Correlated response in yolk testosterone levels following divergent genetic selection for social behaviour in Japanese quail

Maternal effects are a powerful tool that parents can use to modify the phenotype of their offspring. In birds, the amount of androgens that females deposit in their eggs has been shown to influence early development and adult behavioural phenotypes. Differences in such behavioural strategies have been used as the target of artificial selection programmes with a view to improve animal welfare. In this study, we tested whether artificial selection for divergent social behaviour in Japanese quail had resulted in correlated changes in yolk androgen levels. We used lines that had been selected at the chick stage for high and low motivation to regain contact with a group of conspecific chicks. This procedure has led to important behavioural differences in the high and low line in a suite of behavioural correlates of sociality. We found that eggs laid by the line selected for high motivation for social reinstatement contained more than twice the amount of yolk testosterone of eggs laid by females from the low line, while the unselected line laid eggs with intermediate levels. This finding strongly suggests a functional link between these two traits, and underlines the possible role of yolk androgen modulation in promoting the evolution of behavioural syndromes.