Winter male plumage coloration correlates with breeding status in a cooperative breeding species

Solís, Elena; Avilés, Jesús M.; Solis, Carlos; Valencia, Juliana; Sorci, Gabriele

doi:10.1093/beheco/arm145

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Alternatively, it could be possible that there was a positive correlation between female and male blueness only at the time of pair formation. Indeed, in another study we have found that differences in blueness between breeders and helpers are maximal in winter, when pairing presumably occurs (Solís et al 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Female and male plumage brightness correlate with nesting failure in azure-winged magpies Cyanopica cyanus

Avilés

Solís²,

Valencia³

et al. 2008

J Avian Biology

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Animals may assess the quality of other individuals by using information that is contained in elaborate traits. We investigated the degree of sexual dimorphism in structural blue plumage coloration and the potential signal value of these traits in the azure-winged magpie Cyanopica cyanus. We predicted that in this species blue coloration should signal individual quality in both sexes since both females and males invest significantly in caring for offspring. Males have more saturated UV/blue coloration than females and blueness decreased from moulting to reproduction. Males and females did not mate assortatively for blue coloration although they did in relation to body size and condition. Blue colour did not correlate with adult body size or condition. However, nest predation decreased with female and male brightness. Our results suggest that blue coloration may potentially be used to assess parental qualities by potential mates in both sexes of the azure-winged magpie.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Female and male plumage brightness correlate with nesting failure in azure-winged magpies Cyanopica cyanus

Avilés

Solís²,

Valencia³

et al. 2008

J Avian Biology

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“…Coherent scattering is the optical mechanism that explains colour production in all structurally coloured butterfly scales ( Prum, Quinn, & Torres, 2006 ). Male individuals of various avian species exhibit conspicuous colours on their feathers evolved by sexual selection driven by mating preferences ( M. Andersson, 1994 ; Darwin, 1871 ; Solis, Aviles, de la Cruz, Valencia, & Sorci, 2008 ), such as the males of the cooperative breeding azure-winged magpies ( Cyanopica cyanus ), where only a fraction access the breeding status. These birds display conspicuous blue plumage colourations, and all males that become breeders have a more brilliant and more saturated blue colouration, with a more intense violet hue compared with the nonbreeders ( Solis et al., 2008 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Male individuals of various avian species exhibit conspicuous colours on their feathers evolved by sexual selection driven by mating preferences ( M. Andersson, 1994 ; Darwin, 1871 ; Solis, Aviles, de la Cruz, Valencia, & Sorci, 2008 ), such as the males of the cooperative breeding azure-winged magpies ( Cyanopica cyanus ), where only a fraction access the breeding status. These birds display conspicuous blue plumage colourations, and all males that become breeders have a more brilliant and more saturated blue colouration, with a more intense violet hue compared with the nonbreeders ( Solis et al., 2008 ). The additional capacity of avian ornaments to reflect UV plays an important role during sexual displays ( S. Andersson & Amundsen, 1997 ; Bennett et al., 1997 ; Finger & Burckhardt, 1994 ; Finger, Burkhardt, & Dyck, 1992 ; Hausmann, Arnold, Marshall, & Owens, 2003 ; Hunt et al., 2001 ; Parker, 1998 ; Siitari et al., 2002 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Andersson, 1994; Darwin, 1871; Solis, Aviles, de la Cruz, Valencia, & Sorci, 2008), such as the males of the cooperative breeding azure-winged magpies ( Cyanopica cyanus ), where only a fraction access the breeding status. These birds display conspicuous blue plumage colourations, and all males that become breeders have a more brilliant and more saturated blue colouration, with a more intense violet hue compared with the nonbreeders (Solis et al., 2008). The additional capacity of avian ornaments to reflect UV plays an important role during sexual displays (S.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Colour for Behavioural Success

Dresp-Langley

Reeves

2018

i-Perception

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Colour information not only helps sustain the survival of animal species by guiding sexual selection and foraging behaviour but also is an important factor in the cultural and technological development of our own species. This is illustrated by examples from the visual arts and from state-of-the-art imaging technology, where the strategic use of colour has become a powerful tool for guiding the planning and execution of interventional procedures. The functional role of colour information in terms of its potential benefits to behavioural success across the species is addressed in the introduction here to clarify why colour perception may have evolved to generate behavioural success. It is argued that evolutionary and environmental pressures influence not only colour trait production in the different species but also their ability to process and exploit colour information for goal-specific purposes. We then leap straight to the human primate with insight from current research on the facilitating role of colour cues on performance training with precision technology for image-guided surgical planning and intervention. It is shown that local colour cues in two-dimensional images generated by a surgical fisheye camera help individuals become more precise rapidly across a limited number of trial sets in simulator training for specific manual gestures with a tool. This facilitating effect of a local colour cue on performance evolution in a video-controlled simulator (pick-and-place) task can be explained in terms of colour-based figure-ground segregation facilitating attention to local image parts when more than two layers of subjective surface depth are present, as in all natural and surgical images.

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“…Feather abrasion was also proposed as a possible mechanism of seasonal color changes for structural UV/blue crown feather in blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus and wing coverts in azure‐winged magpie Cyanopica cyanus (Solis et al 2008) The crown of blue tits shows an initial post‐moult increase of UV reflectance until the onset of the breeding season, followed by a marked decrease during incubation and chick rearing (Örnborg et al 2002, Delhey et al 2006, 2010). In contrast, crown brightness shows a gradual increase as the season progresses, while hue shifts toward longer wavelengths (Örnborg et al 2002, Mongomerie 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of feather abrasion on structural coloration in male eastern bluebirds Sialia sialis

Surmacki¹,

Liu²,

Mercadante³

et al. 2011

Journal of Avian Biology

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We used observations of male eastern bluebirds captured twice within a breeding season to test whether changes in structural coloration are related to feather abrasion. Between first and second broods, the UV chroma and brightness of feathers decreased, while hue shifted towards longer wavelengths. Observed changes were greatest for feathers on the head, least for feathers on the rump, and intermediate for feathers on the back. For head feathers, we found a significant correlation between reduction in barb length and UV chroma. Plumage coloration at first capture was correlated with change in UV chroma such that the most ornamented males tended to lose more coloration. Moreover, the magnitude of UV color change was positively related to the number of days between color measurements.To test whether these changes were caused by abrasive properties of the nesting sites, we randomly increased or decreased the abrasiveness of nesting‐box entrances by attaching sand paper or smooth plastic tape. The type of box entrance had no signicant effect on either coloration or barb length change. Our results suggest that feather abrasion is a factor in the seasonal color changes of bluebirds.

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Winter male plumage coloration correlates with breeding status in a cooperative breeding species

Cited by 10 publications

References 42 publications

Female and male plumage brightness correlate with nesting failure in azure-winged magpies Cyanopica cyanus

Female and male plumage brightness correlate with nesting failure in azure-winged magpies Cyanopica cyanus

Colour for Behavioural Success

Effect of feather abrasion on structural coloration in male eastern bluebirds Sialia sialis

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