Abstract
A variety of hypotheses has been proposed to explain why socially monogamous birds copulate repeatedly with their mates when only a single copulation is necessary to fertilize an entire clutch (Birkhead and Møller 1992, Petrie 1992, Hunter et al. 1993). Petrie (1992) hypothesized that a female should copulate frequently with her mate so as to reduce her mate’s involvement in extrapair copulations. By reducing her mate’s involvement in extrapair copulations, a female may: (1) avoid the transmission of parasites and sexually transmitted diseases (Hamilton 1990); (2) may avoid sperm depletion by her mate; and (3) may monopolize her mate’s paternal care (Petrie 1992).
Keywords
Tree Swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, birds, aves, copulation, sexual behavior in animals
Disciplines
Behavior and Ethology | Biology | Poultry or Avian Science | Zoology
ScholarWorks Citation
Lombardo, Michael P., "Within-pair Copulations: Are Female Tree Swallows Feathering Their Own Nests?" (1995). Peer Reviewed Publications. 11.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/biopeerpubs/11
Included in
Behavior and Ethology Commons, Biology Commons, Poultry or Avian Science Commons, Zoology Commons
