The signaling function of plumage characteristics in female tree swallows and implications for reproductive success and life-history decisions.

Coady, Chelsea D.

doi:10.24124/2011/bpgub759

Cited by 2 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 113 publications

(232 reference statements)

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“…As such, social costs should be considered in future studies examining trade-offs between ornamentation and fecundity (Fitzpatrick et al, 1995) because, as my results show, social costs of possessing ornamental traits may also lower female reproductive success. Whether such costs translate into lower offspring quality remains to be tested, but correlative studies in tree swallows suggest that females that are more ornamented, and presumably of higher quality Bentz and Siefferman, 2013), produce offspring of lower quality (Coady, 2011;Bentz and Siefferman, 2013). Moreover, interactions with conspecifics may increase social instability resulting in elevated levels of the stress hormone corticosterone (Haller et al, 1999), which may also explain why more ornamented female tree swallows have greater levels of nest parasitism, poorer immune defences, and lower hematocrit levels (Coady, 2011;Bentz and Siefferman, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whether such costs translate into lower offspring quality remains to be tested, but correlative studies in tree swallows suggest that females that are more ornamented, and presumably of higher quality Bentz and Siefferman, 2013), produce offspring of lower quality (Coady, 2011;Bentz and Siefferman, 2013). Moreover, interactions with conspecifics may increase social instability resulting in elevated levels of the stress hormone corticosterone (Haller et al, 1999), which may also explain why more ornamented female tree swallows have greater levels of nest parasitism, poorer immune defences, and lower hematocrit levels (Coady, 2011;Bentz and Siefferman, 2013). This is supported by a recent study in pied flycatchers that reported higher levels of blood malondialdehydes, indicative of oxidative damage, in non-ornamented females manipulated to display a forehead patch compared to control females (Moreno et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Chapter 3, I tested whether the plumage brightness treatment influenced a female's ability to retain her nest box, which would suggest a role for the plumage brightness of females to function in agonistic interactions. Although female tree swallows displaying bright plumage benefit by gaining high-quality males with bright plumage as mates , previous studies have shown that more ornamented females have greater levels of nest parasitism, poorer immune defences, and lower hematocrit levels, and they also produce low-quality offspring (Coady, 2011;Bentz and Siefferman, 2013). This may be mediated by agonistic interactions with conspecific females, and suggest that ornamented females experience social costs as a result of the mechanisms enforcing signal honesty, such as physiological changes (Moreno et al, 2013), lower reproductive success (Kotiaho, 2001), or reduced parental care (Qvarnström, 1997).…”

Section: Female Ornamentation As a Signal Assessed By Conspecificsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although plumage colour of ASY females appears to reflect aspects of quality, those females that are more ornamented have been shown to have greater levels of nest parasitism, poorer immune defences, and lower hematocrit levels, and they also produce nestlings that are smaller or in poorer condition (Coady, 2011;Bentz and Siefferman, 2013). In males, those with brighter plumage sire a greater number of extra-pair offspring, and as a result have greater reproductive success than duller males, suggesting that bright plumage enhances male extra-pair mating success (Bitton et al, 2007;Whittingham and Dunn, 2016).…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since male tree swallows do not alter their investment in parental care or mating strategies in relation to experimentally altered plumage brightness of females (Berzins and Dawson, 2016;Chapter 4), it is unlikely that bright plumage is a signal of attractiveness that is preferred by males and assortative mating likely results from bright females having greater competitive ability. Previous studies in tree swallows also have shown that more ornamented females have greater levels of nest parasitism, poorer immune defences, lower hematocrit levels and produce offspring that are smaller or in poor condition (Coady, 2011;Bentz and Siefferman, 2013). This negative relationship between female ornamentation and offspring quality could be interpreted as evidence in support of the genetic correlation hypothesis (Nordeide et al, 2013); however, more ornamented female tree swallows may experience social costs as a result of conspecifics challenging their status (Coady, 2011;Chapter 3), thereby resulting in poorer quality offspring produced by more ornamented females.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Determinants of making success in female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor)

Berzins¹

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Females from a wide variety of taxa display elaborate ornaments and aggressive behaviours that are similar to those expressed by males. Although recent empirical investigation has demonstrated that ornamental traits and behaviours of females may function by attracting mates or signalling competitive ability when competing against conspecifics for access to mates and resources, less is known about how such traits influence the mating success of free-living female birds. For my research, I experimentally examined how variation in plumage brightness and behaviour of female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) influenced their mating success.Plumage brightness of females had no influence on investment in parental care or mating strategies of males, or the quality of social mate paired to the female. These results suggest that bright plumage is not a signal of attractiveness preferred by male tree swallows.In contrast, I report evidence that plumage brightness of female tree swallows is involved in agonistic interactions with conspecifics. Females whose plumage brightness was enhanced to signal high quality were less able to retain their nest site than females whose plumage brightness was reduced to signal low quality. This suggests that females displaying bright plumage may be challenged by conspecifics of high quality to test the quality signalled by bright plumage, and is supported by the finding that females displaying enhanced plumage brightness suffered social costs, such as delaying breeding and producing low-quality nestlings. Despite these costs, females in the enhanced plumage brightness treatment mated with extra-pair males that were higher quality than their social mate.Behaviour of females, manipulated by elevating testosterone (T), lowered the proportion of extra-pair offspring in the broods of T-treated females. Females manipulated so that the androgenic and estrogenic actions of T were blocked also produced fewer extra-pair iii offspring, and suggest that the androgenic and/or estrogenic actions of T influence extra-pair copulation behavior of female tree swallows. In conclusion, my results show that plumage brightness and behaviour of female tree swallows influence their mating success, and highlight the importance of studies experimentally manipulating ornamental and behavioural traits of free-living female birds prior to breeding.iv

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Female Ornamentation As a Signal Assessed By Conspecificsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Determinants of making success in female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor)

Berzins¹

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Does experimentally altered plumage ornamentation of female passerines influence nestling quality? A test in female tree swallows

Berzins

Dawson

2019

Ethology

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It is widely recognized that female animals in a variety of taxa display ornamental traits, such as elaborate plumage, but elucidating whether such traits evolve by selection or genetic correlation remains a challenge because more ornamented females are often found to produce low‐quality offspring. While resource trade‐offs between the production of ornaments and offspring may underlie this negative relationship, it is not an adequate explanation for species where the timing of production of ornaments and offspring does not overlap. Instead, costs associated with engaging in agonistic interactions with conspecifics, which maintains the honesty of signals of quality, may also reduce resources available to invest in offspring. In this study, we enhanced and reduced the plumage brightness of female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) relative to controls to test whether social costs associated with displaying bright plumage is a potential mechanism underlying the observation that more ornamented females produce low‐quality nestlings. Our results showed that nestlings reared by females in the enhanced plumage brightness treatment were structurally smaller, having shorter lengths of the combined head and bill than nestlings in the reduced plumage brightness treatment, and tended to grow their head and bills more slowly than nestlings in the reduced and control plumage brightness treatments. Nestlings in the enhanced plumage brightness treatment also tended to gain mass more slowly than nestlings in control treatment. Overall, that females with enhanced plumage brightness produced structurally smaller nestlings provides evidence that social costs paid by females may lead to the production of low‐quality offspring and should be considered in future studies.

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The signaling function of plumage characteristics in female tree swallows and implications for reproductive success and life-history decisions.

Cited by 2 publications

References 113 publications

Determinants of making success in female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor)

Determinants of making success in female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor)

Does experimentally altered plumage ornamentation of female passerines influence nestling quality? A test in female tree swallows

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