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Hao P, Zhao K, Huang X, Rao X, Liang W, Zhang Y. The vocalization of the red junglefowl is a signal of body size and individual health. Curr Zool 2023; 69:393-400. [PMID: 37614921 PMCID: PMC10443612 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Bird songs are considered a sexually selected trait that can reflect the individual health of males as well as the vitality of potential mates and their competitors. Vocalization features should, therefore, be related to parasite load and body condition. Here, we performed a thorough acoustic analysis of the display calls of 9-month-old sub-adults and 18-month-old adults of pasture-raised red junglefowls Gallus gallus. We investigated whether the calls of pasture-raised red junglefowls can indicate body size and body condition, in addition to the influence of parasitic infection intensity on the expression of sexual traits. We found that frequency-related syllable parameters were significantly positively correlated with wing length in adults, whereas body weight was independent of both the frequency and temporal parameters of calls. In addition, we correlated parasitic load with the expression of sexually selected traits and discovered a positive association between the intensity of parasite infection and wing length in sub-adults, independent of vocal parameters. Overall, the results suggest that the vocalization of red junglefowls may convey reliable body size information, which will facilitate further studies of different vocal parameters in the transmission of bird vocalizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peipei Hao
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Kai Zhao
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xi Huang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xiaodong Rao
- College of Forestry/Wuzhishan National Long Term Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Research Station, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
| | - Yanyun Zhang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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2
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Gudowska A, Janas K, Wieczorek J, Woznicka O, Płonka PM, Drobniak SM. Canalised and plastic components of melanin-based colouration: a diet-manipulation experiment in house sparrows. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18484. [PMID: 36323747 PMCID: PMC9630266 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21811-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Whether melanin-based plumage colouration accurately reflects a bird's quality is still controversial. To better understand potential mechanisms behind the observed variation in plumage colouration, we shifted our attention from a high-level expression of colour to low-level physiological phenomena by targeting the microstructure and pigment content of the feather. In a well-studied model system, the house sparrow (Passer domesticus), we combined an experimental manipulation of birds' physiological condition and availability of resources that are key to the production of the studied colouration (phenylalanine and tyrosine (PT). We found that feathers from sparrows fed with the control diet had noticeably lower values of brightness, suggesting a higher quality of the ornamental "blackness" in comparison to those sampled from birds fed with a PT-reduced diet. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy detected higher melanin concentrations in samples from the control than the PT-reduced group. Our multi-level analysis excluded mechanisms such as barbule density and melanosomes' distribution, clearly pointing to the finest-level proxy of colour: the concentration of melanin in melanosomes themselves. Despite melanins being manufactured by birds endogenously, the efficiency of melanogenesis can be noticeably limited by diet. As a result, the birds' plumage colouration is affected, which may entail consequences in social signalling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Gudowska
- grid.5522.00000 0001 2162 9631Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland ,grid.413454.30000 0001 1958 0162Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Janas
- grid.413454.30000 0001 1958 0162Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Justyna Wieczorek
- grid.5522.00000 0001 2162 9631Department of Biophysics and Cancer Biology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Olga Woznicka
- grid.5522.00000 0001 2162 9631Department of Cell Biology and Imaging, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Przemysław M. Płonka
- grid.5522.00000 0001 2162 9631Department of Biophysics and Cancer Biology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Szymon M. Drobniak
- grid.5522.00000 0001 2162 9631Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland ,grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Ecology & Evolution Research Centre; School of Biological, Environmental & Earth Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
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3
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Lopez‐Serna S, Gonzalez‐Quevedo C, Rivera‐Gutierrez HF. Beyond illness: Variation in haemosporidian load explains differences in vocal performance in a songbird. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:18552-18561. [PMID: 35003692 PMCID: PMC8717280 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In animal communication, signals are expected to evolve to be honest, so that receivers avoid being manipulated by signalers. One way that signals can evolve to be honest is for them to be costly, with only high-quality individuals being able to bear the costs of signal expression. It has been proposed that parasites can introduce costs that affect the expression of sexually selected traits, and there is evidence to support the role of parasitism in modulating animal behavior. If host infection status or intensity is found to relate to differences in signal expression, it may indicate a fitness cost that mediates honesty of signals. Birdsong is a good model for testing this, and physically challenging songs representing complex motor patterns provide a good example of sexually selected traits indicating individual condition. We performed a field study to evaluate the relationship between song performance and avian malaria infection in a common songbird. Previous work on this subject has almost always evaluated avian malaria in terms of binary infection status; however, parasitemia-infection intensity-is rarely assessed, even though differences in parasite load may have profound physiological consequences. We estimated parasitemia levels by using real-time PCR. We found that birds with higher parasitemia displayed lower vocal performance, providing evidence that this song trait is an honest signal of parasitic load of haemosporidian parasites. To our knowledge, this study links parasite load and the expression of a sexually selected trait in a way that has not been addressed in the past. Studies using song performance traits and parasitemia offer an important perspective for understanding evolution of characters via sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salome Lopez‐Serna
- Instituto de BiologíaFacultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesGrupo de Ecología y Evolución de VertebradosUniversidad de AntioquiaMedellínColombia
| | - Catalina Gonzalez‐Quevedo
- Instituto de BiologíaFacultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesGrupo de Ecología y Evolución de VertebradosUniversidad de AntioquiaMedellínColombia
| | - Hector Fabio Rivera‐Gutierrez
- Instituto de BiologíaFacultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesGrupo de Ecología y Evolución de VertebradosUniversidad de AntioquiaMedellínColombia
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Johansen IB, Henriksen EH, Shaw JC, Mayer I, Amundsen PA, Øverli Ø. Contrasting associations between breeding coloration and parasitism of male Arctic charr relate to parasite species and life cycle stage. Sci Rep 2019; 9:10679. [PMID: 31337816 PMCID: PMC6650492 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47083-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Conspicuous carotenoid ornamentation is considered a signal of individual "quality" and one of the most intensely studied traits found to co-vary with parasitism. Since it has been suggested that only "high quality" individuals have enough resources to express excessive sexual ornaments and resist parasites, current theory struggles to explain cases where the brightest individuals carry the most parasites. Surprisingly little emphasis has been put on the contrasting routes to fitness utilized by different parasite species inhabiting the same host. Using Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) as model species, we hypothesized that skin redness and allocation of carotenoids between skin and muscle (redness ratio) will be positively and negatively associated with parasites using the fish as an intermediate and final host, respectively. Both pigment parameters were indeed positively associated with abundances of parasites awaiting trophic transmission (Diplostomum sp. and Diphyllobothrium spp.) and negatively associated with the abundance of adult Eubothrium salvelini tapeworms. These empirical data demonstrate that contrasting associations between carotenoid coloration and parasite intensities relates to the specific premises of different parasite species and life cycle stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- I B Johansen
- Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 369, Sentrum, N-0102, Oslo, Norway.
| | - E H Henriksen
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, P.O. Box 6050, Sentrum, Langnes, Tromsø, Norway
| | - J C Shaw
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-6150, USA
| | - I Mayer
- Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 369, Sentrum, N-0102, Oslo, Norway
| | - P-A Amundsen
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, P.O. Box 6050, Sentrum, Langnes, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Ø Øverli
- Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 369, Sentrum, N-0102, Oslo, Norway
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Use of plumage and gular pouch color to evaluate condition of oil spill rehabilitated California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) post-release. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0211932. [PMID: 30811430 PMCID: PMC6392258 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 01/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sublethal effects of oil spills may dampen seabird rehabilitation success due to lingering negative impacts of contamination and stress on reproduction and long-term survival. These effects can be difficult to measure while birds are in care as well as once birds are released. Expression of sexually selected traits that are sensitive to condition can provide information on physiological status of birds. We evaluated plumage molt and gular pouch skin color of California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) following oil contamination and rehabilitation to test for differences between previously oiled and rehabilitated (post-spill) and presumably uncontaminated pelicans. Post-spill pelicans released with either color leg bands alone, or bands plus harness-mounted satellite GPS tags, were relocated and visually assessed in the field at non-breeding communal roosts and compared to surrounding unmarked pelicans in the general population. Non-oiled pelicans bearing GPS tags were also included in the study. Post-spill pelicans lagged the general population in molt of ornamental yellow crown feathers but hind neck transition into white plumage was not significantly different. Both post-spill and non-oiled pelicans wearing GPS tags had lower gular redness scores than the unmarked, non-oiled population. Pre-breeding gular pouch redness of post-spill pelicans was more strongly influenced by wearing of a GPS tag than a history of oil contamination and rehabilitation. Gular pouch redness of post-spill pelicans in the first 18 months after release was positively correlated with long term survivorship. If gular pouch color is a condition-dependent sexual signal and overall health influences plumage molt progression, our results indicate that many post-spill pelicans marked with bands alone were in relatively good condition going into the next breeding season, but those released with electronic tags experienced additional stress due to wearing the equipment, introducing a confounding variable to the post-release study.
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Freeman-Gallant CR, Taff CC. Age-specific patterns of infection with haemosporidians and trypanosomes in a warbler: implications for sexual selection. Oecologia 2017; 184:813-823. [PMID: 28756490 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-3919-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2017] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Although the selective loss of individuals susceptible to disease can favor the evolution of female preference for older males, the interrelationship between age, infection, longevity, and mating success remains poorly characterized in natural populations. In a longitudinal study of 61 male common yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas), we found that the probability of infection with hematozoa increased as males aged from 1 to 5 years. Despite a significant, negative association between infection and longevity that partially masked age-effects, the odds that a male was infected with Trypanosoma, Plasmodium, or Leucocytozoon increased 71-212% per year. Nearly 75% of males in their first breeding season were either uninfected or infected with only a single parasite, while 50% of older males were infected with at least two parasites and 16% were infected with all three. No males escaped infection after their second breeding season. Older males were also more likely to sire extra-pair young (EPY) and, as a consequence, infection with multiple parasites was associated with a fourfold increase in the odds of producing EPY. Unlike younger males, 80% of the oldest males had a history of either surviving chronic infection or recovering. Combined with previous work showing higher diversity at the major histocompatibility complex among older males, our results suggest that the song and plumage traits that signal male age in common yellowthroats also, perforce, signal resistance to parasites. By preferring older males, females may obtain good genes for disease resistance even in the absence of any effect of infection on male ornamentation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Conor C Taff
- Laboratory of Ornithology, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
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Body mass and immune function, but not bill coloration, predict dominance in female mallards. Behav Processes 2016; 131:59-67. [PMID: 27561967 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2016] [Revised: 08/12/2016] [Accepted: 08/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Competition over indivisible resources is common and often costly. Therefore, selection should favor strategies, including efficient communication, that minimize unnecessary costs associated with such competition. For example, signaling enables competitors to avoid engaging in costly asymmetrical contests. Recently, bill coloration has been identified as an information-rich signal used by some birds to mediate aggressive interactions and we evaluated this possibility in female mallards Anas platyrhynchos. Specifically, we conducted two rounds of competitive interactions among groups of unfamiliar adult female ducks. By recording all aggressive behaviors exhibited by each individual, as well as the identity of attack recipients, we were able to assign dominance scores and evaluate links between numerous physiological, morphological, and experimental variables that we predicted would influence contest outcome and dominance. Contrary to our predictions, dominance was not linked to any aspect of bill coloration, access to dietary carotenoids during development, two of three measures of immune function, or ovarian follicle maturation. Instead, heavier birds were more dominant, as were those with reduced immune system responses to an experimentally administered external immunostimulant, phytohemagglutinin. These results suggest that visual signals are less useful during the establishment of dominance hierarchies within multi-individual scramble competitions, and that immune function is correlated with contest strategies in competitions for access to limited resources.
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Tarvin KA, Wong LJ, Lumpkin DC, Schroeder GM, D'Andrea D, Meade S, Rivers P, Murphy TG. Dynamic Status Signal Reflects Outcome of Social Interactions, but Not Energetic Stress. Front Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2016.00079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Carotenoids increase immunity and sex specifically affect color and redox homeostasis in a monochromatic seabird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-015-1922-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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