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

Beck, Michelle L.; Hawley, Dana M.

doi:10.1242/jeb.123794

Cited by 17 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…Previous studies showed that bluer plumage ornaments are condition-dependent in juveniles (Johnsen et al, 2003;Jacot & Kempenaers, 2007;Peters et al, 2007 in blue tits, Siefferman, Shawkey, Bowman, & Woolfenden, 2008;Siefferman & Hill, 2007 in other species) and in adults (Beck, Hopkins, & Hawley, 2015;Doutrelant, Grégoire, Midamegbe, Lambrechts, & Perret, 2012;Galván, 2011), which contrasts with the negative genetic association that we found between hue, UV chroma and performance traits.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Tail colour signals performance in blue tit nestlings

Class

Kluen

Brommer

2019

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Indirect sexual selection arises when reproductive individuals choose their mates based on heritable ornaments that are genetically correlated to fitness. Evidence for genetic associations between ornamental colouration and fitness remains scarce. In this study, we investigate the quantitative genetic relationship between different aspects of tail structural colouration (brightness, hue and UV chroma) and performance (cell‐mediated immunity, body mass and wing length) in blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings. In line with previous studies, we find low heritability for structural colouration and moderate heritability for performance measures. Multivariate animal models show positive genetic correlations between the three measures of performance, indicating quantitative genetic variation for overall performance, and tail brightness and UV chroma, two genetically independent colour measures, are genetically correlated with performance (positively and negatively, respectively). Our results suggest that mate choice based on independent aspects of tail colouration can have fitness payoffs in blue tits and provide support for the indirect benefits hypothesis. However, low heritability of tail structural colouration implies that indirect sexual selection on mate choice for this ornament will be a weak evolutionary force.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Tail colour signals performance in blue tit nestlings

Class

Kluen

Brommer

2019

J of Evolutionary Biology

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“…By waiting to escalate, these females may avoid energetically costly aggressive interactions and reduce their risk of injury. Female tree swallows that are more aggressive or have experimentally elevated testosterone produce lower quality offspring (Rosvall 2008(Rosvall , 2013 and we previously found brighter white females have young with a stronger innate immune response (Beck et al 2015a). It is possible that there is a trade-off between aggression and investment in offspring or self-maintenance that is related to white brightness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…It is possible that male tree swallows adjust their nest box defense in response to the ornamentation of their mates. Females with brighter white breasts have offspring with stronger bactericidal capacity which suggests that these females are of higher quality or invest more in reproduction, making them potentially valuable mates (Beck et al 2015a). Males paired to brighter white females could be more likely to defend the nest box against an intruding female and greater nest defense by the male could lead brighter white females to respond less strongly to an intruding female.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Male tree swallows paired with females with greener and more saturated dorsal plumage provision offspring at a higher rate than those paired to females with bluer dorsal plumage (Dakin et al 2016). Female breast brightness is positively associated with plasma bactericidal capacity (a measure of the innate immune response) of females and their offspring (Beck et al 2015a). However, ASY females with more colorful dorsal plumage produced smaller swellings in response to PHA injection, suggesting they have weaker immune responses (Bentz and Siefferman 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The relationship between plumage coloration and aggression in female tree swallows

Beck

Hopkins

2019

Journal of Avian Biology

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Intrasexual competition is an important selective force that can favor the evolution of honest signals of fighting ability. Research has focused predominantly on male birds, but many female birds also possess plumage ornaments that could mediate the outcome of competitive interactions. We examined the relationship between blue and white structural coloration and aggression in female tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor. Tree swallows are secondary cavity nesters and females show delayed plumage maturation which may be related to intense competition for nest sites. We compared plumage reflectance of second‐year (SY) and after‐second year (ASY) females, and within‐individual changes in plumage reflectance of ASY females in two successive years. We assessed aggression by placing a caged SY female 2 m from the nest box of an ASY female and quantified the ASY female's response in relation to her own plumage coloration. We found substantial differences in plumage reflectance of SY and ASY females, but found that ASY females became greener with duller white coloration in the second year. This may be due to poor weather that made reproduction particularly costly in the first year of the study and suggests coloration is influenced by condition. We found no relationship between dorsal coloration and aggressiveness. Rather, brighter white females spent more time on their nest box and within 2 m of the intruder than females with dull breasts. Our findings suggest that brighter white ASY females may perceive a SY female as less of a threat or that there may be a trade‐off associated with aggression and parental care that is related to white brightness.

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“…While second-year (SY) females possess dull grey plumage, males and ASY 96 females bear iridescent upperparts which range in colour from green to blue among individuals 97 (Hussell, 1983a). Delayed plumage maturation has been demonstrated to reduce conspecific 98 aggression towards SY females during territorial intrusions, an adaptive trait in a species for 99 which nest site competition is very high (Coady and Dawson, 2013 (Beck et al, 2015) compared to greener males. In females, bluer feathers are associated with 106 older females and greater fledging success , and plumage brightness is 107 positively correlated with total clutch egg mass .…”

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Baseline corticosterone does not reflect iridescent plumage traits in female tree swallows

Sarpong

Madliger

Harris

et al. 2018

Preprint

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1The production of high quality secondary sexual traits can be constrained by trade-offs in the 2 allocation of energy and nutrients with other metabolic activities, and is mediated by 3 physiological processes. In birds, the factors influencing male plumage quality have been well 4 studied; however, factors affecting female plumage quality are poorly understood. Furthermore, 5 it remains uncertain which physiological traits mediate the relationship between body condition 6 and ornaments. In this three-year study of after-second-year female tree swallows (Tachycineta 7 bicolor), we investigated (1) the relationship between baseline corticosterone near the end of 8 the brood-rearing period (CORTBR) and feather colour characteristics (hue, saturation, 9 brightness) the following year, and (2) the relationship between baseline corticosterone 10 measured during incubation (CORTI) and brood rearing (CORTBR), and feather colour in the same 11 year. To control for reproductive effort, we included reproductive parameters as covariates in all 12 analyses. In this first study between CORT and the plumage colour characteristics of a species 13 bearing iridescent feathers, we did not find any relationship between CORTBR and the colour of 14 subsequently-produced feathers, nor did we find any relationship between CORTI and the colour 15 of feathers displayed during that breeding season. If CORT levels at the end of breeding carry 16 over to influence the immediately subsequent moult period as we expect, our results generally 17 indicate that structural plumage quality may not be as sensitive to circulating CORT levels 18 compared to carotenoid-based colouration. Future studies, particularly those employing 19 experimental manipulations of CORT during moult in species with iridescent traits, are necessary 20 to fully determine the role glucocorticoids play in mediating the quality of secondary sexual 21 characteristics.The condition-dependence of plumage quality arises because of trade-offs in the 43 allocation of energy and nutrients between the production of feathers and other costly 44 metabolic and physiological maintenance activities. Exactly how these trade-offs are controlled

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

Cited by 17 publications

References 82 publications

Tail colour signals performance in blue tit nestlings

Tail colour signals performance in blue tit nestlings

The relationship between plumage coloration and aggression in female tree swallows

Baseline corticosterone does not reflect iridescent plumage traits in female tree swallows

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