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1.
We investigated the mating patterns in 22 breeding pairs of wild American goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) with respect to their body size, condition, and carotenoid-based, yellow plumage colour. Using reflectance spectrometry, we objectively quantified plumage colours across the bird-visible wavelengths, revealing a unexpected UV peak in the reflectance spectrum from yellow feathers. We summarized our colour measurements using a principal components analysis to create a single variable, carotenoid PC1, that represents the intensity of this carotenoid-based yellow colour, a measure of phenotypic quality in this species. We found no evidence of assortative mating with respect to measures of body size or condition but there was positive assortative mating by carotenoid PC1, such that the yellow plumage colours of males and females were significantly correlated within pairs. We argue that the yellow carotenoid coloration of goldfinches may be important in mutual mate choice and, thus, that sexual selection in this species may act upon female ornamentation, as well as the more obvious plumage signals of males. Because assortative mating results in an increase in genetic variance, we suggest that this might be a mechanism that maintains variance in ornamental traits in spite of the variance-eroding effects of sexual selection. 相似文献
2.
White colouration is a common and important component of animal visual signalling and camouflage, but how and why it varies across species is poorly understood. White is produced by wavelength-independent and diffuse scattering of light by the internal structures of materials, where the degree of brightness is related to the amount of light scattered. Here, we investigated the morphological basis of brightness differences among unpigmented pennaceous regions of white body feathers across 61 bird species. Using phylogenetically controlled comparisons of reflectance and morphometric measurements, we show that brighter white feathers had larger and internally more complex barbs than duller white feathers. Higher brightness was also associated with more closely packed barbs and barbules, thicker and longer barbules, and rounder and less hollow barbs. Larger species tended to have brighter white feathers than smaller species because they had thicker and more complex barbs, but aquatic species were not significantly brighter than terrestrial species. As similar light scattering principals affect the brightness of chromatic signals, not just white colours, these findings help broaden our general understanding of the mechanisms that affect plumage brightness. Future studies should examine how feather layering on a bird’s body contributes to differences between brightness of white plumage patches within and across species. 相似文献
3.
Evidence is presented to demonstrate that colour polymorphism in a beetle arises from structural colours produced by a five-layered reflector in the elytron. The colour of leaf beetles, Plateumaris sericea, ranges across the visible spectrum from blackish-blue to red. The elytra have two distinct layers: epicuticle and exocuticle. Morphological observations reveal that the multilayer structure within the exocuticle differs little among the different colour morphs but the layers within the epicuticle have characteristic thicknesses corresponding to the observed colour. The reflectors, consisting of five layers within the epicuticle, are responsible for all the different colours observed in P. sericea, as shown by theoretical analyses for a multilayer stack, and by showing that removal of the elytral surface, including epicuticle, results in the disappearance of the iridescent colour. 相似文献
4.
McGraw KJ 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2004,91(3):125-129
Recent studies of colorful plumage signals in birds have been aided by the finding that birds can see ultraviolet (UV) light and thus may communicate using colors invisible to humans. Some of the pioneering and more pivotal work on avian color vision was performed with domestic pigeons (Columba livia), yet surprisingly there have been few detailed reports of the UV-reflecting properties of pigeon feathers. Here, I use UV-VIS fiber-optic spectrometry to document the full-spectrum reflectance characteristics of iridescent purple and green neck plumage in pigeons. Neck feathers that appear purple to the human eye exhibit four reflectance peaks—two in the UV and one in the blue and red regions—and thus exhibit a UV-purple hue. Neck feathers that appear green to the human eye are characterized by five spectral peaks: two in the UV (UVA and UVB), a predominant green peak, and secondary violet and red peaks, conferring a UV-purple-green color. Such elaborate UV coloration suggests that birds may use an even more complex and hidden UV signaling system than previously thought. 相似文献
5.
Staffan Jacob Léa Colmas Nathalie Parthuisot Philipp Heeb 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2014,101(11):929-938
Parasites are known to exert selective pressures on host life history traits since the energy and nutrients needed to mount an immune response are no longer available to invest in other functions. Bird feathers harbour numerous microorganisms, some of which are able to degrade feather keratin (keratinolytic microorganisms) and affect feather integrity and colouration in vitro. Although named “feather-degrading” microorganisms, experimental evidence for their effects on feathers of free-living birds is still lacking. Here, we tested whether (i) keratinolytic microorganisms can degrade feathers in vivo and thus modify the colour of feathers during the nesting period and (ii) whether feather microorganisms have a long-term effect on the investment in colouration of newly moulted feathers. We designed treatments to either favour or inhibit bacterial growth, thus experimentally modifying plumage bacterial communities, in a wild breeding population of great tits (Parus major). Our analyses revealed no significant effects of the treatments on feather colours. Moreover, we found that differences in bacterial exposure during nesting did not significantly affect the colouration of newly moulted feathers. Our results suggest that significant feather degradation obtained during in vitro studies could have led to an overestimation of the potential of keratinolytic microorganisms to shape feather colouration in free-living birds. 相似文献
6.
Soil and preen waxes influence the expression of carotenoid-based plumage coloration 总被引:1,自引:1,他引:0
The signaling function of carotenoid-based plumage is mainly determined by the concentration of pigments in feathers. For
this reason, most studies of the proximate control of coloration focus on processes during and preceding moult. In great tits
Parus major, past research demonstrates that carotenoid-based plumage coloration honestly indicates male quality and, thus, may be a
sexually selected signal. In this study, we investigate how dirt and preen oil influence the coloration of carotenoid-based
feathers in the great tit. We collected six feathers from each individual bird; three feathers served as controls while the
remaining three feathers were washed with a chloroform/methanol mixture to remove soil and preen waxes. We assessed plumage
coloration using digital photography. This cleaning procedure slightly enhanced ornamentation; the experimentally cleaned
feathers expressed hues shifted towards shorter wavelengths and expressed brighter overall coloration than control feathers.
This is the first experimental study conducted on wild birds demonstrating that, in addition to pigment concentration, the
presence of preen waxes and soils on feathers may contribute to variation in coloration. 相似文献
7.
Mathieu Giraudeau Camille Duval Noel Guillon Vincent Bretagnolle Claude Gutierrez Philipp Heeb 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2010,97(6):577-581
Preen glands exist in almost every bird species and several non-exclusive functions have been proposed for this gland and
the oils that it produces. One function generally admitted is that the oily secretions of the preen gland would provide a
waterproofing layer when spread over feathers. Alternatively, several authors have proposed that plumage waterproofness is
mostly due to the spatial micro-structure of feathers. The purpose of this study was to examine, by manipulating the access
to the preen gland, the effect of the preen oil on the plumage waterproofness and condition. To explore this question, we
carried out two independent experiments where we temporarily blocked access to the preen gland secretions with a removable
mechanism in one group of captive mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), whilst a second group of birds had access to gland secretions. In a long-term experiment (3 months of treatment) and a
short-term experiment (10 days), we measured plumage water retention and condition. After 3 months without access to preen
glands, we found a significant decrease of plumage condition and an associated increase in plumage water retention. Moreover,
we found a significant correlation between plumage condition and water retention ability. In contrast, after 10 days of treatment,
no significant effect was found on plumage condition and water retention. Our study shows that preen oil acts to maintain
plumage condition and suggests that feather microstructure is essential to maintain plumage waterproofness. 相似文献
8.
Ultraviolet (UV) reflectance of the plumage is common in birds and plays an important role in sexual signalling. Recently,
it has been proposed that birds are able to modify plumage UV reflectance by the application of uropygial gland secretion.
Based on a survey of the optical properties of this secretion from 51 species belonging to 12 avian orders, we show that two
main types of uropygial secretions exist, one predominantly found in passerines and one in non-passerines, both reducing relative
UV reflectance of a white background (Teflon™ tape). We quantified how each type of secretion (exemplified by blue tit and
mallard) affected feather UV reflectance. Both secretions reduced overall brightness and relative UV reflectance of white
mallard feathers but hardly affected the reflectance of UV/blue blue tit crown feathers. According to models of avian colour
vision, changes in reflectance due to application of the secretion were at or below the discrimination threshold of most birds.
We conclude that the uropygial secretion is unlikely to play a major role in modifying plumage UV reflectance. However, the
optical properties of the uropygial secretion may have been selected to interfere as little as possible with visual signaling
through plumage reflectance.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 相似文献
9.
The selective forces imposed by primary receivers and unintended eavesdroppers of animal signals often act in opposite directions, constraining the development of conspicuous coloration. Because iridescent colours change their chromatic properties with viewer angle, iridescence offers a potential mechanism to relax this trade-off when the relevant observers involved in the evolution of signal design adopt different viewer geometries. We used reflectance spectrophotometry and visual modelling to test if the striking blue head coloration of males of the lizard Lacerta schreibeiri (1) is iridescent and (2) is more conspicuous when viewed from the perspective of conspecifics than from that of the main predators of adult L. schreibeiri (raptors). We demonstrate that the blue heads of L. schreiberi show angle-dependent changes in their chromatic properties. This variation allows the blue heads to be relatively conspicuous to conspecific viewers located in the same horizontal plane as the sender, while simultaneously being relatively cryptic to birds that see it from above. This study is the first to suggest the use of angle-dependent chromatic signals in lizards, and provides the first evidence of the adaptive function of iridescent coloration based on its detectability to different observers. 相似文献
10.
The Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis proposes that the bright colours displayed by many species of birds serve as signals of individual resistance to parasites. Despite the popularity of this hypothesis, only one previous study has tested whether plumage coloration predicts how individuals respond to a disease challenge. We inoculated 24 male house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) of variable plumage hue with a novel bacterial pathogen, Mycoplasma gallicepticum (MG). We found no relationship between plumage hue and time to first symptoms following inoculation, but we found a significant negative relationship between plumage hue and clearance of disease: males with redder plumage cleared MG infection significantly better than did males with yellower plumage. The hue of carotenoid-based plumage coloration has been shown to be a primary criterion in female mate choice in the house finch. These observations suggest that one benefit to females for choosing redder males is obtaining mates with better resistance to parasites. 相似文献
11.
Allocation trade-offs of carotenoids between their use in the immune system and production of sexual ornaments have been suggested
as a proximate mechanism maintaining honesty of sexual signals. To test this idea, we experimentally examined whether carotenoid
availability in the diet was related to variation in antibody response to novel antigens in male greenfinches (Carduelis chloris aurantiiventris), a species with extensive carotenoid-dependent plumage colouration. We also measured the cost of mounting a humoral response
in terms of circulating carotenoids. Finally, we examined the relationship between plumage colour, immune response and circulating
carotenoids. We found that males with carotenoid-supplemented diets showed stronger antibody response than non-supplemented
birds. We also found that activation of the immune system significantly reduced circulating carotenoids (24.9% lower in immune-challenged
birds than in control birds). Finally, intensity (chroma) of ventral plumage colouration of males, a character directly related
to concentration of total carotenoids in feathers, was negatively correlated with the immune response and circulating carotenoids
in winter. These results support the idea that carotenoids are a limiting resource and that males trade ornamental colouration
against immune response. 相似文献
12.
Miklós Laczi Gergely Hegyi Márton Herényi Dorottya Kiss Gábor Markó Gergely Nagy Balázs Rosivall Eszter Szöllősi János Török 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2013,100(10):983-991
The possible integration of different sexual ornaments into a composite system, and especially the information content of such ornament complexes, is poorly investigated. Many bird species display complex plumage coloration, but whether this represents one integrated or several independent sexual traits can be unclear. Collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) display melanised and depigmented plumage areas, and the spectral features (brightness and UV chroma) of these are correlated with each other across the plumage. In a 5-year dataset of male and female plumage reflectance, we examined some of the potential information content of integrated, plumage-level colour attributes by estimating their relationships to previous and current year body condition, laying date and clutch size. Females were in better condition the year before they became darker pigmented, and males in better current year condition were also darker pigmented. Female pigment-based brightness was positively, while male structurally based brightness was negatively related to current laying date. Finally, the overall UV chroma of white plumage areas in males was positively associated with current clutch size. Our results show that higher degree of pigmentation is related to better condition, while the structural colour component is associated with some aspects of reproductive investment. These results highlight the possibility that correlated aspects of a multiple plumage ornamentation system may reflect together some aspects of individual quality, thereby functioning as a composite signal. 相似文献
13.
14.
Ulysse Lefèvre Andrea Cau Aude Cincotta Dongyu Hu Anusuya Chinsamy François Escuillié Pascal Godefroit 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2017,104(9-10):74
Genuine fossils with exquisitely preserved plumage from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of northeastern China have recently revealed that bird-like theropod dinosaurs had long pennaceous feathers along their hindlimbs and may have used their four wings to glide or fly. Thus, it has been postulated that early bird flight might initially have involved four wings (Xu et al. Nature 421:335–340, 2003; Hu et al. Nature 461:640–643, 2009; Han et al. Nat Commun 5:4382, 2014). Here, we describe Serikornis sungei gen. et sp. nov., a new feathered theropod from the Tiaojishan Fm (Late Jurassic) of Liaoning Province, China. Its skeletal morphology suggests a ground-dwelling ecology with no flying adaptations. Our phylogenetic analysis places Serikornis, together with other Late Jurassic paravians from China, as a basal paravians, outside the Eumaniraptora clade. The tail of Serikornis is covered proximally by filaments and distally by slender rectrices. Thin symmetrical remiges lacking barbules are attached along its forelimbs and elongate hindlimb feathers extend up to its toes, suggesting that hindlimb remiges evolved in ground-dwelling maniraptorans before being co-opted to an arboreal lifestyle or flight. 相似文献
15.
16.
Johannes Kroiss Erhard Strohm Cédric Vandenbem Jean-Pol Vigneron 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2009,96(8):983-986
Chrysidid wasps in the subfamily Chrysidinae are brood parasitoids or cleptoparasites of other insects and famous for their
cuticular iridescence. In this study, we examine the dorsal abdominal cuticle of the chrysidid wasp Hedychrum rutilans to identify the underlying color mechanism. Using scanning electron microscopy, reflectance spectral analysis, and theoretical
calculations, we demonstrate the presence of an epicuticular multilayer reflector consisting of six lamellae with a thickness
of 185 nm each. The lamellae exhibit a rough surface probably functioning as spacers between the individual layers. The reflector
has a measured reflectance maximum at λ = 630 nm, i.e., in the red part of the visible spectrum of light at normal incidence and the reflectance maximum shifts to
green as the angle of incidence increases. Complementary theoretical modeling corroborates the view that the epicuticular
multilayer generates the iridescent color of the chrysidid cuticle.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 相似文献
17.
The simultaneous exhibition of more than one secondary sexual trait is a widespread phenomenon in nature, though it has rarely
been explored. It has been proposed that different ornaments may convey complementary or back-up information about a single
aspect of individual quality (redundancy hypothesis) or that each ornament may convey unique information (multiple-messages
hypothesis). During a 5-year period, we measured several carotenoid-based (eye ring, bill cere and tarsi skin) and melanin-based
(head, back, rump and tail feathers) potential ornamental colours in male common kestrels. We analysed whether multiple ornaments
can convey different or related information about individual quality. We explored whether different ornaments can express
different information depending on the pigment (carotenoids or melanins), the time-scale over which the ornament can change
(dynamic vs. static) and the season of the year when the ornament is formed. We found that both melanin- and carotenoid- based
traits correlated with indexes of quality, including body condition, body condition of their partners and laying date. However,
not all ornaments correlated with the same measures of quality. In addition, some ornaments were intercorrelated within the
same individuals while others were not. These results suggest that different ornaments can convey information about different
qualities, as predicted by the multiple-messages hypothesis. In addition, this study suggests that the predominant pigment
(e.g. carotenoid vs. melanin, eumelanin vs. pheomelanin), the time-scale over which the trait is developed (static feathers
vs. dynamic skin) and the season of the year at which the ornament is produced can be potential mechanisms to convey different
messages in male common kestrels. 相似文献
18.
We investigated how the expression of carotenoid-based plumage coloration (lightness and chroma) in nestling blue tits Parus caeruleus is associated with forest structure in oak forests of central Spain. We found evidence of a reduced expression of carotenoid-based coloration in nestlings growing up in successionally young and structurally simple forest territories. Our results suggest that breast feather coloration can be used as an indicator of nestling quality because nestlings with more intense yellow plumage coloration had larger body size and stronger immune responses to the injection of phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Given the association of forest structural complexity with carotenoid-based plumage coloration, our findings suggest that variation in habitat structure may have a significant impact on forest birds in their first stages of life which has implications for forest management practices. 相似文献
19.
Ornamental comb colour predicts T-cell-mediated immunity in male red grouse <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lagopus lagopus scoticus</Emphasis> 总被引:1,自引:1,他引:0
Mougeot F 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2008,95(2):125-132
Sexual ornaments might reliably indicate the ability to cope with parasites and diseases, and a better ability to mount a primary inflammatory response to a novel challenge. Carotenoid-based ornaments are amongst the commonest sexual signals of birds and often influence mate choice. Because carotenoids are immuno-stimulants, signallers may trade-off allocating these to ornamental colouration or using them for immune responses, so carotenoid-based ornaments might be particularly useful as honest indicators of immuno-compentence. Tetraonid birds, such as the red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus, exhibit supra-orbital yellow-red combs, a conspicuous ornament which functions in intra- and inter-sexual selection. The colour of combs is due to epidermal pigmentation by carotenoids, while their size is testosterone-dependent. In this study, I investigated whether comb characteristics, and in particular, comb colour, indicated immuno-competence in free-living male red grouse. I assessed T-cell-mediated immunity using a standardised challenge with phytohaemagglutinin. Red grouse combs reflect in the red and in the ultraviolet spectrum of light, which is not visible to humans but that grouse most likely see, so I measured comb colour across the whole bird visible spectrum (300-700 nm) using a reflectance spectrometer. I found that males with bigger and redder combs, but with less ultraviolet reflectance, had greater T-cell-mediated immune response. Comb colour predicted T-cell-mediated immune response better than comb size, indicating that the carotenoid-based colouration of this ornament might reliably signal this aspect of male quality. 相似文献
20.
Jesús M. Avilés Deseada Parejo Tomás Pérez-Contreras Carlos Navarro Juan J. Soler 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2010,97(2):181-186
A considerable number of bird species carry feathers to their nests. Feathers’ presence in the nests has traditionally been
explained by their insulating properties. Recently, however, it has been suggested that feathers carried to the nests by females
of the spotted starling (Sturnus unicolor L.) could have an ornamental function based on their ultraviolet (300–400 nm) and human-visible longer wavelength (400–700 nm)
coloration. In our population, 95.7% of feathers found inside next-boxes occupied by nesting starlings were rock dove fly
feathers. Of these feathers, 82.7% were naturally positioned with their reverse side oriented toward the entrance hole and
42.4% of all found feathers were situated within the nest-cup. Here we experimentally assess the signaling function of ultraviolet
coloration of feathers in nests of spotless starlings by providing nests with a number of pigeon flight feathers that were
respectively treated on their obverse, reverse, both, or neither side with a UV blocker. Starlings placed 42.5% of the experimental
feathers in the nest-cup irrespective of the UV block treatment. Orientation of feathers toward the entrance hole was not
related with their ultraviolet radiation. However, feathers placed within the nest-cup were more likely found with their reverse
side oriented toward the entrance hole confirming our correlative findings. These results suggest a minor role of ultraviolet
coloration on feather location by spotless starlings. 相似文献