Skin carotenoid concentration correlates with male hunting skill and territory quality in the kestrel <i>Falco tinnunculus</i>

Casagrande, Stefania; Csermely, Davide; Pini, Elena; Bertacche, Vittorio; Tagliavini, James

doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2006.03515.x

Cited by 65 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…The common kestrel exhibits great inter-sexual and individual variations in melanin-based plumage coloration. Gray, black and brown feathers are melanin-based colorations (Fargallo et al, 2007a) and reddish-brown back feathers do not contain carotenoids (Casagrande et al, 2006).…”

Section: Study Species and Field Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multivariate heredity of melanin-based coloration, body mass and immunity

Vergara

et al. 2013

Heredity

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The genetic covariation among different traits may cause the appearance of correlated response to selection on multivariate phenotypes. Genes responsible for the expression of melanin-based color traits are also involved in other important physiological functions such as immunity and metabolism by pleiotropy, suggesting the possibility of multivariate evolution. However, little is known about the relationship between melanin coloration and these functions at the additive genetic level in wild vertebrates. From a multivariate perspective, we simultaneously explored inheritance and selection of melanin coloration, body mass and phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-mediated immune response by using long-term data over an 18-year period collected in a wild population of the common kestrel Falco tinnunculus. Pedigree-based quantitative genetic analyses showed negative genetic covariance between melanin-based coloration and body mass in male adults and positive genetic covariance between body mass and PHA-mediated immune response in fledglings as predicted by pleiotropic effects of melanocortin receptor activity. Multiple selection analyses showed an increased fitness in male adults with intermediate phenotypic values for melanin color and body mass. In male fledglings, there was evidence for a disruptive selection on rump gray color, but a stabilizing selection on PHA-mediated immune response. Our results provide an insight into the evolution of multivariate traits genetically related with melanin-based coloration. The differences in multivariate inheritance and selection between male and female kestrels might have resulted in sexual dimorphism in size and color. When pleiotropic effects are present, coloration can evolve through a complex pathway involving correlated response to selection on multivariate traits.

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Section: Study Species and Field Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multivariate heredity of melanin-based coloration, body mass and immunity

Vergara

et al. 2013

Heredity

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“…To avoid degradation and photo-oxidation of carotenoids, the safflower oil solution was stored cold and in the dark. The dose was selected on the basis of the available information about the xanthophyll content of the species preyed on by kestrels (Czeczuga, 1978;Czeczuga, 1979;Goodwin, 1984;Casagrande et al, 2006) and of our previous supplementation studies to wild nestling (Casagrande et al, 2007) or captive adult (Costantini et al, in press) kestrels.…”

Section: Field Study and Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carotenoid availability does not limit the capability of nestling kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) to cope with oxidative stress

Costantini

Fanfani

Dell’Omo³

2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

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There was no effect on ROMs, OXY or the level of oxidative stress (ratio between ROMs and OXY), however, or on body mass or body condition of nestlings. ROMs and OXY decreased with age, but this pattern varied across the nests. Our results show that (i) in general, younger nestlings actually have to cope with a high free radical production, and (ii) the ability of wild nestling kestrels to cope with oxidative stress is not affected by carotenoid availability.

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“…In that case, again only good foragers (those whose energetic demands are fulfilled) will be able to forage for carotenoid-rich (but energetically poor) food items, thus maintaining the condition-ornament expression link in a similar way. However, despite the widely held view that carotenoids may signal condition, few studies relating foraging success or efficiency and carotenoid-based ornaments in birds have been published (e.g., Hill and Montgomerie 1994;Hill 2000;Casagrande et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carotenoid-based bill and eye ring coloration as honest signals of condition: an experimental test in the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa)

Pérez‐Rodríguez

Viñuela

2008

Naturwissenschaften

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Carotenoid pigments cannot be synthesized by vertebrates but must be ingested through the diet. As they seem to be a limited resource, carotenoid-based ornaments are particularly interesting as possible honest signals of individual quality, in particular of foraging efficiency and nutritional status. Some studies have demonstrated the condition dependence of carotenoid-based plumage in birds. However, many other carotenoid-pigmented bare parts (i.e. skin, caruncles, bills, cere, and tarsi) are present in birds but, in comparison with plumage, little is known about these traits as indicators of individual quality. Here, we show that the eye ring pigmentation and bill redness of the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) are positively associated to body condition and recent changes in body mass. Also, we found a negative relationship between these two traits and heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, an indicator of physiological stress (the relationship with bill redness being significant only for males). In an experiment, we found that after a period of reduction in food intake (with the consequent loss of body mass), food-restricted birds showed lower eye ring pigmentation than ad-libitum-fed birds. Therefore, different ornaments seem to reflect changes in body condition but at different speeds or intensities (eye ring, a fleshy ornament, appears to respond more rapidly to changes in the nutritional status than a keratinized structure as the bill). These results indicate that carotenoid-based ornaments are condition-dependent traits in the red-legged partridge, being therefore susceptible to be employed as honest signals of quality in sexual selection.

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Skin carotenoid concentration correlates with male hunting skill and territory quality in the kestrel Falco tinnunculus

Cited by 65 publications

References 43 publications

Multivariate heredity of melanin-based coloration, body mass and immunity

Multivariate heredity of melanin-based coloration, body mass and immunity

Carotenoid availability does not limit the capability of nestling kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) to cope with oxidative stress

Carotenoid-based bill and eye ring coloration as honest signals of condition: an experimental test in the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa)

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