Condition-dependent expression of melanin-based coloration in the Eurasian kestrel
| Autor: | Valentijn van den Brink, Romain Piault, Alexandre Roulin |
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| Rok vydání: | 2012 |
| Předmět: |
Avian clutch size
Male HANDICAP PRINCIPLE INFORMATION Zoology Kestrel Signalling Falco tinnunculus SEXUAL SELECTION Handicap models PASSER-DOMESTICUS SIGNALS Melanin Animals Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Falconiformes Skin Clutch Size Falconiformes/metabolism Falconiformes/physiology Female Linear Models Melanins/metabolism Pigmentation/physiology Sex Characteristics Skin/metabolism Melanins Brood size Body condition biology Ecology PLUMAGE Pigmentation Fledge ADVERTISEMENT Handicap principle General Medicine biology.organism_classification Plumage BARN OWL Sexual selection Feather visual_art visual_art.visual_art_medium TRAITS |
| Zdroj: | Naturwissenschaften, vol. 99, no. 5, pp. 391-396 Naturwissenschaften, 99(5), 391-396. Springer Verlag |
| ISSN: | 1432-1904 0028-1042 |
| Popis: | Melanin is the most common pigment in animal integuments and is responsible for some of the most striking ornaments. A central tenet of sexual selection theory states that melanin-based traits can signal absolute individual quality in any environment only if their expression is condition-dependent. Significant costs imposed by an ornament would ensure that only the highest quality individuals display the most exaggerated forms of the signal. Firm evidence that melanin-based traits can be condition-dependent is still rare in birds. In an experimental test of this central assumption, we report condition-dependent expression of a melanin-based trait in the Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). We manipulated nestling body condition by reducing or increasing the number of nestlings soon after hatching. A few days before fledging, we measured the width of sub-terminal black bands on the tail feathers. Compared to nestlings from enlarged broods, individuals raised in reduced broods were in better condition and thereby developed larger sub-terminal bands. Furthermore, in 2 years, first-born nestlings also developed larger sub-terminal bands than their younger siblings that are in poorer condition. This demonstrates that expression of melanin-based traits can be condition-dependent. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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