Repeatability of a dynamic sexual trait: Skin color variation in the Brown Booby (<i>Sula leucogaster</i>)

Montoya, Bibiana; Flores, César Casiano; Torres, Roxana

doi:10.1642/auk-17-150.1

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In 2016, we obtained two colour measures, once upon initial capture and again upon GPS retrieval. As expected [8], these two measures were highly correlated (R 2 ¼ 0.77, p ¼ 0.0017, d.f. ¼ 8) and were therefore averaged for each individual.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 78%

“…Carotenoids are generally produced at higher concentrations in phytoplankton, relative to the concentrations observed in benthic algae [11]. For example, marine phytoplankton such as Dunaliella, a widespread and well-studied genus, contain high concentrations of the pigments found in brown booby ornamentation, including 13-cis beta-carotene, lutein and g-carotene [8,12]. Therefore, while brown boobies are known to feed on both pelagic and benthic fish and squid, pelagic prey such as Pacific sardine and flying fish may yield increased dietary carotenoids [13].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To investigate the potential link between foraging behaviour and ornament quality, we examined a coastal population of brown boobies (Sula leucogaster brewsteri), a seabird with a carotenoid-based gular skin ornament advertised during courtship [8]. A previous study showed that females gain direct benefits such as increased chick growth by mating with males that have greener, more carotenoid-rich skin, rather than with presumably lower quality blue-skinned males [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A previous study showed that females gain direct benefits such as increased chick growth by mating with males that have greener, more carotenoid-rich skin, rather than with presumably lower quality blue-skinned males [6]. Notably, the major carotenoids in male brown booby gular skin (lutein, zeaxanthin and 13-cis beta-carotene) [8] are derived directly from diet, with little metabolic transformation [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Carotenoid-based skin ornaments reflect foraging propensity in a seabird,Sula leucogaster

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Carotenoid-based ornaments are common signalling features in animals. It has long been proposed that such ornaments communicate information about foraging abilities to potential mates. However, evidence linking foraging with ornamentation is largely missing from unmanipulated, free-ranging populations. To investigate this relationship, we studied a coastal population of brown booby ( Sula leucogaster brewsteri ), a seabird with a carotenoid-based gular skin ornament. δ 13 C values from both feathers and blood plasma were negatively correlated with male gular colour, indicating birds that consumed more pelagic prey in offshore locations had more ornamented skin than those that fed on nearshore, benthic prey. This relationship was supported by our GPS tracking results, which revealed longer, more offshore foraging trips among highly ornamented males. Our data show that brown booby ornaments are honest indicators of foraging propensity; a link consistent with the rarity hypothesis and potentially driven by the concentration of carotenoids found in phytoplankton versus benthic algae. Carotenoid-based ornaments may reflect foraging tendencies in animals such as coastal predators that use food webs with distinct carotenoid profiles.

show abstract

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Carotenoid-based skin ornaments reflect foraging propensity in a seabird,Sula leucogaster

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Males may thus express no preference for such traits (three spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus: Wright et al, 2015) or preference may be merely explained by sensory exploitation rather than sexual selection (sockeye salmons, Oncorhynchus nerka: Foote et al, 2004). However, there is some evidence that males can show preferences toward non-sex-specific colourful ornaments that reflect female reproductive state (rhesus macaque, Macaca mulatta: Dubuc et al, 2009;Higham et al, 2010Higham et al, , 2011agamid lizards, Ctenophorus ornatus: LeBas & Marshall, 2000) or reproductive success (blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus: Doutrelant et al, 2008Doutrelant et al, , 2012Mahr et al, 2012;rhesus macaques: Dubuc, Winters, et al, 2014;rock sparrows, Petroni petronia: Pilastro et al, 2003;Griggio et al, 2009Griggio et al, , 2005; brown boobies, Sula leucogaster: Montoya et al, 2018; blue-footed boobies, Sula nebouxii: Torres & Velando, 2005). Therefore, in these species, female colourful ornaments can have a crucial impact on the mating strategies and reproductive success of both males and females.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does male mate choice select for female colouration in a promiscuous primate species?

Rigaill

Garcia

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The traditional view of sex roles and sexual selection emphasises the evolution of male ornaments as a result of female mate choice and male-male competition. Female ornaments are now receiving more attention, although their roles in mating decision are still less well understood, especially considering cases in which colourful ornaments are expressed by both sexes. In this study, we analysed whether female skin colouration (luminance and redness of the face and hindquarters) influenced male mate choice and sexual behaviours in relation to intra-cycle (cycle phase), inter-cycle (number of consecutive cycles, conceptive nature of the cycle), and inter-individual (age, social rank, weight, and parity) variation in a captive population of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Males did not preferentially choose darker/redder females. Moreover, males did not appear to use female skin colouration to apportion their mating efforts on the most fertile period of the menstrual cycle or during cycles that lead to conception, or to discriminate between females. To our knowledge, our study is among the few to report a lack of male choice for female colouration in a species where both sexes potentially display ornamentation. While female colouration appeared to contain information about intra-cycle, inter-cycle, and inter-individual variation in fecundity, this study further demonstrates that this trait may not have been sexually selected and that males mated regardless of such variation across females. This study adds to the growing research on the role and evolution of female colouration in the context of sexual signalling and mate attraction.

show abstract

Carotenoid skin ornaments as flexible indicators of male foraging behavior in a marine predator: Variation among Mexican colonies of brown booby (Sula leucogaster)

Michael,

Torres,

Welch

et al. 2024

Mar Biol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Carotenoid-dependent ornaments can reflect animals’ diet and foraging behaviors. However, this association should be spatially flexible and variable among populations to account for geographic variation in optimal foraging behaviors. We tested this hypothesis using populations of a marine predator (the brown booby, Sula leucogaster) that forage across a gradient in ocean depth in and near the Gulf of California. Specifically, we quantified green chroma for two skin traits (foot and gular color) and their relationship to foraging location and diet of males, as measured via global positioning system tracking and stable carbon isotope analysis of blood plasma. Our three focal colonies varied in which foraging attributes were linked to carotenoid-rich ornaments. For gular skin, our data showed a shift from a benthic prey-green skin association in the shallow waters in the north to a pelagic prey-green skin association in the deepest waters to the south. Mean foraging trip duration and distance of foraging site from coast also predicted skin coloration in some colonies. Finally, brown booby colonies varied in which trait (foot versus gular skin color) was associated with foraging metrics. Overall, our results indicate that male ornaments reflect quality of diet and foraging–information that may help females select mates who are adapted to local foraging conditions and therefore, are likely to provide better parental care. More broadly, our results stress that diet-dependent ornaments are closely linked to animals’ environments and that we cannot assume ornaments or ornament signal content are ubiquitous within species, even when ornaments appear similar among populations.

show abstract

Repeatability of a dynamic sexual trait: Skin color variation in the Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster)

Cited by 10 publications

References 59 publications

Carotenoid-based skin ornaments reflect foraging propensity in a seabird,Sula leucogaster

Carotenoid-based skin ornaments reflect foraging propensity in a seabird,Sula leucogaster

Does male mate choice select for female colouration in a promiscuous primate species?

Carotenoid skin ornaments as flexible indicators of male foraging behavior in a marine predator: Variation among Mexican colonies of brown booby (Sula leucogaster)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About