggressive behavior is discussed from both strategic body mass regulation and sexual selection perspectives.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mhairi McFarlane for assistance with the wing measurements and David Carslake for helpful suggestions. W.S. was funded by the European Social Fund.

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  1. Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ, UK

    Wiebke Schuett & Sasha R. X. Dall

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  1. Wiebke Schuett
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  2. Sasha R. X. Dall
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Correspondence to Wiebke Schuett.

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Schuett, W., Dall, S.R.X. Appearance, “state,” and behavior in male zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata . J Ethol 28, 273–286 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-009-0181-9

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