Female–female aggressiveness is influenced by female coloration in blue tits

Midamegbe, Afiwa; Grégoire, Arnaud; Perret, Philippe; Doutrelant, Claire

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.04.020

Cited by 59 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…; Midamegbe et al. ), and as the deciduous forest of D‐Muro offers a richer breeding habitat than the evergreen forests of E‐Muro and E‐Pirio, birds in D‐Muro might display more UV because they are socially dominant over the birds breeding in evergreen patches (Braillet et al. ).…”

Section: Phenotypic Divergence Across Blue Tit Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mediterranean blue tits as a case study of local adaptation

Charmantier

Doutrelant

Dubuc‐Messier

et al. 2015

Evolutionary Applications

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127

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While the study of the origins of biological diversity across species has provided numerous examples of adaptive divergence, the realization that it can occur at microgeographic scales despite gene flow is recent, and scarcely illustrated. We review here evidence suggesting that the striking phenotypic differentiation in ecologically relevant traits exhibited by blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus in their southern range‐edge putatively reflects adaptation to the heterogeneity of the Mediterranean habitats. We first summarize the phenotypic divergence for a series of life history, morphological, behavioural, acoustic and colour ornament traits in blue tit populations of evergreen and deciduous forests. For each divergent trait, we review the evidence obtained from common garden experiments regarding a possible genetic origin of the observed phenotypic differentiation as well as evidence for heterogeneous selection. Second, we argue that most phenotypically differentiated traits display heritable variation, a fundamental requirement for evolution to occur. Third, we discuss nonrandom dispersal, selective barriers and assortative mating as processes that could reinforce local adaptation. Finally, we show how population genomics supports isolation – by – environment across landscapes. Overall, the combination of approaches converges to the conclusion that the strong phenotypic differentiation observed in Mediterranean blue tits is a fascinating case of local adaptation.

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Section: Phenotypic Divergence Across Blue Tit Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mediterranean blue tits as a case study of local adaptation

Charmantier

Doutrelant

Dubuc‐Messier

et al. 2015

Evolutionary Applications

Self Cite

127

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show abstract

“…Most interest to date has focused on female visual signals and ornamentation [40,55,56,64,[162][163][164][165]. However, odour and vocal signals are likely to play a significant role in the competitive interactions of females in many species but remain relatively neglected by comparison [90,166 -168].…”

Section: Directions For Future Research: Broadening Horizons In the Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Female competition and aggression: interdisciplinary perspectives

Stockley

Campbell

2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

166

119

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This paper introduces a Theme Issue combining interdisciplinary perspectives in the study of female competition and aggression. Despite a history of being largely overlooked, evidence is now accumulating for the widespread evolutionary significance of female competition. Here, we provide a synthesis of contributions to this Theme Issue on humans and other vertebrates, and highlight directions for future research. Females compete for resources needed to survive and reproduce, and for preferred mates. Although female aggression takes diverse forms, under most circumstances relatively low-risk competitive strategies are favoured, most probably due to constraints of offspring production and care. In social species, dominance relationships and threats of punishment can resolve social conflict without resort to direct aggression, and coalitions or alliances may reduce risk of retaliation. Consistent with these trends, indirect aggression is a low cost but effective form of competition among young women. Costs are also minimized by flexibility in expression of competitive traits, with aggressive behaviour and competitive signalling tailored to social and ecological conditions. Future research on female competition and the proximate mediators of female aggression will be greatly enhanced by opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange, as evidenced by contributions to this Theme Issue.

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“…, Midamegbe et al. ), and color may act as a signal of status and dominance when competing with other individuals (usually females) for limited resources; thus, this too could lead to selection for increased ornamentation (social selection; West‐Eberhard , Johnson , Jones and Hunter , LeBas , Rosvall ). In either case, the highest‐quality females are predicted to be the most colorful and be preferred as mates.…”

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confidence: 99%

Reproductive correlates of plumage coloration of female Mountain Bluebirds

2014

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Many studies have shown that the plumage coloration of male birds can act as an honest signal of quality, indicating benefits that a female could gain from pairing with a specific male. In some species, females also display ornamental plumage, but less is known about the function and potential adaptive significance of female coloration because most research has focused on male coloration. Male Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) display full body, ultraviolet (UV)‐blue plumage, whereas female plumage is more subdued, with blue color focused on the rump, wing, and tail. During the 2011 and 2012 breeding seasons (May–July) near Kamloops, BC, Canada, we examined coloration of the rump and tail of female Mountain Bluebirds to determine if their plumage could act as an indicator of direct reproductive benefits (e.g., enhanced parental care or reproductive success) to potential mates. We found no relationship between female plumage coloration and either provisioning rate or fledging success. However, female coloration varied with age, with after‐second‐year (ASY) females having brighter, more UV‐blue tail feathers than second‐year (SY) females. In addition, ASY females with brighter, more UV‐blue tails had larger clutches. We also observed positive assortative mating by tarsus length. Because previous work with other species suggests that female body size may be a good predictor of breeding success, males could potentially benefit from pairing with larger females. However, reproductive success did not vary with female size in our study. Although our evidence that structural plumage coloration of female Mountain Bluebirds is a signal of direct reproductive benefits for males (e.g., higher reproductive success) is limited, our results (i.e., ASY females with brighter tails than SY females, and ASY females with brighter tails having larger clutches) do suggest the potential for sexual selection to act on female coloration.

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Female–female aggressiveness is influenced by female coloration in blue tits

Cited by 59 publications

References 92 publications

Mediterranean blue tits as a case study of local adaptation

Mediterranean blue tits as a case study of local adaptation

Female competition and aggression: interdisciplinary perspectives

Reproductive correlates of plumage coloration of female Mountain Bluebirds

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