ArticlePloS one2016
Female Zebra Finches Smell Their Eggs.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Analytical characterization of volatiles present in the whole body odour of zebra finches.Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry · 2024Article
- Eggshell spots are an important cue for the egg retrieval behavior in two tit species.Animal cognition · 2023Article
- Eggshell texture but not odor treatment affects model egg rejection in American robins (Turdus migratorius).Animal cognition · 2022Article
- Nestling odour modulates behavioural response in male, but not in female zebra finches.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Female-Based Patterns and Social Function in Avian Chemical Communication.Journal of chemical ecology · 2021Review
- Individual Chemical Profiles in the Leach's Storm-Petrel.Journal of chemical ecology · 2020Article
- Conspecific olfactory preferences and interspecific divergence in odor cues in a chickadee hybrid zone.Ecology and evolution · 2019Article
- Can house sparrows recognize familiar or kin-related individuals by scent?Current zoology · 2019Article
- Mate choice decision rules: Trait synergisms and preference shifts.Ecology and evolution · 2018Article
- Zebra Finch chicks recognise parental scent, and retain chemosensory knowledge of their genetic mother, even after egg cross-fostering.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- The Odour of Sex: Sex-Related Differences in Volatile Compound Composition among Barn Swallow Eggs Carrying Embryos of Either Sex.PloS one · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Parental investment in unrelated offspring seems maladaptive from an evolutionary perspective, due to the costs of energy and resources that cannot be invested in related offspring at the same time. Therefore selection should favour mechanisms to discriminate between own and foreign offspring. In birds, much emphasis has been placed on understanding the visual mechanisms underlying egg recognition. However, olfactory egg recognition has almost been completely ignored. Here, we investigated whether female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) are able to discriminate between their own and a conspecific egg based on olfactory cues alone. Zebra finches are colonial-breeding songbirds. Eggs are monomorphic, i.e. without any spotting pattern, and intraspecific brood parasitism frequently occurs. In a binary choice experiment, female zebra finches were given the choice between the scent of their own and a conspecific egg. After the onset of incubation, females chose randomly and showed no sign of discrimination. However, shortly before hatching, females preferred significantly the odour of their own egg. The finding that females are capable to smell their own egg may inspire more research on the potential of olfaction involved in egg recognition, especially in cases where visual cues might be limited.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.