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220 results for “plumage”
Data from: Wettability of juvenile plumage as a major cause of mortality threatens endangered Barau’s Petrel
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Data from: Protoporphyrin-based eggshell pigmentation is associated with female plumage colouration and predicts offspring sex ratio in the barn swallow
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Data from: Fecundity selection on ornamental plumage colour differs between ages and sexes and varies over small spatial scales
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Data from: Conspicuous plumage does not increase predation risk: a continent-wide test using model songbirds
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Data from: Molecular population genetics of the melanic plumage polymorphism in arctic skuas (Stercorarius parasiticus): evidence for divergent selection on plumage colour
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Data from: The relationship between plumage coloration and aggression in female tree swallows
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Divergence in plumage, voice, and morphology indicates speciation in Rufous-capped Warblers (Basileuterus rufifrons)
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Duck pan-genome reveals two transposon-derived structural variations caused bodyweight enlarging and white plumage phenotype formation during evolution
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Male-like female morphs in hummingbirds: the evolution of a widespread sex-limited plumage polymorphism
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Plumage patterns: ecological functions, evolutionary origins, and advances in quantification
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Patterns of genetic divergence and demographic history shed light on island-mainland population dynamics and melanic plumage evolution in the white-winged fairywren
<p>The existence of distinct traits in island versus mainland populations offers opportunities to gain insights into how eco-evolutionary processes operate under natural conditions. We used two island colonization events in the white-winged fairywren (<i>Malurus </i><i>leucopterus</i>) to investigate the genomic and demographic origin of melanic plumage. This avian species is distributed across most of Australia, and males of the mainland subspecies (<i>M. l. leuconotus</i>) exhibit a blue nuptial plumage in contrast to males of two island subspecies – <i>M. l. leucopterus </i>on Dirk Hartog Island<i> </i>and <i>M. l. edouardi</i>on Barrow Island – that exhibit a black nuptial plumage. We used reduced-representation sequencing to explore differentiation and demographic history in this species and found clear patterns of divergence between mainland and island populations, with additional substructuring on the mainland. Divergence between the mainland and Dirk Hartog was approximately 10 times more recent than the split between the mainland and Barrow Island, supporting two independent colonizations. In both cases, estimated gene flow between the mainland and the islands was low, contributing to signals of divergence among subspecies. Our results present demographic reconstructions of mainland-island dynamics and associated plumage variation in white-winged fairywrens, with broader implications regarding our understanding of convergent evolution in insular populations.</p>
Data from: Haemosporidian parasites depress breeding success and plumage coloration in female barn swallows (Hirundo rustica)
Parasites are major effectors of natural selection and also play a role in sexual selection processes. Haemosporidian blood parasites are common in vertebrates and have been shown to vary in their effects depending on both the parasite and host species, on the host trait investigated as well as on host condition and stage of infection. Here we investigated infection of adult barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) by Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon and Haemoproteus species during the chronic stage of infection and the consequences for host fitness traits. Prevalence was higher than 10% only for Plasmodium. Chronic stage infection by Plasmodium was associated with reduced female breeding success, but did not affect breeding dates. Infection did not affect the expression of male secondary sexual traits (tail length and melanin‐based plumage coloration), but was associated with paler coloration of females. Finally, we found a negative effect of infection by Plasmodium on feather growth rate in older but not in yearling individuals. Because feathers are moulted during wintering in sub‐Saharan Africa where infection of barn swallows by Plasmodium occurs, our results suggest that male secondary sexual traits have little potential to reveal acute‐stage infection whereas plumage coloration of females may advertise their infection status. In addition, these results suggest that infection by Plasmodium can influence the course of plumage moult. Thus, our results add to the observations of negative effects of haemosporidian infection on fitness traits in birds and provides evidence that these effects can vary among traits and in relation to age and sex.
Data from: Evolution of patterned plumage as a sexual signal in estrildid finches
Colour patterns, such as bars or dots, that cover the body surface of animals are generally thought to play roles in signalling and camouflage. In birds, however, the macroscopic aspects of plumage colouration are less well understood, as past studies typically described plumage colourations by using spectrophotometric analyses. To provide insight into the evolution of plumage patterns as sexual signals, we characterised interspecific and intersexual variations in the plumage patterns of estrildid finches and tested their associations with other courtship signals and life-history traits using a comparative phylogenetic approach. Our results support the idea that plumage patterns in estrildids are favoured by sexual selection because large-sized conspicuous plumage patterns are possessed by species with an elaborate courtship dance. These plumage patterns may also play roles in social signalling because patterns are more conspicuous in species with intraspecific brood parasitism. We predict that pattern traits can be favoured by mate choice or intra-sexual competition when they can serve as honest indicators of individual condition. As our results are consistent between the sexes, we suggest that the same selective force is acting on the evolution of plumage patterns in males and females in parallel. Finally, we also found a trade-off between large size and vivid colour patterns, suggesting that too conspicuous patterns are costly, presumably because of the risk of catching the eyes of potential predators. Therefore, plumage patterns are also shaped by natural selection.
Data from: Fractal geometry of a complex plumage trait reveals bird's quality
Animal coloration is key in natural and sexual selection, playing significant roles in intra- and interspecific communication because of its linkage to individual behaviour, genetics and physiology. Simple animal traits such as the area or the colour intensity of homogeneous patches have been profusely studied. More complex patterns are widespread in nature, but they escape our understanding because their variation is difficult to capture effectively by standard, simple measures. Here, we used fractal geometry to quantify inter-individual variation in the expression of a complex plumage trait, the heterogeneous black bib of the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa). We show that a higher bib fractal dimension (FD) predicted better individual body condition, as well as immune responsiveness, which is condition-dependent in our study species. Moreover, when food intake was experimentally reduced during moult as a means to reduce body condition, the bib's FD significantly decreased. Fractal geometry therefore provides new opportunities for the study of complex animal colour patterns and their roles in animal communication.
Data from: Independent sources of condition dependency and multiple pathways determine a composite trait: lessons from carotenoid-based plumage colouration
Many color ornaments are composite traits consisting of at least four components, which themselves may be more complex, determined by independent evolutionary pathways, and potentially being under different environmental control. To date, little evidence exists that several different components of color elaboration are condition-dependent and no direct evidence exists that different ornamental components are affected by different sources of variation. For example, in carotenoid-based plumage coloration, one of the best-known condition-dependent ornaments, color elaboration stems from both condition-dependent pigment concentration and structural components. Some environmental flexibility of these components has been suggested, but specifically which and how they are affected remains unknown. Here we tested whether multiple color components may be condition-dependent, by using a comprehensive 3 x 2 experimental design, in which we carotenoid supplemented and immune challenged great tit nestlings (Parus major) and quantified effects on different components of coloration. Plumage coloration was affected by an interaction between carotenoid availability and immune challenge. Path analyses showed that carotenoid supplementation increased plumage saturation via feather carotenoid concentration and via mechanisms unrelated to carotenoid-deposition, while immune challenge affected feather length, but not carotenoid concentration. Thus, independent condition-dependent pathways, affected by different sources of variation, determine color elaboration. This provides opportunities for the evolution of multiple signals within components of ornamental traits. This finding indicates that the selective forces shaping the evolution of different components of a composite trait and the trait's signal content may be more complex than believed so far, and that holistic approaches are required for drawing comprehensive evolutionary conclusions.
Data from: Contrasting patterns of selection on the size and coloration of a female plumage ornament in common yellowthroats
Females often possess ornaments that appear smaller and duller than homologous traits in males. These ornaments may arise as nonfunctional by-products of sexual selection in males and cause negative viability or fecundity selection in females in proportion to the cost of their production and maintenance. Alternatively, female ornaments may function as signals of quality that are maintained by sexual or social selection. In a 4-year study of 83 female common yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) and their 222 young, we found strong viability and fecundity selection on the yellow bib, a carotenoid-based plumage ornament that is a target of sexual selection in males. Females with larger bibs were older, larger and more fecund than females with smaller bibs. However, bib size positively covaried with bib total brightness and carotenoid chroma, aspects of bib coloration that were under negative viability and fecundity selection. Females with more colourful bibs laid fewer eggs in their first clutch, were more likely to suffer total brood loss due to predation and were less likely to return to the study area. Selection against bib coloration limits the value of bib size as a quality indicator in females and may constrain the elaboration of bib attributes in males.
Data from: From ornament to armament or loss of function? Breeding plumage acquisition in a genetically monogamous bird
1. The evolution of conspicuous male traits is thought to be driven by female mate choice or male-male competition. These two mechanisms are often viewed as distinct processes, with most studies focusing on female choice. 2. However, both mechanisms of sexual selection can act simultaneously on the same trait (i.e. dual function) and/or interact in a synergistic or conflicting way. Dual function-traits are commonly assumed to originate through male-male competition before being used in female choice; yet, most studies focusing on such traits could not determine the direction of change, lacking phylogenetic information. 3. We investigated the role of conspicuous male seasonal plumage in male-male competitive interactions in the purple-crowned fairy-wren Malurus coronatus, a cooperatively breeding bird. Male breeding plumage in most Malurus species is selected by female choice through extra-pair mate choice, but unlike its congeners, M. coronatus is genetically monogamous, and females do not seem to choose males based on breeding plumage acquisition. 4. Our study shows that, within groups, subordinate males that were older, and therefore higher-ranked in the queue for breeder position inheritance, produced a more complete breeding plumage. In line with this, subordinate males that were older and/or displayed a more complete breeding plumage were more successful in competitively acquiring a breeder position. 5. A role as a signal of competitive ability was experimentally confirmed by presenting models of males: in breeding colours, these received more aggression from resident breeder males than in non-breeding colours, but elicited limited response from females, consistent with competitors in breeding plumage being perceived as a bigger threat to the breeder male. 6. The role of the conspicuous breeding plumage in mediating male-male interactions might account for its presence in this genetically monogamous species. Since phylogenetic reconstructions suggest a past female choice function in M. coronatus, this could represent a sexual trait that shifted functions, or a dual function-trait that lost one function. These evolutionary scenarios imply that intra- and inter-sexual functions of ornaments may be gained or lost independently, and offer new perspectives in understanding the complex dynamics of sexual selection.
Data from: Parallel plumage color evolution and introgressive hybridization in wheatears
Genetic and phenotypic mosaics, in which various phenotypes and different genomic regions show discordant patterns of species or population divergence, offer unique opportunities to study the role of ancestral and introgressed genetic variation in phenotypic evolution. Here, we investigated the evolution of discordant phenotypic and genetic divergence in a monophyletic clade of four songbird taxa – pied wheatear (O. pleschanka), Cyprus wheatear (O. cypriaca), and western and eastern subspecies of black-eared wheatear (O. h. hispanica and O. h. melanoleuca). Phenotypically, black back and neck-sides distinguish pied and Cyprus wheatears from the white-backed/necked black-eared wheatears. Meanwhile, mitochondrial variation only distinguishes western black-eared wheatear. In the absence of nuclear genetic data, and given frequent hybridization among eastern black-eared and pied wheatear, it remains unclear whether introgression is responsible for discordance between mitochondrial divergence patterns and phenotypic similarities, or whether plumage coloration evolved in parallel. Multispecies coalescent analyses of about 20'000 SNPs obtained from RAD data mapped to a draft genome assembly resolve the species tree, provide evidence for the parallel evolution of color phenotypes, and establish western and eastern black-eared wheatears as independent taxa that should be recognized as full species. The presence of the entire admixture spectrum in the Iranian hybrid zone and the detection of footprints of introgression from pied into eastern black-eared wheatear beyond the hybrid zone despite strong geographic structure of ancestry proportions furthermore suggest a potential role for introgression in parallel plumage color evolution. Our results support the importance of standing heterospecific and/or ancestral variation in phenotypic evolution.
Data from: The effects of life history and sexual selection on male and female plumage colouration
Classical sexual selection theory provides a well-supported conceptual framework for understanding the evolution and signalling function of male ornaments. It predicts that males obtain greater fitness benefits than females through multiple mating because sperm are cheaper to produce than eggs. Sexual selection should therefore lead to the evolution of male-biased secondary sexual characters. However, females of many species are also highly ornamented. The view that this is due to a correlated genetic response to selection on males was widely accepted as an explanation for female ornamentation for over 100 years and current theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that genetic constraints can limit sex-specific trait evolution. Alternatively, female ornamentation can be the outcome of direct selection for signalling needs. Since few studies have explored interspecific patterns of both male and female elaboration, our understanding of the evolution of animal ornamentation remains incomplete, especially over broad taxonomic scales. Here we use a new method to quantify plumage colour of all ~6,000 species of passerine birds to determine the main evolutionary drivers of ornamental colouration in both sexes. We found that conspecific male and female colour elaboration are strongly correlated, suggesting that evolutionary changes in one sex are constrained by changes in the other sex. Both sexes are more ornamented in larger species and in species living in tropical environments. Ornamentation in females (but not males) is increased in cooperative breeders—species in which female–female competition for reproductive opportunities and other resources related to breeding may be high. Finally, strong sexual selection on males has antagonistic effects, causing an increase in male colouration but a considerably more pronounced reduction in female ornamentation. Our results indicate that although there may be genetic constraints to sexually independent colour evolution, both female and male ornamentation are strongly and often differentially related to morphological, social and life-history variables.
Data from: Evolution of carotenoid pigmentation in caciques and meadowlarks (Icteridae): repeated gains of red plumage coloration by carotenoid C4-oxygenation
Many animals use carotenoid pigments to produce yellow, orange, and red coloration. In birds, at least 10 carotenoid compounds have been documented in red feathers; most of these are produced through metabolic modification of dietary precursor compounds. However, it is poorly understood how lineages have evolved the biochemical mechanisms for producing red coloration. We used high-performance liquid chromatography to identify the carotenoid compounds present in feathers from 15 species across two clades of blackbirds (the meadowlarks and allies, and the caciques and oropendolas; Icteridae), and mapped their presence or absence on a phylogeny. We found that the red plumage found in meadowlarks includes different carotenoid compounds than the red plumage found in caciques, indicating that these gains of red color are convergent. In contrast, we found that red coloration in two closely related lineages of caciques evolved twice by what appear to be similar biochemical mechanisms. The C4-oxygenation of dietary carotenoids was responsible for each observed transition from yellow to red plumage coloration, and has been commonly reported by other researchers. This suggests that the C4-oxygenation pathway may be a readily evolvable means to gain red coloration using carotenoids.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.