MATING HABITS: A survey of more than 200 bird species reveals that those in areas with less stable climates are more promiscuous.
Image: Flickr/mikebaird
Apparently, humans aren't the only species whose relationships can suffer from stress. According to new research, birds living in unpredictable climates are more likely to "cheat" on their feathered partners.
"Mating with multiple partners improves the chances that at least one chick will have the genes to cope with the variable conditions to come," explained Carlos Botero, an evolutionary ecologist and the lead researcher of the study, published yesterday in the journal PLoS ONE.
Birds typically bond to one partner throughout a breeding season and sometimes nest with the same mate year after year. Before the 1990s, this phenomenon led scientists to believe that more than 90 percent of all species were monogamous, but thanks to improved genetic testing, we now know most birds actually stray from their partners.
Despite birds' long history of infidelity, extreme temperature fluctuations appear to be intensifying the effect. If global climates continue to grow more erratic, the affected areas could see a steady increase of promiscuity among birds, Botero says.
With the help of fellow researcher Dustin Rubenstein, a behavioral and evolutionary ecologist at Columbia University, Botero collected data for more than 200 bird species that included gulls, geese, ducks, sparrows, bluebirds and falcons.
When bringing home food trumps singing
The scientists then compared the birds' mating habits to temperature and precipitation records near the nesting areas. In regions with less stable climates, females were laying more eggs that lacked their spouse's DNA, and birds were swapping mates more often between breeding seasons.
Depending on the location and type of bird, weather fluctuations can create stressful situations that indirectly lead to promiscuity, says Botero. If it's unusually cold, for example, there may not be as many plants or insects to eat, and baby birds may freeze because they haven't grown feathers to protect them from the cold.
It's not only about having the best genes to survive rough conditions, he says, but also how much the male bird can contribute. A tern that brings plenty of fish back to the nest one season may not be able to find any fish the next, prompting his mate to seek out a better partner.
Female birds typically choose their partners based on their perceived attractiveness. Mockingbirds often seduce their mates by singing, while other species may show off hunting skills or colorful plumage. But when weather patterns change, many birds can quickly lose their charm.
"A male that could look very pretty at one point may not look as good when the environment changes, because he's not getting as much food," says Botero. "The quality of a potential mate depends on the context."
Infidelity may sound like a bad thing to humans, but for birds, Botero says, seeking out superior genes could be a useful strategy for surviving climate change.
Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500
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11 Comments
Add CommentRound-heeled birds? An increase of cardinal cads? Oh, the ignominy of it all! Just one more sin to lay at the feet of mankind with their incessant destruction of the environment and climate. Seriously, at least it looks like the birds are getting ready . . .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJust an observation... the neanderthals who dispute climate change now have something they can hang their hat on - climate change contributes to infidelity, so they are now free to say "the climate made me do it!" Expect a significant reduction in the number of skeptics.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, I am on board now, I will be flying to asia to partake in my share of asian lovers because dammit the climate made me do it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOr - the very fear that the system of marriage is at risk because of climate change - it's perfect.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe only thing better would be if there was a link between climate change and atheism - as the world warms up people abandon their faith.
Just imagine :-)
pop
Lol, This is almost as good as the warmist at NASA predicting that extra terrestrial aliens will genocide all humans because we are such evil polluters who don't care about the climate and are therefore a danger to the entire universe.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo they prove genetically birds are not monogamous yet somehow they know that climate change is stressing birds and the reaction is birds having even more sex.
Yet another example of having no actual data to support anything and creating a conclusion to support a belief existing before research. Lets find more data to prove climate change is bad, even if we have to make it up.
Now lets just assume its all true. What happened to the climate is warming creating longer seasons for food production by nature presenting the birds with plenty of food and the birds then start creating more birds because so much food is available. Because in reality, when food is scarce, the populations of fauna decreases in response and it is more likely to have a successful living offspring survive to reproduce if you have fewer birds competing for less food.
I think my favorite part of the global warming wackos is the insistence that the only possible outcome of global warming is planetary destruction. If that were true then the planet would have become a total wasteland with no life as a result of the PETM period, when CO2 was at least 6 times higher than any warmist predictions as well as he global temp being a heck of a lot hotter. So if the massive NATURAL warming of the PETM didnt kill off life and in fact helped cause the evolution of humans, then it is completely insane for warmists today to make the claim that global warming with result only in total calamity and destruction. The likely outcome is nice weather in most places with more land able to produce food.
yeah... well... some people insist on the supremacy of neanderthals.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOf course not there won't be planetary destruction. But there will be a shift in crop production and yield, not always for the better. There will be [already are] displacements of low-lying countries' populations. There will be [already are] disputes over water.
As an adaptable species, humans need to mitigate the likely outcomes, which are not as rosy as you predict.
So, "mate-swapping" = bad circumstances? I think not!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI enjoy mate-swapping, simply because it's novel and fun.
The fact that my wife does not know makes it even more fun!
I love getting away with stuff.
Where is this mythical low land that people are abandoning? Might be able to buy some cheap real-estate if I can get there before Al Gore & Tim Flannery.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDo you ever remember reading about scientists saying that they found burnt or scorched marks on dino bones? No, neither do I. Something killed the dino and it probably was not a big rock falling from the sky and landing in the Gulf. Do you think it could've been all that huge build up of CO2 you keep talking about in the PETM period? We do not breath CO2; we breath oxygen. When CO2 is greater than oxygen, we smother to death.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou are right though when you say that the planet has heated up and cooled down several thousand times throughout our history and that is a good thing because it keeps the life forms on this planet from stripping is bare. If it is too cold where you live, common sense tells you to move before you freeze to death, but when you cannot breath the air, you do not have time to move; you may have time for a little sex, but you will not have time to move.
You cannot prove that there is not space aliens on this planet or space aliens have never visited this planet to rob it of its resources. There is a lot of proof that aliens have been here before and they have had a major impact on the species here. If we keep robbing this planet of its resources, whose to say that those aliens will not come back one day to harvest more resources and eliminate the destructive force that is robbing them of their resources that they probably seeded here millions of years ago? Humans could even be the alien's worker bees, and when the worker bees start consuming the product, like we are, we could end up being consumed for cutting into their profits. Maybe you should start thinking about where humans really came from and why we are here.
Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Your tin foil hat is slipping a little buddy. Now wipe off that spittle and be a nice boy and take your meds.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSpace aliens?
Worker bees?
Wow!
Climate change: is there anything it can't do?
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