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Scrutinizing assortative mating in birds.

Daiping Wang1, Wolfgang Forstmeier1, Mihai Valcu1

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Assortative mating, where similar individuals pair up, is likely overestimated in birds. Rigorous data analysis, especially using unpublished studies, suggests this mating pattern may not be driven by mate choice.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Ornithology

Background:

  • Assortative mating, the tendency for individuals to pair with similar others, is widely reported across the animal kingdom.
  • The drivers of this phenomenon are debated, with potential causes including active mate choice, ecological factors, and various biases in data collection and reporting.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To meta-analytically assess the evidence for size-assortative mating in birds.
  • To investigate the influence of confounding factors, such as observer bias and data reporting biases, on the observed effect sizes.

Main Methods:

  • A meta-analysis of published and unpublished data on bird pair bonds was conducted.
  • Effect sizes were calculated and compared between conventional literature searches and data with increased control for confounding factors.
  • Experimental data from captive Zebra finches were included to test for direct mate choice.

Main Results:

  • A significant meta-analytical effect size for size-assortative mating was initially found in birds (r = 0.178).
  • This effect size diminished substantially (by 42%) when using previously unpublished data from long-term studies (r = 0.103).
  • Assortative mating effects largely disappeared when controlling for observer bias and spatial/temporal separation (mean r = 0.018) and were absent in experimental mate choice tests (r = -0.020).

Conclusions:

  • The apparent prevalence of size-assortative mating in birds, as suggested by the existing literature, is likely overestimated.
  • Unpublished data are crucial for obtaining unbiased meta-analytical conclusions.
  • The observed patterns may not be driven by active mate choice or competition for mates, highlighting the need to account for methodological biases.