An experimental test of female choice relative to male structural coloration in eastern bluebirds |
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Authors: | Mark Liu Lynn Siefferman Geoffrey E Hill |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences, 331 Funchess Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA;(2) Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior and Department of Biology, 101 E. 3rd St., Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA |
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Abstract: | Several experimental studies have shown that female birds use ornamental melanin and carotenoid plumage coloration as criteria
in mate choice. Whether females choose mates based on natural variation in structural coloration, however, has not been well
established. Male eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) display brilliant ultraviolet (UV)-blue plumage coloration on their head, back, wings, and tail, which is positively correlated
with condition, reproductive effort, and reproductive success. We experimentally tested the hypothesis that female eastern
bluebirds prefer as mates males that display brighter structural coloration by presenting breeding-condition females with
males of variable coloration. We conducted two types of mate-choice experiments. First, females chose between males whose
coloration was manipulated within the natural range of variation in the population; feathers were either brightened with violet
marker or dulled with black marker. Second, females chose between males with naturally dull or bright plumage coloration.
In both manipulated and unmanipulated coloration trials, female choice did not differ significantly from random with respect
to structural coloration. We found no support for the hypothesis that the UV–blue coloration of male eastern bluebirds functions
as a criterion in female mate choice. |
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Keywords: | Structural coloration Mate choice UV coloration Eastern bluebirds Plumage coloration |
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