Male risk-taking and female mate choice in birds: A synthesis of mechanism and function

有些鸟类的警报声只由雄性发出，呼叫率与最近的交配成功密切相关。这种关系可能反映了对后代亲属的保护。这种炫耀的冒险行为也可能是性感的。我们将在自然社会群体中操纵雄性生殖成功，以衡量昂贵的叫声对生产的影响。平行实验室实验将有选择地改变警报呼叫率，以测试这是否会影响对女性的吸引力。结果将检验一个有争议的假说，扩展当前父母投资和女性配偶选择的模型，并允许综合性别选择和动物认知方面的工作。

Some avian alarm calls are produced only by males, and call rate corresponds closely with recent mating success. This relationship might reflect protection of descendant kin. Such ostentatious risk-taking might also be sexy. We will manipulate male reproductive success in natural social groups to measure the effect on production of costly calls. Parallel lab experiments will selectively change alarm call rate to test whether this influences attractiveness to females. Results will test a controversial hypothesis, extend current models of parental investment and female mate choice, and permit a synthesis of work on sexual selection and animal cognition.