Publications by authors named "Nina Bircher"
Explaining the evolution of sex differences in cooperation remains a major challenge. Comparative studies highlight that offspring of the more philopatric sex tend to be more cooperative within their family groups than those of the more dispersive sex but we do not understand why. The leading "Philopatry hypothesis" proposes that the more philopatric sex cooperates more because their higher likelihood of natal breeding increases the direct fitness benefits of natal cooperation.
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- Male signals, particularly dawn song, play a significant role in the movements of both female and male great tits, influencing their forays into other territories during the breeding period.
- Despite expectations, females were found to avoid territories with elaborate male songs, while males were attracted to them.
- The study indicates that while male dawn song is linked to foraging behavior, it doesn't directly lead to extrapair mating or influence female attraction as previously thought, highlighting different effects of male signals on each sex.