Adaptive Significance of Delayed Plumage Maturation in Male Northern Orioles

Flood, Nancy J.

doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1984.tb00285.x

Cited by 50 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Many studies have demonstrated a correlation between plumage brightness and mating success (e.g., Lifjeld and Slagsvold 1988;Payne et al 1988;Norris 1990) or territory quality (e.g., Flood 1984;Studd and Robertson 1985a;Hill 1988). However, relatively few studies have tested whether manipulating a male's breeding coloration directly affects his competitive ability (Peek 1972;Smith 1972;Rohwer and Roskaft 1989;Hoglund et al 1990) or mating success (Collias et al 1979;Alatalo et al 1990;Hill 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental evidence that bright coloration is not important for territory defense in purple martins

Stutchbury

1992

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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I tested the hypothesis that bright breeding plumage in territorial males acts as a badge of fighting ability or aggressive motivation to intimidate intruders. Territorial male purple martins (Progne subis) whose iridescent blue plumage was lightened to mimic the appearance of subadult males did not suffer an increase in intruder pressure or loss of territory compared with control males. Bright plumage color itself did not deter intruders and was not important for successful territory defense. Furthermore, a bright coloration of owners was not associated with an increased level of aggression toward intruders. Results from parallel studies on this species suggest that bright coloration is important in territory acquisition. The effectiveness of badges of fighting ability and aggressive motivation in territory defense is limited by whether intruders benefit from assessing these traits in owners. Differences in signaling systems between species are due in part to differences in floater tactics and the mode of territory acquisition.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental evidence that bright coloration is not important for territory defense in purple martins

Stutchbury

1992

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…However, male passerines with a nondefinitive (subadult) plumage are usually sexually mature and capable of breeding (Rohwer et al 1980;ProcterGray and Holmes 1981;Flood 1984;Lanyon and Thompson 1986;Hill 1988;Payne et al 1988). The passerines that have DPM represent a tremendous diversity in social behavior and ecology, including lekking manakins (Foster 1987;McDonald 1989), Australian bowerbirds (Borgia and Collis 1989), European and North American migrants (Rohwer et al 1980;Bjorklund 1989a), Darwin's finches (Price 1984), and Hawaiian honeycreepers (L. Freed, personal communication).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Subadult males usually return later in the spring than adult males (Hill 1989), and in many species subadults are often unable to obtain territories and mates and remain as nonbreeders (Selander 1965;Flood 1984;Stutchbury and Robertson 1985;Foster 1987;Hill 1988;Bjorklund 1989a;Sherry and Holmes 1989). Two hypotheses have been proposed for the mechanism by which the subadult plumage enhances the reproductive success of young males in their first summer (Rohwer et al 1980;Lyon and Montgomerie 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many studies have indirectly tested these hypotheses by examining adult male aggression toward models of intruders (Rohwer 1978;Flood 1984;Hill 1989;Enstrom 1992), aggressive interactions between subadult male territory owners and their adult neighbors (ProcterGray and Holmes 1981), the final position of subadult male territories relative to adult male territories (Rohwer and Niles 1979;Procter-Gray and Holmes 1981;Hill 1988), or by correlating the presence or absence of subadult plumage across species with the type of territory defended (Lyon and Montgomerie 1986). Interpretation of model tests hinges on the often untested assumption that model presentations are representative of real interactions between intruders and owners.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…No studies have directly examined interactions between nonterritorial subadult males and male territory owners, in part because intrusions occur infrequently or are difficult to observe. Although adult male territory owners are less aggressive toward subadult than adult models in the redwinged blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus (Rohwer 1978), northern oriole Icterus galbula (Flood 1984), and blackheaded grosbeak Pheucticus melanocephalus (Hill 1989), it is not known whether the mechanism involved is female mimicry or subordinance signaling and whether this translates into any real advantage for young males in terms of territory or mate acquisition. In the orchard oriole (Icterus spurius), both the female mimicry and subordinance signaling hypotheses have been rejected based on model tests (Enstrom 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The adaptive significance of male subadult plumage in purple martins: plumage dyeing experiments

Stutchbury

1991

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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I tested two hypotheses for the adaptive significance of subadult plumage in male purple martins (Progne subis): the female mimicry and subordinance signaling hypotheses. Subadult males were at a competitive disadvantage in obtaining territories, as they arrived later in the spring than adult males. Contrary to the predictions of both hypotheses, adult male territory owners were not less aggressive toward subadult male than adult male intruders. The subadult plumage was not effective in mimicking females, as adult male owners were significantly more aggressive toward subadult male than female intruders. Summer adaptation hypotheses predict that young males in subadult plumage are more successful in acquiring territories and mates than they would be with an adult plumage. I tested this prediction by dyeing the plumage of "floater" subadult males to mimic the appearance of adult males. In 13/17 paired experiments, dyed subadults obtained territories before control subadults. There was no difference in the time it took dyed and control males to attract a mate after they obtained a territory. These results suggest that the subadult plumage is not an advantage to young males in competing with adult males for breeding resources. In late winter, subadult males were growing mostly femalelike feathers on their underside, suggesting that the subadult plumage is not the result of a molt constraint. The subadult plumage could enhance survival of yearlings in winter roosts if it improves access to good roost sites or reduces the risk of predation.

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Extensive introgressive hybridization within the northern oriole group (Genus Icterus) revealed by three‐species isolation with migration analysis

Jacobsen

Omland

2012

Ecology and Evolution

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Until recently, studies of divergence and gene flow among closely-related taxa were generally limited to pairs of sister taxa. However, organisms frequently exchange genes with other non-sister taxa. The “northern oriole” group within genus Icterus exemplifies this problem. This group involves the extensively studied hybrid zone between Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula) and Bullock's oriole (I. bullockii), an alleged hybrid zone between I. bullockii and black-backed oriole (I. abeillei), and likely mtDNA introgression between I. galbula and I. abeillei. Here, we examine the divergence population genetics of the entire northern oriole group using a multipopulation Isolation-with-Migration (IM) model. In accordance with Haldane's rule, nuclear loci introgress extensively beyond the I. galbula–I. bullockii hybrid zone, while mtDNA does not. We found no evidence of introgression between I. bullockii and I. abeillei or between I. galbula and I. abeillei when all three species were analyzed together in a three-population model. However, traditional pairwise analysis suggested some nuclear introgression from I. abeillei into I. galbula, probably reflecting genetic contributions from I. bullockii unaccounted for in a two-population model. Thus, only by including all members of this group in the analysis was it possible to rigorously estimate the level of gene flow among these three closely related species.

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Adaptive Significance of Delayed Plumage Maturation in Male Northern Orioles

Cited by 50 publications

References 16 publications

Experimental evidence that bright coloration is not important for territory defense in purple martins

Experimental evidence that bright coloration is not important for territory defense in purple martins

The adaptive significance of male subadult plumage in purple martins: plumage dyeing experiments

Extensive introgressive hybridization within the northern oriole group (Genus Icterus) revealed by three‐species isolation with migration analysis

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