Female mallard mating preferences for multiple male ornaments |
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Authors: | K E Omland |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences, The University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12222, USA, US |
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Abstract: | Mating preferences were studied in captive wild-stock female mallards. Independent observers scored ornament brightness for
the bill and eight plumage areas of male mallards on a scale of 1 to 6. Ornament scores were generally positively correlated
with each other as indicated by univariate correlations and principal component analysis. Males with higher bill scores were
significantly more likely to obtain pairings. None of eight individual plumage ornaments were significant predictors of pairing
success, but males with higher average plumage scores had significantly higher pairing success. Males that completed the molt
first were also significantly more likely to be paired. Thus females may have paid some attention to plumage brightness. Stepwise
multiple regression produced a model that included only bill and molt, both of which contributed a similar degree (r
2 = 0.39); plumage ornaments and size measurements did not enter the model. These results are interpreted in light of hypotheses
for the evolution of multiple ornaments, and phylogenetic plumage patterns in dabbling ducks.
Received: 18 December 1995 / Accepted after revision: 22 September 1996 |
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Keywords: | Multiple ornaments Mate choice Sexual dimorphism Fleshy ornaments Anas platyrhynchos |
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