Mate call as reward: Acoustic communication signals can acquire positive reinforcing values during adulthood in female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata).

Social stimuli can have rewarding properties and promote learning. In birds, conspecific vocalizations like song can act as a reinforcer, and specific song variants can acquire particular rewarding values during early life exposure. Here we ask if, during adulthood, an acoustic signal simpler and shorter than song can become a reward for a female songbird because of its particular social value.

Semiochemical compounds of preen secretion reflect genetic make-up in a seabird species.

Several vertebrates choose their mate according to genetic heterozygosity and relatedness, and use odour cues to assess their conspecifics' genetic make-up. In birds, although several species (including the black-legged kittiwake) exhibit non-random mating according to genetic traits, the cues used to assess genetic characteristics remain unknown. The importance of olfaction in birds' social behaviour is gaining attention among researchers, and it has been suggested that, as in other vertebrates, bird body scent may convey information about genetic traits.

Sexually transmitted bacteria affect female cloacal assemblages in a wild bird.

Ecology Letters (2010) 13: 1515-1524 ABSTRACT: Sexual transmission is an important mode of disease propagation, yet its mechanisms remain largely unknown in wild populations. Birds comprise an important model for studying sexually transmitted microbes because their cloaca provides a potential for both gastrointestinal pathogens and endosymbionts to become incorporated into ejaculates. We experimentally demonstrate in a wild population of kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) that bacteria are transmitted during copulation and affect the composition and diversity of female bacterial communities.

Evidence that pairing with genetically similar mates is maladaptive in a monogamous bird.

Background: Evidence of multiple genetic criteria of mate choice is accumulating in numerous taxa. In many species, females have been shown to pair with genetically dissimilar mates or with extra-pair partners that are more genetically compatible than their social mates, thereby increasing their offsprings' heterozygosity which often correlates with offspring fitness. While most studies have focused on genetically promiscuous species, few studies have addressed genetically monogamous species, in which mate choice tends to be mutual.

Multiple deleterious effects of experimentally aged sperm in a monogamous bird.

Sperm aging is known to be detrimental to reproductive performance. However, this apparently general phenomenon has seldom been studied in an evolutionary context. The negative impact of sperm aging on parental fitness should constitute a strong selective pressure for adaptations to avoid its effects.

The role of parent-offspring interactions during and after fledging in the Black-legged Kittiwake.

Most bird species endure a high mortality at fledging, and selection should favour parental behaviour diminishing these costs. Post-fledging parental care varies greatly among species and is often linked to parent-offspring recognition. In the Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), fledglings need to return to the natal nest to be fed by their parents until independence.