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Zhu ZQ, Zi SM, Gao LF, Zhang XD, Liu FY, Wang Q, Du B. A diagnosis model of parental care: How parents optimize their provisioning strategy in brood reduction? Curr Zool 2023; 69:385-392. [PMID: 37614918 PMCID: PMC10443608 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac064] [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: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Altricial birds often display biased preferences in providing parental care for their dependent offspring, especially during food shortages. During this process, such inflexible rules may result in provisioning errors. To demonstrate how parents optimize their provisioning strategies, we proposed a "diagnosis model" of parental care to posit that parents will undergo a diagnosis procedure to test whether selecting against some particular offspring based on phenotype is an optimal strategy. We tested this model in an asynchronous hatching bird, the Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cyanus, based on 10 years of data about demography and parental provisioning behaviors. Given their higher daily survival rates, core offspring (those hatched on the first day) merits an investment priority compared with their marginal brood mates (those hatched on later days). However, a marginal offspring also merited a priority if it displayed greater weight gain than the expected value at the early post-hatching days. Parents could detect such a marginal offspring via a diagnosis strategy, in which they provisioned the brood at the diagnosis stage by delivering food to every nestling that begged, then biased food toward high-value nestlings at the subsequent decision stage by making a negative response to the begging of low-value nestlings. In this provisioning strategy, the growth performance of a nestling became a more reliable indicator of its investment value than its hatching order or competitive ability. Our findings provide evidence for this "diagnosis model of parental care" wherein parents use a diagnosis method to optimize their provisioning strategy in brood reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen-Qin Zhu
- School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province 730000, China
| | - Shu-Mei Zi
- College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province 730000, China
| | - Li-Fang Gao
- School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province 730000, China
| | - Xiao-Dan Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province 730000, China
| | - Fang-Yuan Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province 730000, China
| | - Qian Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province 730000, China
| | - Bo Du
- School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province 730000, China
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2
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García-Campa J, Müller W, Rodríguez-Juncá A, Morales J. When parents play favorites: brood demand shapes parental preference for offspring UV color. Behav Ecol 2023; 34:700-707. [PMID: 38192276 PMCID: PMC10773300 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arad040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Parents might initially produce more offspring than they might be able to raise. However, when offspring demand exceeds their parents´ rearing capacity, parents might shift care towards the offspring which yield greater fitness returns to achieve their optimal brood size via brood reduction. Such favoritism could rely on offspring signaling traits if these inform parents about offspring quality and hence about the pay-offs of their investment. Here we investigated whether favoritism of blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) parents for an offspring signal (i.e., ultraviolet (UV) plumage coloration) varies with brood demand. To test this, we experimentally blocked the UV reflectance of yellow breast feathers in half of the nestlings of each brood, and then we sequentially performed two opposing brood size manipulations to vary nestling demand below or above parental rearing capacity. In reduced broods, nestlings begged overall less intensely and gained more body mass, supporting that parental rearing capacities sufficed to satisfy brood demand. Moreover, in reduced broods, UV-blocked nestlings (i.e., low-quality offspring) were fed and prey-tested more often. Yet, they begged more than control nestlings, suggesting that they were perhaps treated differently by other family members or which they may exploit parental preferences beyond actual need (at least in reduced nests). Parents flexibly shifted their feeding rate and favoritism in response to short-term changes in family size, as there was no parental preference for enlarged broods. Such flexible parental feeding rules may allow parents to gain the upper hand in parent-offspring conflict. However, we did not find evidence that parental favoritism facilitated brood reduction, at least in conditions where demand was temporally enhanced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge García-Campa
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, National Museum of Natural Sciences – Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Wendt Müller
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Research Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Alicia Rodríguez-Juncá
- BIOECOMAC, Department of Animal Biology, Edaphology and Geology, University of la Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Judith Morales
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, National Museum of Natural Sciences – Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
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3
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Soler JJ, Martínez-Renau E, Azcárate-García M, Ruiz-Castellano C, Martín J, Martín-Vivaldi M. OUP accepted manuscript. Behav Ecol 2022; 33:494-503. [PMID: 35592878 PMCID: PMC9113258 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal coloration results from pigments, nanostructures, or the cosmetic use of natural products, and plays a central role in social communication. The role of cosmetic coloration has traditionally been focused in scenarios of sexual selection, but it could also take place in other contexts. Here, by using spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor) as a model system, we explore the possibility that nestlings cosmetically use their intensely yellow-colored uropygial secretion to signal their genetic and/or phenotypic quality. In agreement with the hypothetical cosmetic use of the uropygial secretion, (i) video recorded nestlings collected secretion with the bill at the age of feathering, (ii) cotton swabs turned to the color of secretion after rubbing with them nestlings’ gape, and (iii) gape and skin colorations correlated positively with that of secretion. Furthermore, we found that (iv) secretion coloration has a genetic component, and (v) associated positively with Vitamin E supplementation and (vi) with plasma carotenoid concentration, which highlights the informative value of nestling secretion. Finally, (vii) coloration of begging-related traits and of secretion of nestlings predicted parental feeding preferences. Consequently, all these results strongly suggest that the cosmetic use of colored uropygial secretion might also play a role in parent-offspring communication, complementing or amplifying information provided by the flamboyant colored gapes and skin of nestlings. The use of makeups by offspring for communication with relatives has been scarcely explored and we hope that these results will encourage further investigations in birds and other taxa with parental care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan José Soler
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), 04120 Almería, Spain
- Unidad asociada (CSIC): Coevolución: cucos, hospedadores y bacterias simbiontes, Universidad de Granada, 18071-Granada, Spain
- Address correspondence to Juan José Soler. E-mail:
| | - Ester Martínez-Renau
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), 04120 Almería, Spain
| | - Manuel Azcárate-García
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), 04120 Almería, Spain
| | - Cristina Ruiz-Castellano
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), 04120 Almería, Spain
| | - José Martín
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), 28006-Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Martín-Vivaldi
- Unidad asociada (CSIC): Coevolución: cucos, hospedadores y bacterias simbiontes, Universidad de Granada, 18071-Granada, Spain
- Departamento de Zoología, Universidad de Granada, 18071-Granada, Spain
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Dugas MB, Border SE. Effects of a novel ectoparasite on condition and mouth coloration of nestling barn swallows. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Parasites have profound and widespread implications for the ecology and evolution of hosts, and human activity has increased the frequency of interactions between hosts and parasites that have not co-evolved. For example, by building habitat attractive for nesting, humans might have facilitated range expansion by cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonata) and barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) in North America, concurrently allowing a haematophagous ectoparasite of cliff swallows, the swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarious), to infest the nests of barn swallows. We found that in barn swallow nests infested with swallow bugs, nestlings weighed less and had lower haematocrit, and the within-brood variation in body mass and tarsus length was higher. Information about these negative effects might be available to parents via mouth coloration, a condition-dependent component of the begging signal. We found that nestlings from infested broods had lower-intensity carotenoid-based and ultraviolet mouth colours, although most elements of colour were unrelated to parasites. Host switching by the swallow bug offers excellent opportunities to understand the direct and indirect effects of a novel parasite and might also afford insights into how parasites cope with selective pressures exerted by closely related hosts with key ecological differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew B Dugas
- Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
| | - Shana E Border
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
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Romano A, Corti M, Soravia C, Cecere JG, Rubolini D. Ectoparasites exposure affects early growth and mouth colour in nestlings of a cavity-nesting raptor. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03098-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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The early maternal environment shapes the parental response to offspring UV ornamentation. Sci Rep 2021; 11:20808. [PMID: 34675269 PMCID: PMC8531375 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00251-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Parents allocate resources to offspring to increase their survival and to maximize their own fitness, while this investment implies costs to their condition and future reproduction. Parents are hence expected to optimally allocate their resources. They should invest equally in all their offspring under good conditions, but when parental capacity is limited, parents should invest in the offspring with the highest probability of survival. Such parental favouritism is facilitated by the fact that offspring have evolved condition-dependent traits to signal their quality to parents. In this study we explore whether the parental response to an offspring quality signal depends on the intrinsic capacity of the parents, here the female. We first manipulated the intrinsic capacity of blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) females through lutein-supplementation during egg laying, and we subsequently blocked the UV/yellow reflectance of breast feathers on half of the nestlings in each brood. We did not find evidence that the female intrinsic capacity shaped parental feeding or sibling competition according to offspring UV/yellow colouration. However, nestling UV/yellow colour affected costly behavioural interactions in the form of prey-testings (when a parent places a prey item into a nestling’s gape but removes it again). In lutein-supplemented nests, fathers but not mothers favoured UV-blocked chicks by testing them less often, supporting previous results. Accordingly, in lutein-supplemented nests, UV-blocked nestlings gained more mass than their siblings, while in control nests we found the opposite effect and UV-blocked nestlings gained less. Our results emphasize that the prenatal environment shaped the role of offspring UV/yellow colour during certain family interactions and are indicative for sex-specific parental care strategies.
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7
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Price-Waldman R, Stoddard MC. Avian Coloration Genetics: Recent Advances and Emerging Questions. J Hered 2021; 112:395-416. [PMID: 34002228 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esab015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The colorful phenotypes of birds have long provided rich source material for evolutionary biologists. Avian plumage, beaks, skin, and eggs-which exhibit a stunning range of cryptic and conspicuous forms-inspired early work on adaptive coloration. More recently, avian color has fueled discoveries on the physiological, developmental, and-increasingly-genetic mechanisms responsible for phenotypic variation. The relative ease with which avian color traits can be quantified has made birds an attractive system for uncovering links between phenotype and genotype. Accordingly, the field of avian coloration genetics is burgeoning. In this review, we highlight recent advances and emerging questions associated with the genetic underpinnings of bird color. We start by describing breakthroughs related to 2 pigment classes: carotenoids that produce red, yellow, and orange in most birds and psittacofulvins that produce similar colors in parrots. We then discuss structural colors, which are produced by the interaction of light with nanoscale materials and greatly extend the plumage palette. Structural color genetics remain understudied-but this paradigm is changing. We next explore how colors that arise from interactions among pigmentary and structural mechanisms may be controlled by genes that are co-expressed or co-regulated. We also identify opportunities to investigate genes mediating within-feather micropatterning and the coloration of bare parts and eggs. We conclude by spotlighting 2 research areas-mechanistic links between color vision and color production, and speciation-that have been invigorated by genetic insights, a trend likely to continue as new genomic approaches are applied to non-model species.
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Martínez‐Renau E, Ruiz‐Castellano C, Azcárate‐García M, Barón MD, Soler JJ. Coloration of spotless starling nestlings shows genetic and environmentally determined characteristics while begging for food. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ester Martínez‐Renau
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC) Almería Spain
| | - Cristina Ruiz‐Castellano
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC) Almería Spain
| | - Manuel Azcárate‐García
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC) Almería Spain
| | | | - Juan José Soler
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC) Almería Spain
- Unidad Asociada (CSIC): Coevolución: Cucos, Hospedadores y Bacterias Simbiontes Universidad de Granada Granada Spain
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9
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Avilés JM. Avian egg and nestling detection in the wild: should we rely on visual models or behavioural experiments? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190485. [PMID: 32420848 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The fields of avian egg and nestling colour detection have rapidly advanced owing to the application of visual models, which have allowed assessing of evolutionary questions considering receiver perception. Here, I first review the literature aiming to identify patterns of avian visual model usage. Second, I elaborate on limitations in the application of the receptor-noise limited perceptual (RNL hereafter) model. A systematic literature review revealed that the RNL model was the most used approach (81% of studies) in the field, and that most studies (76%) were concerned with classic evolutionary questions in avian brood parasitism. Some known limitations of the RNL model deal with model assumptions and parameterization, or, a poor consideration of post-detection neural processes. Others, however, are specific of the fields of egg and nestling discrimination and deal with the highly variable nature of ambient light at the nests, the complex colour design of eggs and nestlings, the multi-dimensional nature of perception, and the possible implication of learning. I, therefore, conclude that visual models should be used with caution to establish inference about egg and nestling discrimination, and rather be used to provide reasonable hypotheses which need to be validated with behavioural experiments. This article is part of the theme issue 'Signal detection theory in recognition systems: from evolving models to experimental tests'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús M Avilés
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Spanish Council for Research (EEZA-CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento s/n, 04120, La Cañada de San Urbano, E04120 Almería, Spain
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10
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Morales J, Cuervo JJ, Moreno J, Soler JJ. Juvenile plumage whiteness is associated with the evolution of clutch size in passerines. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The offspring of many animals are conspicuous during parental dependence, despite juveniles generally suffering from high predation risk. However, to date, it is unclear whether offspring structural ornaments play a role in intrafamily communication. This is the case of conspicuous plumage in young birds, which is worn unchanged during a long period after fledging, when they still depend on their parents. If plumage color facilitates intrafamily interactions, its role should be more important in large-brooded species, where the strength of intrafamily conflict is potentially stronger. We therefore performed a comparative study in 210 passerine bird species to test whether an offspring structural trait, white plumage, evolves more frequently in lineages with larger clutches. We also explored the number of broods raised per year as another source of intrafamily conflict. First, we found that juvenile whiteness was more frequent in open-nesting species. Moreover, in agreement with our prediction, the presence of juvenile white tail/wing patches was strongly and positively associated with clutch size. This relationship was not due to the strong resemblance between offspring and adult plumage, which was controlled for in the statistical analyses. Moreover, the association remained significant after taking into account predation risk, for which there was information for a subset of species. In contrast, juvenile whiteness was not associated with the number of broods raised per year. These results may suggest that the evolution of juvenile conspicuousness is favored in species with potentially stronger intrabrood sibling conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Morales
- National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC), c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal, Madrid, Spain
| | - José Javier Cuervo
- National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC), c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Moreno
- National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC), c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan José Soler
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Ctra. de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain
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11
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Skin and flange colour, but not ectoparasites, predict condition and survival in starling nestlings. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2292-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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12
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13
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Coloration reflects skin pterin concentration in a red-tailed lizard. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2016; 193:17-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2015.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2015] [Revised: 11/04/2015] [Accepted: 11/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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14
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Furuichi S, Kasuya E. Construction of Nest Defensive Structure According to Offspring Value and Its Effect on Predator's Attack Decision in Paper Wasps. Ethology 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sho Furuichi
- Laboratory of Ecological Science; Department of Biology; Faculty of Sciences; Kyushu University; Higashi-ku Japan
| | - Eiiti Kasuya
- Laboratory of Ecological Science; Department of Biology; Faculty of Sciences; Kyushu University; Higashi-ku Japan
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15
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Nest-dwelling ectoparasites reduce antioxidant defences in females and nestlings of a passerine: a field experiment. Oecologia 2015; 179:29-41. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3321-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2014] [Accepted: 04/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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16
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Fresnillo B, Belliure J, Cuervo JJ. Red coloration in juvenile spiny-footed lizards, Acanthodactylus erythrurus, reduces adult aggression. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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17
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Butler MW, McGraw KJ. Eggshell coloration reflects both yolk characteristics and dietary carotenoid history of female mallards. Funct Ecol 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael W. Butler
- School of Life Sciences; Arizona State University; PO Box 874601; Tempe; Arizona; 85287-4601; USA
| | - Kevin J. McGraw
- School of Life Sciences; Arizona State University; PO Box 874601; Tempe; Arizona; 85287-4601; USA
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18
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Evidence that fathers, but not mothers, respond to mate and offspring coloration by favouring high-quality offspring. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.03.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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19
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Avilés JM, Parejo D. Colour also matters for nocturnal birds: owlet bill coloration advertises quality and influences parental feeding behaviour in little owls. Oecologia 2013; 173:399-408. [PMID: 23443357 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-013-2625-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2012] [Accepted: 02/11/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Chromatic signals of offspring quality have been shown to play a role in parent-offspring communication in diurnal birds, but are assumed to be useless in dim light conditions because colour-based discrimination probably requires more light. A major ecological and evolutionary conundrum in this scenario is why the nestlings of some nocturnal owls display colourful beaks. Here, we test the hypothesis that yellow bill coloration of owlets of the nocturnal little owl Athene noctua may function as a chromatic signal revealing to parents aspects of quality of their offspring. In a first step, we examined physical variation in bill coloration and its covariation with owlet quality. Secondly, we studied parental provisioning in relation to an experimental manipulation of bill coloration of owlets. Bills of owlets showed higher within-nest variation in yellow-red chroma than in brightness. Plasma carotenoid concentration and nestling immunological status were not associated with chromatic or achromatic features of the bill. Interestingly, however, heavier owlets displayed more yellow bills than lighter ones. The effect of bill coloration on parental favouritism changed with brood size. Parents holding large broods preferentially fed owlets with enhanced over reduced yellow bill coloration, whereas those with small broods did not significantly bias feeding in relation to owlet bill coloration. Our results, based on integration of objective spectrophotometric assessment of colour and experimental procedures, confirm that parent little owls use bill coloration to reveal information on owlet body mass to adjust their feeding strategies, thus highlighting the importance of considering potential chromatic signals for a full comprehension of parent-offspring communication processes in nocturnal bird species.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Avilés
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), General Segura 1, 04001, Almería, Spain,
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20
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Parents take both size and conspicuousness into account when feeding nestlings in dark cavity nests. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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21
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DUGAS MATTHEWB. Cross-fostering reveals that among-brood differences in ornamental mouth coloration mostly reflect rearing conditions in nestling house sparrows. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01852.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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22
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Integument coloration signals reproductive success, heterozygosity, and antioxidant levels in chick-rearing black-legged kittiwakes. Naturwissenschaften 2011; 98:773-82. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-011-0827-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2011] [Revised: 07/01/2011] [Accepted: 07/02/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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23
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Jacob S, Rieucau G, Heeb P. Multimodal begging signals reflect independent indices of nestling condition in European starlings. Behav Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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24
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Tanaka KD, Morimoto G, Stevens M, Ueda K. Rethinking visual supernormal stimuli in cuckoos: visual modeling of host and parasite signals. Behav Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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25
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Parental favouritism strategies in the asynchronously hatching European Roller (Coracias garrulus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1164-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Benito MM, González-Solís J, Becker PH. Carotenoid supplementation and sex-specific trade-offs between colouration and condition in common tern chicks. J Comp Physiol B 2010; 181:539-49. [PMID: 21153646 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-010-0537-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2010] [Revised: 11/09/2010] [Accepted: 11/12/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Carotenoids, as pigments with antioxidant and immunoregulatory properties, play a crucial role in developing chicks. Carotenoids must be acquired through diet and are relatively scarce, suggesting that their availability is a limiting factor leading to a trade-off between colour displays and physiological functions. However, potential differences in this trade-off between male and female chicks have been little studied. We manipulated carotenoid availability in 9 days old common tern Sterna hirundo chicks by supplementing their fish diet with four carotenoids during 9 days. Our aim was to examine sex-specific responses to the experimental increase of dietary carotenoids on plasma circulation, physiological and condition variables and successful fledging. Furthermore, to explore the functional and evolutionary basis of the trade-off, we studied the relationships among carotenoid concentration, mediated immune response and foot colouration. After treatment, control chicks showed decreasing plasma levels for most carotenoid types, whereas supplemented chicks had strong increases. Colour luminosity and saturation increased in both treatment groups, while hue only changed significantly towards redder feet in supplemented females. Supplemented chicks presented neither different T-cell-mediated immunity nor other differences compared to control chicks. Nevertheless, supplemented females showed tendencies towards decreased immune responses and increased δ(15)N signatures, and supplemented males towards greater body mass. Our results indicate colouration may have, in females, a signalling function as to compensate for immunological costs. In males, additional availability of carotenoids may contribute to improve the body condition. This study suggests that trade-off responses to carotenoid availability are sex-specific in tern chicks. Thus, parental carotenoid supply to chicks may be an unrecognised component in sex allocation.
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Affiliation(s)
- María M Benito
- Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Department Biologia Animal (Vertebrats), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, Barcelona, 08028, Spain.
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Laaksonen T, Adamczyk F, Ahola M, Möstl E, Lessells CM. Yolk hormones and sexual conflict over parental investment in the pied flycatcher. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2010; 65:257-264. [PMID: 22081740 PMCID: PMC3197946 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-010-1034-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2010] [Revised: 07/12/2010] [Accepted: 07/29/2010] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Female birds might be able to manipulate the parental effort of their male partner through elevated transfer of hormones to the eggs, since these hormones affect many chick traits that males might use as cues for adjusting the level of their investment. We experimentally studied whether female pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca could manipulate male investment via yolk androgens. There is much more variation in yolk androgen levels between females than within clutches, and in order to change the androgen levels of the eggs, we swapped whole clutches between nests. To estimate the androgen levels of the clutch, we measured the androgen content of a single egg per clutch. Females did not succeed in manipulating male effort using yolk androgens, since there was no relationship between the division of parental care within a pair and either original or foster egg androgen levels. One of these relationships should have occurred if females were manipulating males. The proportion of feeding visits by the male was higher when the male was old (55%) than when he was young (45%) and females laid eggs with higher androgen levels when mated with a young male. Young males did not exhibit any responses to yolk androgen levels either, which indicates that females cannot exploit their effort more than that of old males. We suggest that females may allocate yolk androgens to adjust the growth trajectories of the chicks to poor growing conditions when mated with young males that are poor providers or occupying a poor territory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toni Laaksonen
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Freya Adamczyk
- Department of Animal Population Biology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Heteren, The Netherlands
| | - Markus Ahola
- Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Erich Möstl
- University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - C(Kate). M. Lessells
- Department of Animal Population Biology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Heteren, The Netherlands
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28
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Nolan PM, Stephen Dobson F, Nicolaus M, Karels TJ, McGraw KJ, Jouventin P. Mutual Mate Choice for Colorful Traits in King Penguins. Ethology 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2010.01775.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Anderson MG, Brunton DH, Hauber ME. Reliable Information Content and Ontogenetic Shift in Begging Calls of Grey Warbler Nestlings. Ethology 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2010.01750.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Ligon RA, Hill GE. Feeding decisions of eastern bluebirds are situationally influenced by fledgling plumage color. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010; 21:456-464. [PMID: 22476433 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2009] [Revised: 12/21/2009] [Accepted: 12/31/2009] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
The relative amount of resources that avian parents provide to individual offspring within a brood represents a strategy that can have large effects on reproductive success. We tested whether parental feeding decisions of eastern bluebirds Sialia sialis are influenced by offspring plumage color by presenting pairs of differently colored fledglings side by side and observing how they were provisioned by parents. After a control period, we manipulated blue plumage color so that one sibling in each trial became relatively dark and one became relatively bright. During neither the control nor the experimental periods did either parent consistently feed naturally brighter or experimentally brightened sons more than drab sons. Under specific circumstances, however, both parents directed a higher proportion of their feeding attempts to more brightly colored sons. Paternal feeding attempts to brighter offspring during both the control and experimental periods increased in relation to the brightness of these fledglings relative to their brothers. Maternal feeding decision, on the other hand, were influenced by numerous variables during control and experimental periods including the date of the trial, the difference in mass between fledglings, the feeding behavior of fathers during the trial, the relative investment by fathers during the nestling stage, and the amount of UV chroma in fledgling plumage. Taken together, these results suggest that equal provisioning of offspring is the strategy most commonly adopted by eastern bluebirds but more brightly colored offspring will be fed preferentially when resources for offspring are limited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell A Ligon
- Department of Biological Sciences, 331 Funchess hall, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
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31
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32
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GRIGGIO M, MOROSINOTTO C, PILASTRO A. Nestlings’ carotenoid feather ornament affects parental allocation strategy and reduces maternal survival. J Evol Biol 2009; 22:2077-85. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01823.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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34
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Dugas MB. House sparrow, Passer domesticus, parents preferentially feed nestlings with mouth colours that appear carotenoid-rich. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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35
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Detto T, Backwell PR. The fiddler crab Uca mjoebergi uses ultraviolet cues in mate choice but not aggressive interactions. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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36
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Ruuskanen S, Doligez B, Tschirren B, Pitala N, Gustafsson L, Groothuis TGG, Laaksonen T. Yolk androgens do not appear to mediate sexual conflict over parental investment in the collared flycatcher Ficedula albicollis. Horm Behav 2009; 55:514-9. [PMID: 19470362 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2008] [Revised: 01/26/2009] [Accepted: 01/28/2009] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Males and females are in conflict over parental care, as it would be favourable for one parent to shift labour to the other. Yolk hormones may offer a mechanism through which female birds could influence offspring traits in ways that increase the relative investment by the male. We studied the role of yolk androgens in mediating sexual conflict over parental care in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis). In a cross-fostering experiment, the male's proportion of total feeding visits increased with increasing androgen levels in the foster eggs. This could suggest that sexual conflict over parental care may be influenced by the female's differential allocation of yolk androgens or a maternal effect associated with yolk androgens. However, when we experimentally elevated yolk androgen levels, male feeding rates did not differ between control and androgen-manipulated nests. This suggests that other egg components correlated with yolk androgen levels, rather than yolk androgen levels per se, may influence male parental effort. In conclusion, yolk androgens per se do not appear to mediate sexual conflict over parental investment in the collared flycatcher.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suvi Ruuskanen
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
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Avilés JM, Soler JJ. Nestling colouration is adjusted to parent visual performance in altricial birds. J Evol Biol 2009; 22:376-86. [PMID: 19196385 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2008.01655.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Hitherto, most of the investigation on the perceptual efficacy of begging signals has dwelled on how patterns of nestling colouration adjust to predominant nest luminosity. However, visual sensitivity of birds varies across species, which raises the question of whether colouration of traits involved in begging displays is adjusted to parent visual capacities. Here, by comparing nestling colouration and visual sensitivity across 22 altricial bird species, we provide a first test of this hypothesis. Firstly, we assessed differences in performance of typical UV-tuned and violet-tuned bird eyes when looking at the nestling traits under the light regimes prevailing at their nests. Secondly, while controlling for common ancestry in a comparative approach, we explored variation in colouration of nestlings in relation to parent visual system. The colour discrimination model indicated a general higher performance of the ultraviolet over the violet eye at detecting gape and body skin traits in either open- or hole-nest light conditions. Gape colouration was associated with parental visual system as the nestlings of UVS species displayed more yellow and less pure ultraviolet mouths than the nestlings of VS species. Thus, our results agree with an adaptive parent-offspring communication scenario where the nestlings' colours tuned the perception capacities of their parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Avilés
- Departamento de Biología Animal y Ecología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain.
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Thorogood R, Kilner RM, Karadaş F, Ewen JG. Spectral mouth colour of nestlings changes with carotenoid availability. Funct Ecol 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01455.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Moreno J, Lobato E, Merino S, Martínez-de la Puente J. Blue-Green Eggs in Pied Flycatchers: An Experimental Demonstration that a Supernormal Stimulus Elicits Improved Nestling Condition. Ethology 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01551.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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40
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Condition dependence of nestling mouth colour and the effect of supplementing carotenoids on parental behaviour in the hihi (Notiomystis cincta). Oecologia 2008; 157:361-8. [PMID: 18546021 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-008-1073-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2007] [Accepted: 05/09/2008] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Carotenoids are integument pigments that often reflect foraging efficiency, disease resistance and body condition. In contrast to the widespread attention this relationship has received in adult birds, the condition dependence of nestling colouration remains an understudied component of animal communication. Here we assess the condition dependence of carotenoid pigmentation in nestling hihi (Notiomystis cincta, an endangered New Zealand bird) and examine the influence of carotenoid supplementation on nestling quality and parental visitation rates. Our results show that carotenoids provided to breeding adult hihi were transferred to their offspring and resulted in an intensified orange-yellow flange colour. After accounting for carotenoid supplementation the parameter that most consistently explained variation in nestling flange colour was nestling tarsus length at 23 days, indicating condition dependence of this trait. We did not, however, detect direct effects of carotenoid supplementation on nestling mass or immune response (or any other fitness parameter measured). Carotenoid supplementation did, however, result in an increased paternal provisioning rate.
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Saino N, de Ayala RM, Boncoraglio G, Martinelli R. Sex difference in mouth coloration and begging calls of barn swallow nestlings. Anim Behav 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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42
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Avilés J, Pérez‐Contreras T, Navarro C, Soler J. Dark Nests and Conspicuousness in Color Patterns of Nestlings of Altricial Birds. Am Nat 2008; 171:327-38. [DOI: 10.1086/527493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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43
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Loiseau C, Fellous S, Haussy C, Chastel O, Sorci G. Condition-dependent effects of corticosterone on a carotenoid-based begging signal in house sparrows. Horm Behav 2008; 53:266-73. [PMID: 18029282 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2007] [Revised: 10/08/2007] [Accepted: 10/08/2007] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Begging is a complex display involving a variety of different visual and auditory signals. Parents are thought to use these signals to adjust their investment in food provisioning. The mechanisms that ensure the honesty of begging displays as indicators of need have been recently investigated. It has been shown that levels of corticosterone (Cort), the hormone released during the stress response, increase during food shortage and are associated with an increased begging rate. In a recent study in house sparrows, although exogenous Cort increased begging rate, parents did not accordingly adjust their provisioning rate. Here, we tested the hypothesis that Cort might affect the expression of other components of begging displays, such as flange color (a carotenoid-based trait). We experimentally increased levels of circulating Cort and investigated the effects of the treatment on (1) the flange coloration of the nestlings, (2) the behavioral response and (3) the parental allocation of food and (4) nestling condition and cell-mediated immune response. We found that Cort affected flange coloration in a condition-dependent way. Cort-injected nestlings had less yellow flanges than controls only when in poor body condition. Parental feeding rate was also affected by the Cort treatment in interaction with flange color. Feeding rate of Cort-injected nestlings was negatively and significantly correlated with flange color (nestlings with yellower flanges receiving more food), whereas feeding rate and flange color were not correlated in control chicks. We also found that nestlings injected with Cort showed a weaker immune response than controls. These results suggest that, indeed, Cort has the potential to affect multiple components of the begging display. As Cort levels naturally raise during fasting, parents have to take into account these multiple components to take a decision as to optimally share their investment among competing nestlings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Loiseau
- Laboratoire de Parasitologie Evolutive, CNRS UMR 7103, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Bât. A, 7ème étage, 7, quai St Bernard, Case 237, F-75252 Paris Cedex 05, France.
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