Ecology and evolution of sex roles in the pheasant coucal
(Centropus phasianinus)
For my PhD I started a project on the pheasant coucal (Centropus phasianinus) a non-parasitic cuckoo. Previously, opportunistic data only were available for this species. These observations suggested that coucals show reversed sex-roles during courtship and predominantly male care for the young. These behavioural traits are extremely rare in animals whose offspring rely on parental care, such as altricial birds mammals and humans. Interestingly these intriguing behaviours go along with a reduction or loss of the left testis only found in coucal species.
The goal of my study was to understand what may have lead to the evolution of sex-role reversal and male care in pheasant coucals. To this end I addressed the following questions.
● Do coucals live in pairs?
● Do female coucals compete more than males?
● Do male coucals provide most care?
● Do male coucals have a reduced total testis size that could facilitate their parental care?
● Do male coucals gain certainty of paternity in exchange for their exceptional levels of care?
As pheasant coucals have previously been unstudied, basic aspects of their biology were described for the first time in this project. These data may contribute to the conservation of this and other species of coucal and is could create new insights into the evolution of cuckoo brood-parasitism.
If you want to know more about my project or discuss some ideas please get in touch with me on e-mail.