Juvenile social experience affects pairing success at adulthood: congruence with the loser effect?

ABSTRACT: Social interactions with adults are often critical for the development of mating behaviours. However, the potential role of other primary social partners such as juvenile counterparts is rarely considered. Most interestingly, it is not known whether interactions with juvenile females improve males' courtship and whether, similar to the winner and loser effects in a fighting context--outcome of these interactions shapes males' behaviour in future encounters. We investigated the combined effects of male quality and juvenile social experience on pairing success at adulthood in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). We manipulated brood size to alter male quality and then placed males in either same- or mixed-sex juvenile dyads until adulthood. We found that males from reduced broods obtained mo

SUBMITTER: Mariette MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3735264 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature