Eye for an eyespot: how iridescent plumage ocelli influence peacock mating success

Dakin, Roslyn; Montgomerie, Robert

doi:10.1093/beheco/art045

Cited by 63 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Sun location plays a key role in determining courtship rate and body orientation in male birds with iridescent coloration Montgomerie 2009, Sicsú et al 2013), which affects their reproductive success (Dakin and Montgomerie 2013). Observations of Swallow Tanager reproductive behavior suggest an important role of visual communication and the selection of lighting conditions by displaying individuals (Schaefer 1953).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The males of some species with iridescent plumage can increase the visibility of their displays by selecting specific viewing geometry and lighting conditions when conducting their sexual displays Montgomerie 2009, Sicsú et al 2013), which can greatly affect their mating success (Dakin and Montgomerie 2013). Evidence suggests that individual birds can increase or decrease their exposure to others by displaying under specific viewing conditions (Uy and Endler 2004, Dakin and Montgomerie 2009, 2013, Sicsú et al 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Widespread cryptic dichromatism and ultraviolet reflectance in the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds: Implications of accounting for avian vision in the study of plumage evolution

Burns

Shultz

2012

The Auk

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widespread cryptic dichromatism and ultraviolet reflectance in the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds: Implications of accounting for avian vision in the study of plumage evolution

Burns

Shultz

2012

The Auk

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“…Iridescence is a common and important component of avian courtship displays (Hill, 2006), and males of many species use dazzling displays of changing colours to impress or capture the attention of females (e.g. Parotia lawesii and Pavo cristatus; Stavenga et al, 2011a;Dakin and Montgomerie, 2013). Although not traditionally defined as a colour, white is a common and important component of animal coloration; it is produced by the diffuse and wavelength-independent scattering of light by disordered nanostructures (Dyck, 1979;Vukusic et al, 2007) and is involved in the perception of luminance or brightness of colour signals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manakins can produce iridescent and bright feather colours without melanosomes

Igic

D’Alba

Shawkey

2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Males of many species often use colourful and conspicuous ornaments to attract females. Among these, male manakins (family: Pipridae) provide classic examples of sexual selection favouring the evolution of bright and colourful plumage coloration. The highly iridescent feather colours of birds are most commonly produced by the periodic arrangement of melanin-containing organelles (melanosomes) within barbules. Melanin increases the saturation of iridescent colours seen from optimal viewing angles by absorbing back-scattered light; however, this may reduce the wide-angle brightness of these signals, contributing to a dark background appearance. We examined the nanostructure of four manakin species (Lepidothrix isidorei, L. iris, L. nattereri and L. coeruleocapilla) to identify how they produce their bright plumage colours. Feather barbs of all four species were characterized by dense and fibrous internal spongy matrices that likely increase scattering of light within the barb. The iridescent, yet pale or whitish colours of L. iris and L. nattereri feathers were produced not by periodically arranged melanosomes within barbules, but by periodic matrices of air and β-keratin within barbs. Lepidothrix iris crown feathers were able to produce a dazzling display of colours with small shifts in viewing geometry, likely because of a periodic nanostructure, a flattened barb morphology and disorder at a microstructural level. We hypothesize that iridescent plumage ornaments of male L. iris and L. nattereri are under selection to increase brightness or luminance across wide viewing angles, which may potentially increase their detectability by females during dynamic and fast-paced courtship displays in dim light environments.

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“…Indeed, many studies reported a link between iridescent coloration and various proxies of condition (McGraw et al 2002;Doucet and Montgomerie 2003;Hill et al 2005;Legagneux et al 2010;Meadows et al 2012). The few previous studies of sexual selection acting on iridescent coloration observed relationships with female preference (Bennett et al 1997), mating success (Loyau et al 2007;Savard et al 2011;Dakin and Montgomerie 2013), and reproductive success (Bitton et al 2007). Still, studies directly linking iridescent coloration and reproductive success remain scarce.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Iridescent coloration is unique because it is also composed of two angular properties, iridescence and directionality, owing to its structural origin. Iridescence, the color change with viewing angle under natural lightning conditions (Newton 1704;sensu Noh et al 2010), has been linked to mating success in the peacock (Pavo cristatus) (Dakin and Montgomerie 2013). Directionality, the change in brightness with movements of the animal in direct sunlight (Osorio and Ham 2002), has not been linked to fitness so far.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of iridescent coloration directionality on male tree swallows’ reproductive success at different breeding densities

Wijk

Bourret

Bélisle

et al. 2016

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Conspicuous coloration in males of numerous bird species has been related to sexual selection. However, iridescent coloration is a complex trait that has received little attention despite its potential importance as a signal of individual condition. Directionality, the change in brightness when the animal moves under direct sunlight, has never been linked to fitness although being an integral part of iridescent coloration. Using 214 male tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) from a 2-year study, we investigated how different components of iridescent coloration were related to four measures of fitness (number of extra-pair and within-pair young produced, proportion of within-pair young in the nest and annual reproductive success) across different breeding densities. In addition to classical components of coloration (hue, brightness, saturation), we used directionality-measured as an angular breadth of color reflection-to quantify the iridescent coloration of male crown and back. Our results showed that all components of iridescent coloration we studied were related to at least one of the four measures of fitness. A negative association was detected between directionality and the number of withinpair young produced, suggesting that this plumage characteristic could be a signal of paternal care. Crown and back coloration were associated to different fitness components, and density modulated the slope of some of these relationships. Altogether, our results showed that different selective pressures could act on the multiple components of iridescent coloration via both withinpair and extra-pair components of reproductive success. Also, environmental conditions like breeding density are important factors influencing sexual selection processes. Significance statementThe idea that colorful plumage in males is the result of sexual selection is widely recognized. However, evidence of sexual selection on iridescent plumage is scarce. In birds displaying iridescent plumage, the brightness change occurring when the bird moves, called directionality, is striking and could be informative for females when choosing a mate. Using 214 male tree swallows, we found that directionality was related to the number of young produced by a male. As nests were distributed in 40 different farms, a high variability of breeding densities occurred in the study system. Breeding density highly influenced the relationship between color components of iridescent plumage and the number of young produced by a male. This study emphasizes the importance to quantify the angular properties of iridescent plumage as well as to take into account breeding density when studying sexual selection. Communicated by E. Fernandez-JuricicElectronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

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Eye for an eyespot: how iridescent plumage ocelli influence peacock mating success

Cited by 63 publications

References 32 publications

Widespread cryptic dichromatism and ultraviolet reflectance in the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds: Implications of accounting for avian vision in the study of plumage evolution

Widespread cryptic dichromatism and ultraviolet reflectance in the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds: Implications of accounting for avian vision in the study of plumage evolution

Manakins can produce iridescent and bright feather colours without melanosomes

The influence of iridescent coloration directionality on male tree swallows’ reproductive success at different breeding densities

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