Plasma Antioxidant Capacity and Oxidative Damage in Relation to Male Plumage Ornamental Traits in a Montane Iberian Pied Flycatcher<i>Ficedula hypoleuca</i>Population

Moreno, Juan; Velando, Alberto; Ruiz-de-Castañeda, Rafael; Cantarero, Alejandro; González‐Braojos, Sonia; Redondo, Alberto J.

doi:10.3161/000164511x589929

Cited by 24 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Thus, a second possibility is that bluer males balance the trade-off between immunity and oxidative stress differently from greener males when provided with supplemental selenium. In collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) and pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca), larger white plumage patches in males are associated with greater antioxidant capacity and lower oxidative stress than in males with smaller patches (Marko et al, 2011;Moreno et al, 2011). This suggests that structural plumage coloration can be associated with measures of oxidative stress and/or antioxidant capacity, though this remains to be addressed in tree swallows.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships among plumage coloration, blood selenium concentrations, and immune responses of adult and nestling tree swallows

Beck

Hawley

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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In a number of taxa, males and females both display ornaments that may be associated with individual quality and could be reliable signals to potential mates or rivals. We examined the iridescent blue/green back and white breast of adult tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) to determine whether plumage reflectance is related to adult or offspring immune responses. We simultaneously addressed the influence of blood selenium levels and the interaction between blood selenium and plumage coloration on adult and nestling immunity. Selenium is a wellknown antioxidant necessary for mounting a robust immune response but its importance in wild birds remains poorly understood. In females, the brightness of white breast coloration was positively associated with bactericidal capacity, but there was no association with blood selenium. In contrast, male bactericidal capacity was associated with an interactive effect between dorsal plumage coloration and blood selenium concentration. Males with bluer hues and greater blue chroma showed increased bactericidal capacity as blood selenium concentrations increased, while bactericidal capacity declined in greener males at higher blood selenium concentrations. In nestlings, bactericidal capacity was positively associated with nestling blood selenium concentrations and white brightness of both social parents. These results suggest that white plumage reflectance is indicative of quality in tree swallows and that greater attention should be paid to the reflectance of large white plumage patches. Additionally, the role of micronutrients, such as selenium, in mediating relationships between physiology and signals of quality, should be explored further.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships among plumage coloration, blood selenium concentrations, and immune responses of adult and nestling tree swallows

Beck

Hawley

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Moreno et al. () showed that forehead patch size is positively related to antioxidant capacity: males with a large forehead patch can cope better with oxidative stress than males with a small forehead patch. Osorno et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forehead Patch Size Predicts the Outcome of Male–Male Competition in the Pied Flycatcher

2013

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Males of many animal species express ornaments that affect their reproduction opportunities through male–male competition or female mate choice. Such ornaments can, for example, inform conspecifics about the fighting ability, condition or territory ownership of the bearer. Pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) males have a conspicuous white forehead patch that varies greatly in size. We examined whether the white forehead patch is an intrasexually selected trait in a Finnish population. We artificially manipulated forehead patch size to represent two naturally occurring extremes and competed males against each other in the presence of a female. Males with a large forehead patch were more aggressive than males with a small patch, whereas the original patch size of the male had no influence on aggression. Neither manipulated nor original patch size influenced resource dominance (over female or nest box). These results indicate that forehead patch signals fighting ability of the bearer in the pied flycatcher. The next step is to find out what kind of costs may maintain the honesty of this signal.

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“…; Moreno et al. ). A small sample of blood from the brachial vein (10–20 μl) was collected into Eppendorf tubes with absolute ethanol to conduct paternity analyses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Extra-Pair Paternity Declines with Female Age and Wing Length in the Pied Flycatcher

et al. 2015

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Despite many studies of how male characteristics affect paternity in predominantly monogamous birds, relatively little attention has been given to the traits of females that may influence extra‐pair paternity (EPP). However, the occurrence of EPP may be the result of behavioural interactions in which both male and female traits are important for determining the outcome. If EPP is driven mainly by female choice of extra‐pair sires, older, more experienced or larger females would be better able to evade mate guarding tactics and more capable of selecting extra‐pair mates and resisting unwanted suitors. This would be especially noticeable in females paired with unattractive mates. On the other hand, if EPP is driven mainly by male pursuit, we should expect that young, inexperienced or small females would be more exposed to coercive male approaches independently of social mate traits. In a study of an Iberian population of the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca, we found that EPP affected 38% of the broods and 17% of the nestlings. These values are relatively high, allowing a relatively large number of affected within‐pair mates to be included. We found that EPP is related to both female and male traits although not to any interaction between male and female traits. EPP was higher at nests tended by both younger and short‐winged females and by browner males. Older females may be more experienced and dominant while long‐winged females may be faster fliers, these traits enabling them to avoid extra‐pair copulations, while brown males are less aggressive towards male intruders. In our study population, EPP appears to be caused by male pursuit, which in some cases may overwhelm female attempts to avoid extra‐pair copulations and their social partner's ability to prevent them.

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Plasma Antioxidant Capacity and Oxidative Damage in Relation to Male Plumage Ornamental Traits in a Montane Iberian Pied FlycatcherFicedula hypoleucaPopulation

Cited by 24 publications

References 45 publications

Relationships among plumage coloration, blood selenium concentrations, and immune responses of adult and nestling tree swallows

Relationships among plumage coloration, blood selenium concentrations, and immune responses of adult and nestling tree swallows

Forehead Patch Size Predicts the Outcome of Male–Male Competition in the Pied Flycatcher

Extra-Pair Paternity Declines with Female Age and Wing Length in the Pied Flycatcher

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