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Steffen JE, Quigley R, Whibley I, McGraw KJ. Carotenoid deprivation and beta-carotene's effects on male and female turtle color. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2020; 253:110546. [PMID: 33346113 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2020.110546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Carotenoid-colored integuments commonly function as sexually selected honest signals because carotenoid pigments can be costly to obtain, ingest, absorb, metabolize or transport before being deposited into the integument. As such, carotenoid pigmentation is often sexually dichromatic, with males being more colorful than females. Sexual dichromatism may also occur in ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths, which is visible to organisms who possess UV-sensitive photoreceptors. The stripes and spots of painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) are carotenoid-based and reflect UV wavelengths. This research describes UV sexual dichromatism in painted turtles and shows how carotenoid deprivation changes spot and stripe color in male and female painted turtles. Adult turtles were fed a diet that was supplemented with carotenoids (i.e., C diet) or deprived of carotenoids (C-). Stripe and spot color were measured with UV-vis spectrometry, and blood was drawn from all turtles before and after the dietary treatment. HPLC analysis revealed five carotenoids (4 xanthophylls and beta-carotene) circulating in turtle blood. C-diet reduced yellow chroma and increased brightness of yellow and red stripes or spots, relative to the C diet, but there was no sexually dimorphic effect of carotenoid deprivation on color, nor did carotenoid deprivation affect UV reflectance. Carotenoid deprivation reduced all circulating carotenoids, but beta-carotene was the only pigment with a significant effect on post-experimental carotenoids, implying that changes in color were due in part to reduction in circulating levels of beta-carotene. Color generation appears to be complex in turtles and have dietary as well as non-dietary components.
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Affiliation(s)
- John E Steffen
- Department of Biology, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV 25425, USA.
| | - Rhett Quigley
- Department of Biology, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV 25425, USA
| | - Ian Whibley
- Department of Biology, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV 25425, USA
| | - Kevin J McGraw
- Department of Biology, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV 25425, USA
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2
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Babin A, Moreau J, Moret Y. Storage of Carotenoids in Crustaceans as an Adaptation to Modulate Immunopathology and Optimize Immunological and Life-History Strategies. Bioessays 2019; 41:e1800254. [PMID: 31566782 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201800254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Revised: 08/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Why do some invertebrates store so much carotenoids in their tissues? Storage of carotenoids may not simply be passive and dependent on their environmental availability, as storage variation exists at various taxonomic scales, including among individuals within species. While the strong antioxidant and sometimes immune-stimulating properties of carotenoids may be beneficial enough to cause the evolution of features improving their assimilation and storage, they may also have fitness downsides explaining why massive carotenoid storage is not universal. Here, the functional and ecological implications of carotenoid storage for the evolution of invertebrate innate immune defenses are examined, especially in crustaceans, which massively store carotenoids for unclear reasons. Three testable hypotheses about the role of carotenoid storage in immunological (resistance and tolerance) and life-history strategies (with a focus on aging) are proposed, which may ultimately explain the storage of large amounts of these pigments in a context of host-pathogen interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélie Babin
- Équipe Écologie Évolutive, UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, F-21000, Dijon, France
| | - Jérôme Moreau
- Équipe Écologie Évolutive, UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, F-21000, Dijon, France
| | - Yannick Moret
- Équipe Écologie Évolutive, UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, F-21000, Dijon, France
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3
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McLean CA, Lutz A, Rankin KJ, Elliott A, Moussalli A, Stuart-Fox D. Red carotenoids and associated gene expression explain colour variation in frillneck lizards. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191172. [PMID: 31311479 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
A long-standing hypothesis in evolutionary ecology is that red-orange ornamental colours reliably signal individual quality owing to limited dietary availability of carotenoids and metabolic costs associated with their production, such as the bioconversion of dietary yellow carotenoids to red ketocarotenoids. However, in ectothermic vertebrates, these colours can also be produced by self-synthesized pteridine pigments. As a consequence, the relative ratio of pigment types and their biochemical and genetic basis have implications for the costs and information content of colour signals; yet they remain poorly known in most taxonomic groups. We tested whether red- and yellow-frilled populations of the frillneck lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii, differ in the ratio of different biochemical classes of carotenoid and pteridine pigments, and examined associated differences in gene expression. We found that, unlike other squamate reptiles, red hues derive from a higher proportion of ketocarotenoids relative to both dietary yellow carotenoids and to pteridines. Whereas red frill skin showed higher expression of several genes associated with carotenoid metabolism, yellow frill skin showed higher expression of genes associated with steroid hormones. Based on the different mechanisms underlying red and yellow signals, we hypothesize that frill colour conveys different information in the two populations. More generally, the data expand our knowledge of the genetic and biochemical basis of colour signals in vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire A McLean
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.,Sciences Department, Museums Victoria, Carlton Gardens, Victoria 3053, Australia
| | - Adrian Lutz
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.,Metabolomics Australia, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Katrina J Rankin
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Adam Elliott
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Adnan Moussalli
- Sciences Department, Museums Victoria, Carlton Gardens, Victoria 3053, Australia
| | - Devi Stuart-Fox
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
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4
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Romero-Diaz C, Breedveld MC, Fitze PS. Climate Effects on Growth, Body Condition, and Survival Depend on the Genetic Characteristics of the Population. Am Nat 2017; 190:649-662. [DOI: 10.1086/693780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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5
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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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6
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Fitze PS, Gonzalez-Jimena V, San-Jose LM, Heulin B, Sinervo B. Frequency-dependent sexual selection with respect to progeny survival is consistent with predictions from rock-paper-scissors dynamics in the European common lizard. Front Ecol Evol 2014. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2014.00077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
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7
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What are carotenoids signaling? Immunostimulatory effects of dietary vitamin E, but not of carotenoids, in Iberian green lizards. Naturwissenschaften 2014; 101:1107-14. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-014-1250-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2014] [Revised: 10/01/2014] [Accepted: 10/07/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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8
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The expression of pre- and postcopulatory sexually selected traits reflects levels of dietary stress in guppies. PLoS One 2014; 9:e105856. [PMID: 25170940 PMCID: PMC4149491 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2014] [Accepted: 07/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental and ecological conditions can shape the evolution of life history traits in many animals. Among such factors, food or nutrition availability can play an important evolutionary role in moderating an animal's life history traits, particularly sexually selected traits. Here, we test whether diet quantity and/or composition in the form of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (here termed ‘n3LC’) influence the expression of pre- and postcopulatory traits in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), a livebearing poeciliid fish. We assigned males haphazardly to one of two experimental diets supplemented with n3LC, and each of these diet treatments was further divided into two diet ‘quantity’ treatments. Our experimental design therefore explored the main and interacting effects of two factors (n3LC content and diet quantity) on the expression of precopulatory (sexual behaviour and sexual ornamentation, including the size, number and spectral properties of colour spots) and postcopulatory (the velocity, viability, number and length of sperm) sexually selected traits. Our study revealed that diet quantity had significant effects on most of the pre- and postcopulatory traits, while n3LC manipulation had a significant effect on sperm traits and in particular on sperm viability. Our analyses also revealed interacting effects of diet quantity and n3LC levels on courtship displays, and the area of orange and iridescent colour spots in the males’ colour patterns. We also confirmed that our dietary manipulations of n3LC resulted in the differential uptake of n3LC in body and testes tissues in the different n3LC groups. This study reveals the effects of diet quantity and n3LC on behavioural, ornamental and ejaculate traits in P. reticulata and underscores the likely role that diet plays in maintaining the high variability in these condition-dependent sexual traits.
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9
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Sefc KM, Brown AC, Clotfelter ED. Carotenoid-based coloration in cichlid fishes. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2014; 173C:42-51. [PMID: 24667558 PMCID: PMC4003536 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2014.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2013] [Revised: 03/03/2014] [Accepted: 03/14/2014] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Animal colors play important roles in communication, ecological interactions and speciation. Carotenoid pigments are responsible for many yellow, orange and red hues in animals. Whereas extensive knowledge on the proximate mechanisms underlying carotenoid coloration in birds has led to testable hypotheses on avian color evolution and signaling, much less is known about the expression of carotenoid coloration in fishes. Here, we promote cichlid fishes (Perciformes: Cichlidae) as a system in which to study the physiological and evolutionary significance of carotenoids. Cichlids include some of the best examples of adaptive radiation and color pattern diversification in vertebrates. In this paper, we examine fitness correlates of carotenoid pigmentation in cichlids and review hypotheses regarding the signal content of carotenoid-based ornaments. Carotenoid-based coloration is influenced by diet and body condition and is positively related to mating success and social dominance. Gaps in our knowledge are discussed in the last part of this review, particularly in the understanding of carotenoid metabolism pathways and the genetics of carotenoid coloration. We suggest that carotenoid metabolism and transport are important proximate mechanisms responsible for individual and population-differences in cichlid coloration that may ultimately contribute to diversification and speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina M Sefc
- Institute of Zoology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Alexandria C Brown
- Department of Biology, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002, USA; Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 USA
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10
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Kopena R, López P, Martín J. Relative contribution of dietary carotenoids and vitamin E to visual and chemical sexual signals of male Iberian green lizards: an experimental test. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1672-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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11
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San-Jose LM, Fitze PS. Corticosterone regulates multiple colour traits in Lacerta
[Zootoca
] vivipara
males. J Evol Biol 2013; 26:2681-90. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2013] [Revised: 09/10/2013] [Accepted: 09/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L. M. San-Jose
- Department of Ecology and Evolution; University of Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology; Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC); Madrid Spain
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC); Jaca Spain
| | - P. S. Fitze
- Department of Ecology and Evolution; University of Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology; Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC); Madrid Spain
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC); Jaca Spain
- Fundación ARAID; Zaragoza Spain
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12
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Ng J, Kelly AL, MacGuigan DJ, Glor RE. The role of heritable and dietary factors in the sexual signal of a Hispaniolan Anolis lizard, Anolis distichus. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 104:862-73. [PMID: 24078680 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/est060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The diversity of sexual signals is astounding, and divergence in these traits is believed to be associated with the early stages of speciation. An increasing number of studies also suggest a role for natural selection in driving signal divergence for effective transmission in heterogeneous environments. Both speciation and adaptive divergence, however, are contingent on the sexual signal being heritable, yet this often remains assumed and untested. It is particularly critical that the heritability of carotenoid-based sexual signals is investigated because such traits may instead be phenotypically plastic indicators of an individual's quality that exhibit no or little heritable variation. We present the first study to investigate the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the striking diversity of dewlap color and pattern in Anolis lizards. Using a breeding experiment with Anolis distichus populations exhibiting different dewlap phenotypes, we raise F1 offspring in a common garden experiment to assess whether dewlap color is inherited. We follow this with carotenoid supplementation to investigate the influence of dietary pigments to dewlap color variation. We find significant differences in several aspects of dewlap color and pattern to persist to the F1 generation (fathers: N = 19; F1 males: N = 50; P < 0.01) with no change in dewlap phenotype with carotenoid supplementation (N = 52; P > 0.05). These results strongly support that genetic differences underlie dewlap color variation, thereby satisfying a key requirement of natural selection. Our findings provide an important stepping-stone to understanding the evolution of an incredibly diverse signal important for sexual selection and species recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julienne Ng
- the Department of Biology, University of Rochester, RC Box 270211, Rochester, NY 14627. Richard Glor is now at the Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
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13
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Olsson M, Stuart-Fox D, Ballen C. Genetics and evolution of colour patterns in reptiles. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2013; 24:529-41. [PMID: 23578866 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2013.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2013] [Accepted: 04/02/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The study of coloration in the polyphyletic reptilians has flourished in the last two decades, in particular with respect to the underlying genetics of colour traits, the function of colours in social interactions, and ongoing selection on these traits in the wild. The taxonomic bias, however, is profound: at this level of resolution almost all available information is for diurnal lizards. Therefore, we focus on case studies, for which there are as complete causal sequences of colour evolution as possible, from phenotypic expression of variation in colour, to ongoing selection in the wild. For work prior to 1992 and for a broader coverage of reptilian coloration we refer the readers to Cooper and Greenburg's (Biology of the Reptilia, 1992) review. There are seven major conclusions we would like to emphasise: (a) visual systems in diurnal lizards are broadly conserved but among the wider range of reptiles in general, there is functionally important variation in the number and type of photoreceptors, spectral tuning of photopigments and optical properties of the eye; (b) coloration in reptiles is a function of complex interactions between structural and pigmentary components, with implications for both proximate control and condition dependence of colour expression; (c) studies of colour-variable species have enabled estimates of heritability of colour and colour patterns, which often show a simple Mendelian pattern of inheritance; (d) colour-polymorphic lizard species sometimes, but not always, show striking differences in genetically encoded reproductive tactics and provide useful models for studying the evolution and maintenance of polymorphism; (e) both male and female colours are sometimes, but not always, a significant component of socio-sexual signalling, often based on multiple traits; (f) evidence for effects of hormones and condition on colour expression, and trade-offs with immunocompetence and parasite load, is variable; (g) lizards show fading of colours in response to physiological stress and ageing and are hence likely to be appropriate models for work on the interactions between handicaps, indicator traits, parasitology and immunoecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mats Olsson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
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14
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San-Jose LM, Granado-Lorencio F, Sinervo B, Fitze PS. Iridophores and Not Carotenoids Account for Chromatic Variation of Carotenoid-Based Coloration in Common Lizards (Lacerta vivipara). Am Nat 2013; 181:396-409. [DOI: 10.1086/669159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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15
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Romero-Diaz C, Richner H, Granado-Lorencio F, Tschirren B, Fitze PS. Independent sources of condition dependency and multiple pathways determine a composite trait: lessons from carotenoid-based plumage colouration. J Evol Biol 2013; 26:635-46. [PMID: 23331336 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2012] [Revised: 11/16/2012] [Accepted: 11/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Many colour ornaments are composite traits consisting of at least four components, which themselves may be more complex, determined by independent evolutionary pathways, and potentially being under different environmental control. To date, little evidence exists that several different components of colour elaboration are condition dependent and no direct evidence exists that different ornamental components are affected by different sources of variation. For example, in carotenoid-based plumage colouration, one of the best-known condition-dependent ornaments, colour elaboration stems from both condition-dependent pigment concentration and structural components. Some environmental flexibility of these components has been suggested, but specifically which and how they are affected remains unknown. Here, we tested whether multiple colour components may be condition dependent, by using a comprehensive 3 × 2 experimental design, in which we carotenoid supplemented and immune challenged great tit nestlings (Parus major) and quantified effects on different components of colouration. Plumage colouration was affected by an interaction between carotenoid availability and immune challenge. Path analyses showed that carotenoid supplementation increased plumage saturation via feather carotenoid concentration and via mechanisms unrelated to carotenoid deposition, while immune challenge affected feather length, but not carotenoid concentration. Thus, independent condition-dependent pathways, affected by different sources of variation, determine colour elaboration. This provides opportunities for the evolution of multiple signals within components of ornamental traits. This finding indicates that the selective forces shaping the evolution of different components of a composite trait and the trait's signal content may be more complex than believed so far, and that holistic approaches are required for drawing comprehensive evolutionary conclusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Romero-Diaz
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.
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