Sexual selection for extreme physical performance in a polygynous bird is associated with exceptional sex differences in oxygen carrying capacity
In many animals, males compete for access to fertile females. The resulting sexual selection leads to sex differences in morphology and behaviour, but may also have consequences for physiology. Pectoral sandpipers are an arctic-breeding polygynous shorebird in which males perform elaborate displays...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 2024-09-09T19:26:00+00:00 Sexual selection for extreme physical performance in a polygynous bird is associated with exceptional sex differences in oxygen carrying capacity Santema, Peter Eberhart-Hertel, Luke Valcu, Mihai Kempenaers, Bart Max Planck Society 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 en eng The Royal Society http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Biology Letters volume 19, issue 11 ISSN 1744-957X journal-article 2023 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 2024-08-19T04:24:53Z In many animals, males compete for access to fertile females. The resulting sexual selection leads to sex differences in morphology and behaviour, but may also have consequences for physiology. Pectoral sandpipers are an arctic-breeding polygynous shorebird in which males perform elaborate displays around-the-clock and move over long distances to sample potential breeding sites, implying the need for physiological adaptations to cope with extreme endurance. We examined the oxygen carrying capacity of pectoral sandpipers, measured as the volume percentage of red blood cells in blood (haematocrit, Hct). We found a remarkable sex difference in Hct levels, with males having much higher values (58.9 ± 3.8 s.d.) than females (49.8 ± 5.3 s.d.). While Hct values of male pectoral sandpipers are notable for being among the highest recorded in birds, the sex difference we report is unprecedented and more than double that of any previously described. We also show that Hct values declined after arrival to the breeding grounds in females, but not in males, suggesting that males maintain an aerobic capacity during the mating period equivalent to that sustained during trans-hemispheric migration. We conclude that sexual selection for extreme physical performance in male pectoral sandpipers has led to exceptional sex differences in oxygen carrying capacity. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic The Royal Society Arctic Biology Letters 19 11 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
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English |
description |
In many animals, males compete for access to fertile females. The resulting sexual selection leads to sex differences in morphology and behaviour, but may also have consequences for physiology. Pectoral sandpipers are an arctic-breeding polygynous shorebird in which males perform elaborate displays around-the-clock and move over long distances to sample potential breeding sites, implying the need for physiological adaptations to cope with extreme endurance. We examined the oxygen carrying capacity of pectoral sandpipers, measured as the volume percentage of red blood cells in blood (haematocrit, Hct). We found a remarkable sex difference in Hct levels, with males having much higher values (58.9 ± 3.8 s.d.) than females (49.8 ± 5.3 s.d.). While Hct values of male pectoral sandpipers are notable for being among the highest recorded in birds, the sex difference we report is unprecedented and more than double that of any previously described. We also show that Hct values declined after arrival to the breeding grounds in females, but not in males, suggesting that males maintain an aerobic capacity during the mating period equivalent to that sustained during trans-hemispheric migration. We conclude that sexual selection for extreme physical performance in male pectoral sandpipers has led to exceptional sex differences in oxygen carrying capacity. |
author2 |
Max Planck Society |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Santema, Peter Eberhart-Hertel, Luke Valcu, Mihai Kempenaers, Bart |
spellingShingle |
Santema, Peter Eberhart-Hertel, Luke Valcu, Mihai Kempenaers, Bart Sexual selection for extreme physical performance in a polygynous bird is associated with exceptional sex differences in oxygen carrying capacity |
author_facet |
Santema, Peter Eberhart-Hertel, Luke Valcu, Mihai Kempenaers, Bart |
author_sort |
Santema, Peter |
title |
Sexual selection for extreme physical performance in a polygynous bird is associated with exceptional sex differences in oxygen carrying capacity |
title_short |
Sexual selection for extreme physical performance in a polygynous bird is associated with exceptional sex differences in oxygen carrying capacity |
title_full |
Sexual selection for extreme physical performance in a polygynous bird is associated with exceptional sex differences in oxygen carrying capacity |
title_fullStr |
Sexual selection for extreme physical performance in a polygynous bird is associated with exceptional sex differences in oxygen carrying capacity |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sexual selection for extreme physical performance in a polygynous bird is associated with exceptional sex differences in oxygen carrying capacity |
title_sort |
sexual selection for extreme physical performance in a polygynous bird is associated with exceptional sex differences in oxygen carrying capacity |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Biology Letters volume 19, issue 11 ISSN 1744-957X |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0391 |
container_title |
Biology Letters |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
11 |
_version_ |
1809895716342988800 |