A female melanin ornament signals offspring fluctuating asymmetry in the barn owl
| Autor: | Francois Balloux, Alexandre Roulin, Anne–Lyse Ducrest, Cor Dijkstra, Christian Riols |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Dijkstra lab |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2003 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Offspring Zoology TYTO-ALBA FINCH General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Fluctuating asymmetry Sexual Behavior Animal Animals General Environmental Science Melanins Sex Characteristics General Immunology and Microbiology biology BIRDS Ecology Barn-owl Reproduction Tyto Genetic Variation General Medicine Feathers biology.organism_classification Strigiformes POLYMORPHISM Animals Newborn/physiology Feathers/physiology Female Melanins/physiology Strigiformes/genetics Strigiformes/physiology Animals Newborn Plumage Sexual selection Feather visual_art visual_art.visual_art_medium General Agricultural and Biological Sciences Black spot Research Article |
| Zdroj: | Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 270(1511), 167-171. ROYAL SOC Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B Biological Sciences, vol. 270, no. 1511, pp. 167-171 |
| ISSN: | 0962-8452 |
| DOI: | 10.1098/rspb.2002.2215 |
| Popis: | Sexual selection theory predicts that males advertise quality by displaying extravagant ornaments. By contrast, whether phenotypic variation in females has a signalling function remains an open question. Here, to our knowledge, we provide the first evidence that a female plumage trait can signal fluctuating asymmetry in the offspring. We experimentally demonstrate in wild barn owls (Tyto alba) that the extent to which females display black spots on their plumage does not only signal offspring parasite resistance as shown in a previous study but also developmental homeostasis in the offspring. A greater number of spotted females produced offspring that had more symmetrical feathers during the period of growth. Males, that pair non-randomly with respect to female plumage spottiness therefore appear to gain substantial benefits by mating with heavily spotted females. Genetic variation in plumage spottiness is nevertheless maintained as the covariation between offspring body mass and mother plumage spottiness varies annually depending on environmental conditions. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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