Global changes and animal phenotypic responses: melanin-based plumage redness of scops owls increased with temperature and rainfall during the last century

Galeotti, Paolo; Rubolini, Diego; Sacchi, Roberto; Fasola, Mauro

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0207

Cited by 55 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Variation in colour is caused by differential deposition of melanins, mainly pheomelanins, in the feathers (Gasparini et al ). Brown tawny owls have been associated with warm and moist climate and grey owls with dry and cool climate (Galeotti and Cesaris , Emaresi et al , see also Galeotti et al () for similar results in scops owl Otus scops ). In our population the brown colour morph has a lower survival than the grey morph (Brommer et al ) and the difference in survival between the two morphs is strongest in cold and snowy winters (Karell et al ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 83%

Is the denser contour feather structure in pale grey than in pheomelanic brown tawny owlsStrix alucoan adaptation to cold environments?

Koskenpato

Ahola²,

Karstinen

et al. 2015

Journal of Avian Biology

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In colour polymorphic species morphs are considered to be adaptations to different environments, where they have evolved and are maintained because of their differential sensitivity to the environment. In cold environments the plumage insulation capacity is essential for survival and it has been proposed that plumage colour is associated with feather structure and thereby the insulation capacity of the plumage. We studied the structure of contour feathers in the colour polymorphic tawny owl Strix aluco. A previous study of tawny owls in the same population has found strong selection against the brown morph in cold and snowy winters whereas this selection pressure is absent in mild winters. We predicted that grey morphs have a denser and more insulative plumage, enabling them to survive better in cold climate compared to brown ones. The insulative plumulaceous part of the dorsal contour feathers was larger and the fine structure of the plumulaceous part of the feather was denser in grey tawny owls than in brown ones. In the ventral contour feathers the plumulaceous part of the feather was denser in females than in males and in older birds without any differences between morphs. Our study suggests that insulative microscopical feather structures differ between colour morphs and we propose that feather structure may be a trait associated with morph‐specific survival in cold environments.

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mentioning

confidence: 83%

Is the denser contour feather structure in pale grey than in pheomelanic brown tawny owlsStrix alucoan adaptation to cold environments?

Koskenpato

Ahola²,

Karstinen

et al. 2015

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…(1) Different color patterns may be adaptive under different environmental conditions by providing behavioral or physiological advantages (Galeotti and Cesaris 1996, Galeotti and Rubolini 2004, Galeotti et al 2009). In the Common Guillemot genes for bridling may have a pleiotropic effect, such that color dimorphism may be associated with another property that is the real target of selection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Galeotti et al (2009) also suggested that the equilibrium between gene frequencies could vary under different conditions and habitats, if the lifetime fitness of different morphs differed between habitats, and that this equilibrium could be disrupted by climate change through direct and indirect effects on fitness. Thus any differences between morphs in their responses to climatic change and any differences in morph frequencies over time may indicate natural selection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate fluctuations and differential survival of bridled and non‐bridled Common GuillemotsUria aalge

Reiertsen¹,

Erikstad

Barrett³

et al. 2012

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Climate fluctuations and its effects on ecological processes are evident in most areas worldwide but whether such climatic effects are induced phenotypic plasticity or whether animals adapt to the new environment through micro-evolutionary processes is poorly known. In this study we have analyzed long-term data (22 years) on the relationship between climatic fluctuations and the adult survival of two distinct genetic morphs of the Common Guillemot (Uria aalge) breeding in a colony in the southern Barents Sea. In the North Atlantic, the Common Guillemot is a genetic color dimorphic species, with a nonbridled morph, with an entirely black or dark brown head, and a bridled morph having a white eye ring and auricular groove sloping back from the eye. Our results show that the two morphs responded differently to variation in the Barents Sea winter sea-surface temperature (SST). The survival rate of the bridled morph was negatively correlated to the winter SST in the Barents Sea, while that of the non-bridled morph was slightly positively correlated to the same parameter. Over the whole study period, SSTs fluctuated between warm and cold winters and the overall mean survival rates of the two morphs remained similar (96.2% and 95.9% for the bridled and non-bridled morph, respectively). This suggests a balanced selection and a stable dimorphism of the two morphs over this time period. The contrasting trends in the survival of the two morphs with respect to temperature suggest that further warming of the sea may induce directional changes and alter the frequency of the two morphs.

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“…In two species of owl, Eurasian Scops-Owl (Otus scops) and Tawny Owl, the dark reddish morph increased in frequency during the last century in Europe, apparently as a consequence of climate warming (Galeotti et al 2009, Karell et al 2011). These observations suggest that less melanistic individuals survive better in cold FIGURE 1.…”

Section: Climate and Melanin-based Plumage Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gloger's rule in North American Barn Owls

Roulin

Randin

2015

The Auk

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Global changes and animal phenotypic responses: melanin-based plumage redness of scops owls increased with temperature and rainfall during the last century

Cited by 55 publications

References 18 publications

Is the denser contour feather structure in pale grey than in pheomelanic brown tawny owlsStrix alucoan adaptation to cold environments?

Is the denser contour feather structure in pale grey than in pheomelanic brown tawny owlsStrix alucoan adaptation to cold environments?

Climate fluctuations and differential survival of bridled and non‐bridled Common GuillemotsUria aalge

Gloger's rule in North American Barn Owls

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