Integument coloration signals reproductive success,heterozygosity, and antioxidant levels in chick-rearing black-legged kittiwakes |
| |
Authors: | Sarah Leclaire Joël White Emilie Arnoux Bruno Faivre Nathanaël Vetter Scott A Hatch Étienne Danchin |
| |
Institution: | 1.CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, ENFA; UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire évolution & Diversité Biologique),Toulouse,France;2.Université de Toulouse, UMR5174 EDB,Toulouse,France;3.Biogéosciences UMR 5561, Université de Bourgogne,Dijon,France;4.U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center,Anchorage,USA;5.LARG, Department of Zoology,University of Cambridge,Cambridge,UK |
| |
Abstract: | Carotenoid pigments are important for immunity and as antioxidants, and carotenoid-based colors are believed to provide honest
signals of individual quality. Other colorless but more efficient antioxidants such as vitamins A and E may protect carotenoids
from bleaching. Carotenoid-based colors have thus recently been suggested to reflect the concentration of such colorless antioxidants,
but this has rarely been tested. Furthermore, although evidence is accruing for multiple genetic criteria for mate choice,
carotenoid-based colors have rarely been shown to reflect both phenotypic and genetic quality. In this study, we investigated
whether gape, tongue, eye-ring, and bill coloration of chick-rearing black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla reflected circulating levels of carotenoids and vitamins A and E. We further investigated whether integument coloration reflected
phenotypic (body condition and fledging success) and genetic quality (heterozygosity). We found that the coloration of fleshy
integuments was correlated with carotenoid and vitamin A levels and fledging success but only in males. Furthermore, the coloration
of tongue and eye-ring was correlated with heterozygosity in both males and females. Integument colors might therefore be
reliable signals of individual quality used by birds to adjust their parental care during the chick-rearing period. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 PubMed SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|