Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Courtship display by great frigatebirds, Fregata minor: an energetically costly handicap signal?

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We used detailed time-budget observations, mark-resight data, and doubly labeled water estimates of energy expenditure to test whether energy spent on courtship display by male frigatebirds functions as a sexually selected handicap signal. During a 2-day period of time budget observations, males displayed on average 29.5% of the time (range 0–100% for 15 different males), and this value was correlated with an index of season-long display effort. Season-long display effort was strongly predictive of pairing success. Average field metabolic rate (FMR) during the 2-day time budget period was 676.5 kJ/day (range 464.8–1035.0), substantially lower than the mass-specific FMR predicted from studies of other seabirds during incubation or chick-rearing. Despite a low overall FMR, display effort could function as an energetic handicap, either if FMR correlates positively with the amount of courtship performed or if high-quality males display at a high rate because they pay a lower energy cost per unit of display than do low-quality males. We found no relationship between FMR and display rate, despite good power for doing so. We also did not find a significant difference in energy spent divided by courtship time for males that were or were not chosen by females (inferred to be high- and low-quality males, respectively), though the medians differed in the predicted direction (preferred males having lower relative costs than non-preferred males) and the confidence interval on the difference between groups was very wide. Thus, we found evidence that male courtship effort is predictive of pairing success, we rejected one mechanism by which energetic cost of display could function as a handicap, and our test of the alternate energetic handicap mechanism was equivocal.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andersson M (1994) Sexual selection. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bachman GC, Chappell MA (1998) The energetic cost of begging behaviour in nestling house wrens. Anim Behav 55:1607–1618

    Google Scholar 

  • Bucher TL, Ryan MJ, Bartholomew GA (1982) Oxygen consumption during resting, calling, and nest building in the frog Physalaemus pustulosus. Physiol Zool 55:10–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Chappell MA, Bachman GC (2002) Energetic costs of begging behaviour. In: Wright J, Leonard M (eds) The evolution of begging: competition, cooperation, and communication. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 143–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Chappell MA, Zuk M, Kwan TH, Johnsen TS (1995) Energy cost of an avian display: crowing in red junglefowl. Anim Behav 49:255–257

    Google Scholar 

  • Chastel O, Barbraud C, Weimerskirch H, Lormée H, Lacroix A, Tostain O (2005) High levels of LH and testosterone in a tropical seabird with an elaborate courtship display. Gen Comp Endocrinol 140:33–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniel WW (1990) Applied nonparametric statistics, 2nd edn. Duxbury, Pacific Grove, Calif.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dearborn DC (2001) Body condition and retaliation in the parental effort decisions of incubating great frigatebirds (Fregata minor). Behav Ecol 12:200–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Dearborn DC, Ryan MJ (2002) A test of the Darwin-Fisher theory for the evolution of male secondary sexual traits in monogamous birds. J Evol Biol 15:307–313

    Google Scholar 

  • Dearborn DC, Anders AD, Parker PG (2001) Sexual dimorphism, extrapair fertilizations, and operational sex ratio in great frigatebirds (Fregata minor). Behav Ecol 12:746–752

    Google Scholar 

  • Dearborn DC, Anders AD, Schreiber EA, Adams RMM, Mueller UG (2003) Inter-island movements and population differentiation in a pelagic seabird. Mol Ecol 12:2835–2843

    Google Scholar 

  • Eberhardt LS (1994) Oxygen consumption during singing by male Carolina wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus). Auk 111:124–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis HI, Gabrielsen GW (2002) Energetics of free-ranging seabirds. In: Schreiber EA, Burger J (eds) Biology of marine birds. Marine Biology Series, CRC Press, Washington, D.C., pp 359–407

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis HI, Maskrey M, Pettit TN, Whittow GC (1995) Thermoregulation in the brown noddy (Anous stolidus). J Therm Biol 20:307–313

    Google Scholar 

  • Endler JA (1987) Predation, light intensity, and courtship behaviour in Poecilia reticulata (Pisces: Poeciliidae). Anim Behav 35:1376–1385

    Google Scholar 

  • Folstad I, Karter AJ (1992) Parasites, bright males, and the immunocompetence hypothesis. Am Nat 139:603–622

    Google Scholar 

  • Franz M, Oberweger K (2003) Respiratory patterns and oxygen consumption in singing zebra finches. J Exp Biol 206:967–978

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaunt AS, Bucher TL, Gaunt SLL, Baptista LF (1996) Is singing costly? Auk 113:718–721

    Google Scholar 

  • Gessaman JA, Nagy KA (1988) Energy metabolism: errors in gas-exchange conversion factors. Physiol Zool 61:507–513

    Google Scholar 

  • Godfray HCJ, Parker GA (1992) Sibling competition, parent-offspring conflict, and clutch size. Anim Behav 43:473–490

    Google Scholar 

  • Grafen A (1990) Biological signals as handicaps. J Theor Biol 144:517–546

    Google Scholar 

  • Haskell DG (2002) Begging behaviour and nest predation. In: Wright J, Leonard M (eds) The evolution of begging: competition, cooperation, and communication. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 163–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill GE (1994) Trait elaboration via adaptive mate choice: sexual conflict in the evolution of signals of male quality. Ethol Ecol Evol 6:351–370

    Google Scholar 

  • Höglund J, Kålås JA, Fiske P (1992) The costs of secondary sexual characters in the lekking great snipe (Gallinago media). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 30:309–315

    Google Scholar 

  • Horn AG, Leonard ML, Weary DM (1995) Oxygen consumption during crowing by roosters: talk is cheap. Anim Behav 50:1171–1175

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnstone RA, Godfray HCJ (2002) Models of begging as a signal of need. In: Wright J, Leonard M (eds) The evolution of begging: competition, cooperation, and communication. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 1–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Kedar H, Rodriguez-Girones MA, Yedvab S, Winkler D, Lotem A (2000) Experimental evidence for offspring learning in parent-offspring communication. Proc R Soc Lond B 267:1723–1727

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilner RM (2001) A growth cost of begging in captive canary chicks. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:11394–11398

    Google Scholar 

  • Kodric-Brown A, Brown JH (1984) Truth in advertising: the kinds of traits favored by sexual selection. Am Nat 124:309–323

    Google Scholar 

  • Leech SM, Leonard ML (1996) Is there an energetic cost to begging in nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)? Proc R Soc Lond B 263:983–987

    Google Scholar 

  • Leonard M, Horn A, Porter J (2003) Does begging affect growth in nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 54:573–577

    Google Scholar 

  • Lifson N, McClintock R (1966) Theory of use of the turnover rates of body water for measuring energy and material balance. J Theor Biol 12:46–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahoney SA, Fairchild L, Shea RE (1985) Temperature regulation in great frigate birds Fregata minor. Physiol Zool 58:138–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Maynard Smith J, Harper D (2003) Animal signals. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarty JP (1996) The energetic cost of begging in nestling Passerines. Auk 113:178–188

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagy K (1980) CO2 production in animals: an analysis of potential errors in the doubly-labeled water method. Am J Physiol 238:R466–R473

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagy KA, Girard IA, Brown TK (1999) Energetics of free-ranging mammals, birds, and reptiles. Annu Rev Nutrit 19:247–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson JB (1975) The breeding biology of frigatebirds: a comparative review. Living Bird 14:113–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Neter J, Wasserman W, Kutner MH (1989) Applied linear regression models, 2nd edn. Irwin, Homewood, Ill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pomiankowski A (1987) Sexual selection: the handicap principle does work—sometimes. Proc R Soc Lond B 231:123–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Prestwich KN, Brugger KE, Topping M (1989) Energy and communication in three species of Hylid frogs: power input, power output, and efficiency. J Exp Biol 144:53–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricklefs RE, Konarzewski M, Dann S (1996) The relationship between basal metabolic rate and daily energy expenditure in birds and mammals. Am Nat 147:1047–1071

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricklefs RE, Roby DD, Williams JB (1986) Daily energy expenditure by adult Leach’s storm-petrels during the nesting cycle. Physiol Zool 59:649–660

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez-Girones MA, Zuniga JM, Redondo T (2001) Effects of begging on growth rates of nestling chicks. Behav Ecol 12:269–274

    Google Scholar 

  • Speakman JR (1997) Doubly labelled water: theory and practice. Chapman and Hall, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Trivers RL (1974) Parent-offspring conflict. Am Zool 14:249–264

    Google Scholar 

  • Tuttle MD, Ryan MJ (1981) Bat predation and the evolution of frog vocalizations in the neotropics. Science 214:677–678

    Google Scholar 

  • Vehrencamp SL, Bradbury JW, Gibson RM (1989) The energetic cost of display in male sage grouse. Anim Behav 38:885–896

    Google Scholar 

  • Visser GH, Schekkerman H (1999) Validation of the doubly labeled water method in growing precocial birds: the importance of assumptions concerning evaporative water loss. Physiol Biochem Zool 72:740–749

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward S, Speakman JR, Slater PJB (2003) The energy cost of song in the canary Serinus canaria. Anim Behav 66:893–902

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward S, Lampe HM, Slater PJB (2004) Singing is not energetically demanding for pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca. Behav Ecol 15:477–484

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson PJ, Arnqvist G, Stallmann RR (1998) Sexual conflict and the energetic costs of mating and mate choice in water striders. Am Nat 151:46–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Weathers WW, Sullivan KA (1989) Juvenile foraging proficiency, parental effort, and avian reproductive success. Ecol Monogr 59:223–246

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster MD, Weathers WW (2000) Seasonal changes in energy and water use by verdins, Auriparus flaviceps. J Exp Biol 203:3333–3344

    Google Scholar 

  • Wedekind C, Folstad I (1994) Adaptive or nonadaptive immunosuppression by sex hormones? Am Nat 143:936–938

    Google Scholar 

  • Weimerskirch H, Chastel O, Barbraud C, Tostain O (2003) Frigatebirds ride high on thermals. Nature 421:333–334

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells KD, Taigen TL (1989) Calling energetics of a neotropical frog, Hyla microcephala. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 25:13–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Willams JB (1996) The energetics of avian incubation. In: Carey C (ed) Avian energetics and nutritional ecology. Chapman Hall, New York, pp 375–415

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams JB, Nagy K (1984) Validation of the doubly labeled water technique for measuring energy metabolism in savannah sparrows. Physiol Zool 57:325–328

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright J, Leonard ML (2002) The evolution of begging: competition, cooperation, and communication. Kluwer, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahavi A (1975) Mate selection—a selection for a handicap. J Theor Biol 53:205–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahavi A (1977) The costs of honesty (further remarks on the handicap principle). J Theor Biol 67:603–605

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Pete Hurd for discussions about signaling theory. Funding for DLW analysis was provided by an American Philosophical Society grant to D.C.D., with additional funding provided by Ohio State University, Bucknell University, and NSF IBN-0212092 to J.B.W.. Beth Flint and Brian Allen of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service kindly provided logistical support and access to Tern Island, and Frans Juola and Laura Carsten helped capture frigatebirds. This research complied with applicable laws and permits of the United States.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Program in Animal Behavior, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA

    Donald C. Dearborn

  2. Department of Biology, Program in Ecology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Angela D. Anders

  3. Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Joseph B. Williams

Authors
  1. Donald C. Dearborn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Angela D. Anders
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Joseph B. Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Donald C. Dearborn.

Additional information

Communicated by M. Leonard

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dearborn, D.C., Anders, A.D. & Williams, J.B. Courtship display by great frigatebirds, Fregata minor: an energetically costly handicap signal?. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 58, 397–406 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-005-0933-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-005-0933-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation