Mutual sexual selection in the black swan

Funding source: Australian Research Council (Discovery Grant)

Most studies of sexual selection in birds focus on ornamental traits expressed solely in males, and examine only their role in mate preference. Thus, significant gaps remain in our understanding of mutual sexual selection (hypothesised by Darwin to occur in species where both sexes are ornamented) and selective processes such as sperm competition, which may take place after fertilisation. We are studying mutual sexual selection in an iconic native bird, the black swan, by measuring the effect of manipulations of a mutual sexually selected ornament in wild birds, and conducting experiments on sperm competition in captive birds. Our work uses an innovative system to track copulations in wild birds, and will reveal the relative importance of pre- and post-copulatory processes in determining fertilisation.

Publications

KRAAIJEVELD, K., MING, M., KOMDEUR, J. & MULDER, R.A. (2007). Offspring sex ratios in relation to mutual ornamentation and extra-pair paternity in the black swan (Cygnus atratus). Ibis 149: 79-85.

KRAAIJEVELD, K., CAREW, P.J., BILLING, T.M., ADCOCK, G.J. & MULDER, R.A. (2004). Extra-pair paternity does not result in differential sexual selection in the mutually ornamented black swan (Cygnus atratus). Molecular Ecology 13: 1625-1633.

KRAAIJEVELD, K., GREGURKE, J., HALL, C., KOMDEUR, J. & MULDER, R.A. (2004). Mutual ornamentation, sexual selection and social dominance in the Black Swan. Behavioral Ecology 15: 380-389.

MULDER, R.A. & KRAAIJEVELD, K. (2004). Curly cues. Nature Australia 27: 34-43.

CAREW, P.J., ADCOCK, G.J. & MULDER R.A. (2003). Microsatellite loci for paternity assessment in the black swan (Cygnus atratus: Aves). Molecular Ecology Notes 3:1-3.

Publicity

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