Ultraviolet reflectance influences female preference for colourful males in the European serin

Leitão, Ana V.; Monteiro, Anabela H.; Mota, Paulo Gama

doi:10.1007/s00265-013-1623-5

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…Results also showed that females preferred more colourful males, as in a previous study (Leitão et al . ), whereas maintenance behaviour did not influence female choice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…We calculated Saturation of the entire spectra as ( R max – R min )/MBr, and UV‐Chroma as the proportion of the difference between UV maximum reflectance and minimum reflectance relative to MBr:

(R_{\max UV} - R_{normalmin}) / MBr

(formulae used in Leitão et al . and adapted from Montgomerie ). We then used an average across all body regions for each spectral measurement.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Serin is an ideal model species for such a study as it is already known that the male's yellow carotenoid plumage is sexually selected by females (Leitão et al . ). As carotenoid coloration is sensitive to individual condition and nutrition during moult (Trigo & Mota ), maintenance behaviour could be important to preserve the honesty of a signal which is already costly to produce.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

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Colourful male European Serins Serinus serinus are more careful with their plumage

Leitão

Mota

2015

Ibis

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Ornamental traits typically advertise individual condition and can be costly to maintain. Plumage maintenance behaviour can increase plumage quality and positively influence female mate preference. We investigated this prediction by performing female mate-choice trials and measuring male plumage maintenance behaviour in the European Serin Serinus serinus. More colourful males spent more time in plumage maintenance than less colourful males, but this was not correlated with body condition or ectoparasite load. Females preferred more colourful males, although this was not influenced by male plumage maintenance. Our findings highlight the fact that investment in plumage maintenance depends on individual coloration and this may reinforce the honesty of ornamental plumage and convey positive information for mate choice.

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“…Results also showed that females preferred more colourful males, as in a previous study (Leitão et al . ), whereas maintenance behaviour did not influence female choice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

(R_{\max UV} - R_{normalmin}) / MBr

(formulae used in Leitão et al . and adapted from Montgomerie ). We then used an average across all body regions for each spectral measurement.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 97%

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Colourful male European Serins Serinus serinus are more careful with their plumage

Leitão

Mota

2015

Ibis

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“…Avian plumage coloration is one of the most impressive displays in nature and is frequently used as a sexual signal. For many species, females consistently show a preference for males with the most elaborate colour displays and plumage brightness correlates with some measure of male quality, such as disease resistance or capacity for parental care (Hill, ; Leitão et al ., ). Plumage coloration comes either from light refraction caused by the structure of the feather or from pigments.…”

Section: Other Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing avian nutrition through best feeding practice

Fidgett

Gardner

2014

International Zoo Yearbook

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At a time when zoo populations are being relied upon for future progeny and long‐term sustainability of our avian populations, nutrition is vitally important. However, diet review, evaluation and change are often met with disinterest and complacency. Link nutrition to poor health, associated veterinary costs, poor egg production and low chick viability and suddenly the subject becomes more important. High standards are expected in other aspects of avian husbandry yet the nutritional composition of the diets often remains unknown. This article highlights advances in nutrition, useful resources, means of keeping feeding records, and tools available to evaluate and review avian diets in nutritional terms. Regularly reviewing diets ensures the nutritional care of birds keeps pace with other areas of husbandry.

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“…The European serin Serinus serinus , is a small, sexually dichromatic cardueline finch, with males displaying a yellow carotenoid‐based patch on crown and breast, which is a sexually selected trait (Leitão et al ) that signals health condition (Trigo and Mota ). We conducted a field study to investigate whether body condition, parasite load, and age correlated with carotenoid‐based plumage colouration in a natural population of serins, during pair formation and breeding.…”

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confidence: 99%

Carotenoid‐based plumage colouration is predicted by age and parasites in the male European serin

Trigo

Mota

2016

Journal of Avian Biology

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A fundamental assumption of theories on the evolution of sexual signals is that they should be costly to produce in order to honestly signal the quality of the sender. The expression of carotenoid-based plumage signals is considered to be conditiondependent, due to the role of carotenoids functioning as pigments and as health modulators. We assessed carotenoid-based plumage colouration in relation to male condition in a free living population of male European serins Serinus serinus during the breeding season. Male serins were trapped for morphometric and colouration measurements, during a four-year field study, in order to evaluate the signalling value of colouration in relation to body condition and parasites level. We compared two different forms of colour quantification based on spectral data -the most commonly used tristimulus colour variables and physiological models of avian colour vision -and found that they were highly correlated for this species. We investigated the signalling value of male plumage colouration and it was found to be related to age and ectoparasite load. Plumage double cone and patch size were negatively related to parasites level, whereas SWS ratio was positively related to parasites and age. Colouration was also related with the time since moult. Our results indicate that the colour expression of serin's plumage is age dependent and is related, in complex ways, with the ability to cope with parasitic infection.

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Ultraviolet reflectance influences female preference for colourful males in the European serin

Cited by 13 publications

References 73 publications

Colourful male European Serins Serinus serinus are more careful with their plumage

Colourful male European Serins Serinus serinus are more careful with their plumage

Advancing avian nutrition through best feeding practice

Carotenoid‐based plumage colouration is predicted by age and parasites in the male European serin

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