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Exploratory behaviors describe the actions performed by an animal to obtain information on an object, environment, or individual by using its different senses. Exploration is described in some marine mammals, but not yet in manatees. Our study investigated behavioral and acoustic responses of two groups of Antillean manatees (N = 12 and N = 4) housed in zoological parks toward various stimuli involving three sensory modalities: visual, tactile, and auditory. Simultaneous audio and video recordings were collected during three periods of time (i.e., before, during, and after the presentation of all stimuli). Behaviors related to interest, social behaviors, the number and type of calls produced, and their frequency and duration were recorded and analyzed. Manatees reacted more to submerged stimuli than to out-of-water and sound stimuli, with an increase in approach, social contacts, and number of vocalizations. The proportion of squeaks and squeals call types also varied according to stimuli, and call entropy and F0 range varied according to periods. Our results suggest that manatees display sensory preferences when exploring stimuli, with more interest in manipulable stimuli, supporting the importance of their somatic perception. We highlight the need for particular enrichment programs (i.e., involving submerged objects) in zoological facilities. By displaying social contacts and by producing vocalizations, manatees communicate information such as their motivational state. The increase in call rate, harsh calls, and entropy values could be valid indicators of heightened arousal. We encourage further studies to associate acoustic recordings with ethological data collection to increase the understanding of manatees' behaviors andperception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While uncovering the costs and benefits of polyandry has attracted considerable attention, assessing the net effect of sexual selection on population fitness requires the experimental manipulation of female mating over generations, which is usually only achievable in laboratory populations of arthropods. However, knowing if sexual selection improves or impairs the expression of life‐history traits is key for the management of captive populations of endangered species, which are mostly long‐lived birds and mammals. It might therefore be questionable to extrapolate the results gathered on laboratory populations of insects to infer the net effect of sexual selection on populations of endangered species. Here, we used a longitudinal dataset that has been collected on a long‐lived bird, the houbara bustard, kept in a conservation breeding program, to investigate the effect of enforced monoandry on female investment into reproduction. In captivity, female houbara bustards are artificially inseminated with sperm collected from a single male (enforced monoandry), or sequentially inseminated with semen of different males (polyandry), allowing postcopulatory sexual selection to operate. We identified female lines that were produced either by monoandrous or polyandrous inseminations over three generations, and we compared reproductive investment of females from the two mating system groups. We found that females in the polyandrous lines had higher investment into reproduction as they laid more eggs per season and produced heavier hatchlings. Higher reproductive investment into reproduction in the polyandrous lines did not result from inherited differences from females initially included in the two mating system groups. These results show that removal of sexual selection can alter reproductive investment after only few generations, potentially hindering population fitness and the success of conservation breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental age has profound consequences for offspring's phenotype. However, whether patrilineal age affects offspring sperm production remains unknown, despite the importance of sperm production for male reproductive success in species facing post‐copulatory sexual selection. Using a longitudinal dataset on ejaculate attributes of the houbara bustard, we showed that offspring sired by old fathers had different age‐dependent trajectories of sperm production compared to offspring sired by young fathers. Specifically, they produced less sperm (−48%) in their first year of life, and 14% less during their lifetime. Paternal age had the strongest effect, with weak evidence for grandpaternal or great grandpaternal age effects. These results show that paternal age can affect offspring reproductive success by reducing sperm production, establishing an intergenerational link between ageing and sexual selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offspring resulting from mating among close relatives can suffer from impaired fitness through the expression of recessive alleles with deleterious effects. Postcopulatory sperm selection (a prezygotic mechanism of cryptic female choice) has been suggested to be an effective way to avoid inbreeding. To investigate whether postcopulatory female choice allows the avoidance of fertilization by close kin, we performed artificial inseminations in a promiscuous bird, the houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata undulata). Females were inseminated with a mix of sperm from triads of males, each constituted of a male genetically unrelated to the female, a first cousin and a half‐sibling. When counting the number of eggs sired by unrelated males, cousins or half‐siblings, we found a significant deviation from the expected random distribution, with more eggs sired by unrelated males. However, offspring sired by cousins, and especially by half‐siblings suffered from high prehatching mortality, suggesting that the observed paternity skew towards unrelated males might reflect differential offspring mortality rather than sperm selection. In agreement with this hypothesis, within‐triad siring success was similar for the three parental relatedness categories, but the relationship between siring and hatching success differed across categories. In clutches with high hatching success, unrelated males had the highest success while in clutches with high failure rate, half‐siblings had the highest success. Offspring sired by half‐siblings also suffered from reduced growth rate during the first three months and higher posthatching mortality. Hence, despite substantial fitness costs associated with fertilization by close relatives, females do not seem to select sperm of unrelated males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theory of Mind (ToM), i.e. the ability to understand others' mental states, endows humans with highly adaptive social skills such as teaching or deceiving. Candidate evolutionary explanations have been proposed for the unique sophistication of human ToM among primates. For example, the Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis states that the increasing complexity of social networks may have induced a demand for sophisticated ToM. This type of scenario ignores neurocognitive constraints that may eventually be crucial limiting factors for ToM evolution. In contradistinction, the cognitive scaffolding hypothesis asserts that a species' opportunity to develop sophisticated ToM is mostly determined by its general cognitive capacity (on which ToM is scaffolded). However, the actual relationships between ToM sophistication and either brain volume (a proxy for general cognitive capacity) or social group size (a proxy for social network complexity) are unclear. Here, we let 39 individuals sampled from seven non-human primate species (lemurs, macaques, mangabeys, orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees) engage in simple dyadic games against artificial ToM players (via a familiar human caregiver). Using computational analyses of primates' choice sequences, we found that the probability of exhibiting a ToM-compatible learning style is mainly driven by species' brain volume (rather than by social group size). Moreover, primates' social cognitive sophistication culminates in a precursor form of ToM, which still falls short of human fully-developed ToM abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biodiversity crisis is not salient to many people. A zoo visit not only provides the opportunity to learn about the issue, but also provides direct experiences with animals that may increase public engagement. The present study used a nonequivalent pretest-posttest design to assess the impact of a zoo visit on conservation knowledge and engagement by comparing 88 visitors entering a zoo in Paris and 84 visitors on their way out. Those who had completed their visit scored higher on conservation knowledge, general concern about threats to biodiversity, and perceived self-efficacy to protect biodiversity. Notably, conservation knowledge was not highly correlated with the other dependent variables, but self-efficacy was significantly correlated with environmental concern, behaviour, and behavioural intent. We conclude that a zoo visit does have a positive impact on knowledge and concern, and by affecting self-efficacy, it has the potential to influence future behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological discoveries suggest that human interest in odd objects emerged as early as the end of the Lower Paleolithic with Homo erectus , although it is still difficult to understand why early humans collected these objects. Several studies show that nonhuman primates are able to appreciate the physical characteristics of their tools, but their interest in the physical properties of nonutilitarian objects has, to our knowledge, never been tested. Here, objects of different brightness, color, and shape were proposed to five orangutans to test whether odd objects intrigue orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and whether they induce specific and noticeable behavior. This preliminary experiment shows that orangutans are responsive to the physical properties of nonutilitarian objects, particularly visually striking, bright, and colorful objects. Our experiment shows that these are the most manipulated pieces, regardless of their respective proportions. However, unlike (early) humans, orangutans did not show any tendency to preserve objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When confronted with novel foods, chimpanzees' responses combine a mixture of curiosity and cautiousness. Once the item is in the mouth, the initial cautiousness is followed by an aversion to bitter taste that is mediated mainly by the TAS2 R gene family. For instance, variations on the TAS2R38 locus which has been studied extensively in humans have been associated with different acceptance of bitter substances. Surprisingly, while cautiousness and bitter taste aversion were selected to prevent any risk of poisoning, very few studies on novel food acceptance have included the vegetative parts of plants. Moreover, the studies were usually carried out with captive apes faced to a very restricted variety of non-toxic plants, hardly making the results representative. This study aims to replicate previous findings obtained in zoos while controlling for these limitations. We provided nine subgroups of eastern chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) living in the Ugandan sanctuary of Ngamba Island with novel plants known to be consumed by wild chimpanzees of the same subspecies, as well as domestic plants, wild sapota fruit and grey clay used by human local communities. We also genotyped their TAS2 R38 gene. Our results confirm the very low genetic heterogeneity for TAS2 R38 in this chimpanzee subspecies. Chimpanzees were particularly cautious towards the vegetative parts of novel plants, likely reflecting their behavioural strategy for avoiding toxic compounds. We also confirmed their higher propensity towards testing sapota and clay, reflecting their ability to expand their diet. In contrast with the results found in zoos, familiar and novel less-palatable vegetative parts of plants did not elicit many interindividual observations. This may be explained by the items presented, which could have been so novel to be considered as enrichment in captive conditions, where the apes are rarely exposed to plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investment into extravagant sexual display and competitive sperm are two essential components of pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection. Even though the selective forces acting on sexual display and sperm characteristics have been extensively studied in recent years, the genetic architecture underlying the expression of these traits has been rarely explored., Here, we estimated the genetic variances and covariances of traits linked with ejaculate size and quality, and sexual display in the houbara bustard ( Chlamydotis undulata undulata, Jacquin 1784)., Using a very large pedigree-based data set, we show that sexual signalling and ejaculate size (but not ejaculate quality) are heritable and genetically positively correlated. The matrix of genetic covariances also provided support for some across-sex correlations: male and female gamete numbers are positively correlated, and more surprisingly, male display and female gamete numbers are also positively correlated., These results can have important implications for the understanding of the evolution of sperm traits and sexual display in animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For some endangered parrot species, captive breeding may be the only insurance for their survival. However, many individuals in captivity do not reproduce. Artificial insemination (AI) may help overcome reproductive failures or geographic distance. For semen collection in birds, massage is the most commonly used method. However, this process, which usually requires capture and restraint, involves risk of stress and injuries. The aim of this experiment was to train large macaws to accept the physical manipulations of their body parts needed for the artificial insemination process. Within 15 weeks, a male and a female Buffon's macaw (Ara ambiguus) learned to accept handling without apparent stress. A pair of green-winged macaws (Ara chloropterus) progressed more slowly and displayed some signs of stress. This stress highlights the need to monitor the birds' possible signs of discomfort during the training in order to adapt the working protocol. These results demonstrate that it is possible to train the AI behaviors, thus avoiding the capture, restraint, and anesthesia. An added benefit to this is the potential for the training to provide a form of behavioral enrichment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The information content of secondary sexual traits and the benefits gathered by choosy females are at the heart of sexual selection theory. Indicator models of sexual selection assume that secondary sexual traits reflect the phenotypic/genetic quality of their bearers and that females gather benefits from choosing these high-quality males. 2. Here, we tested the idea that courtship display reflects the health status in a bird species with a lek-based mating system, the houbara bustard ( Chlamydotis undulata undulata). A group of males was treated with the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of the cell wall of the bacterium Escherichia coli during the seasonal peak of courtship display, while another group of males was injected with a phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS) as a control. We then monitored the effect of the treatment on both courtship display and ejaculate quality. Finally, females were artificially inseminated with semen from LPS and PBS males, which allowed us to assess the effect of the immunological treatment on reproduction. 3. We found that the inflammatory challenge reduced courtship display and semen quality compared to controls. Interestingly, males that better resisted to the immune challenge in terms of courtship display also better resisted in terms of ejaculate quality. Early reproductive failure was increased when females were artificially inseminated with semen from immune-activated males. Failure of eggs laid by females inseminated with LPS semen was due to a reduced fertilization power of sperm of LPS males or to increased embryo mortality in the very early stage of embryo development. As a consequence, hatching rate was reduced for females inseminated with semen collected from LPS males. 4. These results show that by assessing male courtship display, females may gain insight into the current phenotypic/genetic quality of mates and gather fitness benefits in terms of reproductive success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Morocco we tested the consistency between an a priori habitat classification based on topography, hydrology, vegetation structure and composition, and an a posteriori classification based on arthropod assemblages, in a plain supporting wild endangered Houbara Bustards. According to vegetation structure, we defined seven a priori habitats that differed significantly in perennial cover and height. A multivariate multiple regression analysis showed a significant relationship between arthropod assemblages and vegetation structure. Canonical Analyses of Principal Coordinates, conducted simultaneously on direct searches of arthropods and trapping data, showed significant differences between assemblages in both cases, and produced two similar constrained ordinations of six a posteriori habitats: esparto grass (Stipa tenacissima), temporarily flooded areas, fields, "reg" with short perennials, "reg" with tall perennials and wadis. The two sampling methods reflected a dominance of ants and beetles. Arthropod biomasses increased significantly in spring and then decreased significantly in summer for beetles, and in autumn for ants. No strong differences appeared between habitats within seasons, especially in spring, indicating a uniform distribution of food resources during the Houbara breeding season. The "reg" with short perennials had the highest ant biomass in summer. This "reg" and fields also supported the highest arthropod biomass in autumn. Variation in arthropod biomass was a pertinent factor that should be integrated into Houbara habitat selection studies. The definition of habitat availability based on easily identifiable landscape units, combined with empirical tests on arthropod communities provided an accurate classification for habitat selection studies and conservation planning. In Morocco we tested the consistency between an a priori habitat classification based on topography, hydrology, vegetation structure and composition, and an a posteriori classification based on arthropod assemblages, in a plain supporting wild endangered Houbara Bustards. According to vegetation structure, we defined seven a priori habitats that differed significantly in perennial cover and height. A multivariate multiple regression analysis showed a significant relationship between arthropod assemblages and vegetation structure. Canonical Analyses of Principal Coordinates, conducted simultaneously on direct searches of arthropods and trapping data, showed significant differences between assemblages in both cases, and produced two similar constrained ordinations of six a posteriori habitats: esparto grass (Stipa tenacissima), temporarily flooded areas, fields, "reg" with short perennials, "reg" with tall perennials and wadis. The two sampling methods reflected a dominance of ants and beetles. Arthropod biomasses increased significantly in spring and then decreased significantly in summer for beetles, and in autumn for ants. No strong differences appeared between habitats within seasons, especially in spring, indicating a uniform distribution of food resources during the Houbara breeding season. The "reg" with short perennials had the highest ant biomass in summer. This "reg" and fields also supported the highest arthropod biomass in autumn. Variation in arthropod biomass was a pertinent factor that should be integrated into Houbara habitat selection studies. The definition of habitat availability based on easily identifiable landscape units, combined with empirical tests on arthropod communities provided an accurate classification for habitat selection studies and conservation planning.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Certain toxic plants are beneficial for health if small amounts are ingested infrequently and in a specific context of illness. Among our closest living relatives, chimpanzees are found to consume plants with pharmacological properties. Providing insight on the origins of human self-medication, this study investigates the role social systems and physiology (namely gut specialization) play on learning mechanisms involved in the consumption of unusual and potentially bioactive foods by two great ape species. We collected data from a community of 41–44 wild chimpanzees in Uganda (11months, 2008), and a group of 11–13 wild western gorillas in Central African Republic (10months, 2008–2009). During feeding, we recorded food consumed, its availability, and social interactions (including observers watching conspecifics and the observers'' subsequent activity). Unusual food consumption in chimpanzees was twice higher than in gorillas. Additionally chimpanzees relied more on social information with vertical knowledge transmission on unusual foods by continually acquiring information during their life through mostly observing the fittest (pre-senescent) adults. In contrast, in gorillas observational learning primarily occurred between related immatures, showing instead the importance of horizontal knowledge transmission. As chimpanzees'' guts are physiologically less specialized than gorillas (more capable of detoxifying harmful compounds), unusual-food consumption may be more risky for chimpanzees and linked to reasons other than nutrition (like self-medication). Our results show that differences in sociality and physiology between the two species may influence mechanisms that discriminate between plants for nutrition and plants with potential therapeutic dietary components. We conclude that self-medication may have appeared in our ancestors in association with high social tolerance and lack of herbivorous gut specialization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Temperament, i.e. consistent inter-individual differences in behavior, has been documented in many species. Especially, boldness-shyness continuum is the ecologically relevant trait most frequently used to describe temperament among species. Reactions along the bold-shy axis demonstrate an organism's ability to cope with environmental conditions and reflect its response to environmental stress. Our study investigated the existence of boldness-shyness continuum in 16 captive Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) housed in 2 zoological parks. We first aimed to establish a valid methodology to measure boldness and shyness using behavioral tests. Additionally, our study explored 2 other potential temperament dimensions: sociality and reactivity to humans, and their association with boldness. Finally, since animals were kept under human care, we investigated human perception on manatees' temperament. We conducted behavioral tests i.e. novelty tests involving novel objects, a novel sound, and an unfamiliar human. We recorded behaviors related to exploration as well as social interactions (i.e. physical proximity, social contacts) and we assessed manatees' reactivity to humans through a participation score during hand-feeding sessions. Finally, we collected keepers' subjective impression about individuals' temperament through traits rating method. To our knowledge, this is the first paper that tested manatees' reactions to different novel stimuli in order to determine their temperament. Our results first allowed us to identify the most relevant stimuli and variables to measure boldness and to classify individuals as bolder or shier. Individuals characterized as bolder displayed significantly more approach, longer approach and more contact toward stimuli than shier individuals. Moreover, boldness score was significantly associated with physical proximity with conspecifics, as well as with the participation score to hand-feeding sessions in one zoo. Finally, surveys completed by keepers were reliable and positive associations were found between rated items and behavioral observations. These findings support that as many species, manatees demonstrate boldness-shyness traits. More investigations on a larger sample size are needed to explore manatees' temperament dimensions, and how these traits could modulate their interactions with their conspecifics and their environment. Studying manatees' temperament could help improving the management and welfare of the species under human care. It could also facilitate their management in wildlife reserves by understanding manatees' movements and evaluate the anthropogenic impact on wild populations. • Manatees have bold or shy personality • Boldness score was positively associated with social proximity and reactivity to keepers • Keepers' surveys were reliable and some traits were consistent with behavioral observations • Novelty test seems to be an efficient tool to measure boldness in manatees [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A good deal of research has recently focused on people's commitment to biodiversity conservation by investigating their “willingness-to-pay” (WTP). Because of the public's self-reported preferences for species that are more charismatic or similar to humans, conservation programs are often biased toward these species. Our study aimed to explore the determinants of WTP among 10066 participants in a zoo conservation program. The program aims to raise money to support conservation programs and involves donating a sum of money to “adopt” an animal in the zoo. We explored whether participants were influenced by particular scientific characteristics of the animal (IUCN conservation status and phylogenetic distance from humans) or by more affect-related characteristics, such as the charisma of the animal. We found that participants did not choose an animal to adopt because of the endangered status of the species, and did not donate more to endangered species than to other species. Instead, they were more likely to choose a charismatic species. However, surprisingly, those who chose a less charismatic species gave more money on average to the program than those who adopted more charismatic species, suggesting a higher level of commitment among the former. These results therefore suggest that this type of conservation program may not be an effective way of reconnecting people with conservation issues related to endangered species. We therefore advise zoos to communicate more strongly on the level of threat to species and to increase the ratio of endangered over charismatic species in their animal adoption programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) is recognized as a very reliable diagnostic tool in avian medicine. Within the last 10 years, new electrophoresis techniques such as capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) have emerged in human laboratory medicine but have never been investigated in birds. To investigate the use of CZE in birds and to compare it with AGE, plasma samples from 30 roosters (Gallus gallus), 20 black kites (Milvus migrans), and 10 racing pigeons (Columba livia) were analyzed by both AGE and CZE. For the 3 species studied, values determined by AGE and CZE were well correlated for albumin and beta and gamma fractions whereas other values differed significantly. Values for alpha-3 fraction in the rooster, alpha-1 fraction in the black kite, and alpha fractions in the pigeon obtained by AGE were very well correlated with the prealbumin fraction values obtained by CZE. Repeatability and reproducibility appeared higher with CZE than with AGE. Although the interpretation of CZE electrophoresis patterns seems to produce results similar to those obtained with AGE, some proteins present in the alpha fraction measured with AGE migrated to the prealbumin fraction found with CZE. Although CZE requires the use of specific reference intervals and a much higher sample volume, this method has many advantages when compared with AGE, including better repeatability and reproducibility and higher analysis output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We found prosocial tendencies in capybaras, using a Prosocial Choice Test. • Subjects were prosocial towards subordinate but not dominant conspecifics. • Our results also suggested that females might be more prosocial than males. • We found a direct reciprocity pattern between subjects. • An audience effect sometime occurred and elicited a greater prosociality. Prosocial behaviours (providing benefits to a recipient with or without cost for the donor) have been found to be highly influenced by sex and by hierarchy. Rodents, in particular, are good model for studying prosocial responses, as they were found to exhibit intentional prosocial behaviours to reward a conspecific, and are very sensitive to reciprocity. In our study, we conducted a Prosocial Choice Test (PCT) in which four capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) living in a social group could choose between three tokens: choosing the prosocial token rewarded simultaneously the subject and a recipient, while choosing the selfish token only rewarded the subject; and choosing the null token provided no reward to anyone. Dominance within each dyad was also studied, both before and during the PCT experiment. Our results showed an influence of hierarchy: subjects were more prosocial towards the recipient when it was a subordinate than when it was a dominant individual. These results could be interpreted as a desire of strengthening a hierarchical rank regarding the subordinate, of punishing aggressive conspecifics (usually the subject's direct dominant), and of weakening dominant individuals in order to modify the pre-existing hierarchy. Additionally, our results highlighted a direct reciprocity phenomenon, a subject being more likely to be prosocial towards a prosocial recipient. All these findings suggest that prosociality could be well developed in other taxa than Primates and that, in long enough PCT experiments, subtle rules could influence individual prosocial strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploratory behaviors describe the actions performed by an animal to obtain information on an object, environment, or individual by using its different senses. Exploration is described in some marine mammals, but not yet in manatees. Our study investigated behavioral and acoustic responses of two groups of Antillean manatees ( N = 12 and N = 4) housed in zoological parks toward various stimuli involving three sensory modalities: visual, tactile, and auditory. Simultaneous audio and video recordings were collected during three periods of time (i.e., before, during, and after the presentation of all stimuli). Behaviors related to interest, social behaviors, the number and type of calls produced, and their frequency and duration were recorded and analyzed. Manatees reacted more to submerged stimuli than to out-of-water and sound stimuli, with an increase in approach, social contacts, and number of vocalizations. The proportion of squeaks and squeals call types also varied according to stimuli, and call entropy and F0 range varied according to periods. Our results suggest that manatees display sensory preferences when exploring stimuli, with more interest in manipulable stimuli, supporting the importance of their somatic perception. We highlight the need for particular enrichment programs (i.e., involving submerged objects) in zoological facilities. By displaying social contacts and by producing vocalizations, manatees communicate information such as their motivational state. The increase in call rate, harsh calls, and entropy values could be valid indicators of heightened arousal. We encourage further studies to associate acoustic recordings with ethological data collection to increase the understanding of manatees' behaviors andperception. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Offspring resulting from mating among close relatives can suffer from impaired fitness through the expression of recessive alleles with deleterious effects. Postcopulatory sperm selection (a prezygotic mechanism of cryptic female choice) has been suggested to be an effective way to avoid inbreeding. To investigate whether postcopulatory female choice allows the avoidance of fertilization by close kin, we performed artificial inseminations in a promiscuous bird, the houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata undulata). Females were inseminated with a mix of sperm from triads of males, each constituted of a male genetically unrelated to the female, a first cousin and a half-sibling. When counting the number of eggs sired by unrelated males, cousins or half-siblings, we found a significant deviation from the expected random distribution, with more eggs sired by unrelated males. However, offspring sired by cousins, and especially by half-siblings suffered from high prehatching mortality, suggesting that the observed paternity skew towards unrelated males might reflect differential offspring mortality rather than sperm selection. In agreement with this hypothesis, within-triad siring success was similar for the three parental relatedness categories, but the relationship between siring and hatching success differed across categories. In clutches with high hatching success, unrelated males had the highest success while in clutches with high failure rate, half-siblings had the highest success. Offspring sired by half-siblings also suffered from reduced growth rate during the first three months and higher posthatching mortality. Hence, despite substantial fitness costs associated with fertilization by close relatives, females do not seem to select sperm of unrelated males., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Supportive breeding is one of the last resort conservation strategies to avoid species extinction. Management of captive populations is challenging because several harmful genetic processes need to be avoided. Several recommendations have been proposed to limit these deleterious effects, but empirical assessments of these strategies remain scarce. We investigated the outcome of a genetic management in a supportive breeding for the Houbara Bustard. At the phenotypic level, we found an increase over generations in the mean values of gamete production, body mass and courtship display rate. Using an animal model, we found that phenotypic changes reflected genetic changes as evidenced by an increase in breeding values for all traits. These changes resulted from selection acting on gamete production and to a lesser extent on courtship display. Selection decreased over years for female gametes, emphasizing the effort of managers to increase the contribution of poor breeders to offspring recruited in the captive breeding. Our results shed light on very fast genetic changes in an exemplary captive programme that follows worldwide used recommendations and emphasizes the need of more empirical evidence of the effects of genetic guidelines on the prevention of genetic changes in supportive breeding.

Background: The "good genes" theory of sexual selection postulates that females choose mates that will improve their offspring's fitness through the inheritance of paternal genes. In spite of the attention that this hypothesis has given rise to, the empirical evidence remains sparse, mostly because of the difficulties of controlling for the many environmental factors that may covary with both the paternal phenotype and offspring fitness. Here, we tested the hypothesis that offspring sired by males of a preferred phenotype should have better survival in an endangered bird, the houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata undulata)., Methodology/principal Findings: We tested if natural and experimentally-induced variation in courtship display (following an inflammatory challenge) predicts the survival of offspring. Chicks were produced by artificial insemination of females, ensuring that any effect on survival could only arise from the transfer of paternal genes. One hundred and twenty offspring were equipped with radio transmitters, and their survival monitored in the wild for a year. This allowed assessment of the potential benefits of paternal genes in a natural setting, where birds experience the whole range of environmental hazards. Although natural variation in sire courtship display did not predict offspring survival, sires that withstood the inflammatory insult and maintained their courtship activity sired offspring with the best survival upon release., Conclusions: This finding is relevant both to enlighten the debate on "good genes" sexual selection and the management of supportive breeding programs.

1. The information content of secondary sexual traits and the benefits gathered by choosy females are at the heart of sexual selection theory. Indicator models of sexual selection assume that secondary sexual traits reflect the phenotypic/genetic quality of their bearers and that females gather benefits from choosing these high-quality males. 2. Here, we tested the idea that courtship display reflects the health status in a bird species with a lek-based mating system, the houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata undulata). A group of males was treated with the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of the cell wall of the bacterium Escherichia coli during the seasonal peak of courtship display, while another group of males was injected with a phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS) as a control. We then monitored the effect of the treatment on both courtship display and ejaculate quality. Finally, females were artificially inseminated with semen from LPS and PBS males, which allowed us to assess the effect of the immunological treatment on reproduction. 3. We found that the inflammatory challenge reduced courtship display and semen quality compared to controls. Interestingly, males that better resisted to the immune challenge in terms of courtship display also better resisted in terms of ejaculate quality. Early reproductive failure was increased when females were artificially inseminated with semen from immune-activated males. Failure of eggs laid by females inseminated with LPS semen was due to a reduced fertilization power of sperm of LPS males or to increased embryo mortality in the very early stage of embryo development. As a consequence, hatching rate was reduced for females inseminated with semen collected from LPS males. 4. These results show that by assessing male courtship display, females may gain insight into the current phenotypic/genetic quality of mates and gather fitness benefits in terms of reproductive success.