Functional explanation of extreme hatching asynchrony: Male Manipulation Hypothesis

Hatching asynchrony in birds is considered an adaptation to facilitate brood reduction because under conditions of food scarcity, the smallest nestling usually dies soon after hatching, thereby minimizing parental effort. However, in species with extreme hatching asynchrony, the last hatchlings paradoxically experience a very low probability of survival and death can take so long that it can hardly be considered an adaptation. Here, we propose and experimentally tested a new adaptive hypothesis explaining the brood reduction paradox, namely the Male Manipulation Hypothesis. Our hypothesis suggests that by inducing asynchronous hatching, females increase the feeding requirements of the brood, which will induce males to increase provisioning effort. In addition, females may extend the period of male manipulation by feeding the smallest nestling just enough to sustain life. Our study showed that male common blackbirds (Turdus merula) increased their effort (i.e., number of food items per hour) in experimental asynchronous broods compared to synchronous broods, while females reduced their contribution, as predicted by the hypothesis.

Automated summary

Hatching asynchrony in birds is considered an adaptation to reduce the number of nestlings. However, in species with extreme hatching asynchrony, the last-hatched nestlings have a low probability of survival, challenging the notion of it being an adaptation. This study proposes a new hypothesis, the Male Manipulation Hypothesis, which suggests that asynchronous hatching increases the feeding requirements of the brood, thereby inducing males to increase their provisioning effort.