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14 results for “feather color”
Data for: Preening correlates with lower feather bacteria abundance but not feather coloration in a lek-breeding bird
<p>Feathers are structures unique to birds that serve important functions such as flight, thermoregulation, and communication. Bacteria that live on the feathers, particularly ones that can break down keratin, have the potential to damage feathers and disrupt their use in communication. We predicted that birds could behaviorally manage their feather bacterial abundances by preening their feathers. We also predicted that individuals with lower feather bacterial abundances would have brighter and more colorful feathers. To test these predictions, we measured the amount of time individuals in a colony of captive Indian peafowl (<em>Pavo cristatus</em>) spent preening their feathers. We also collected feathers to determine bacteria abundance on the feather surface and to measure feather coloration. We found that birds had lower feather bacteria levels when they spent more time preening their own feathers, but only in female birds. We also found that bacteria abundances were not correlated with any feather color variables we measured. These results suggest that birds can manage feather bacterial abundances by preening but feather bacteria may not influence feather coloration in this species.</p>
Hidden white and black feather layers enhance plumage coloration in tanagers and other songbirds
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Data for: Preening correlates with lower feather bacteria abundance but not feather coloration in a lek-breeding bird
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Climate underpins continent-wide patterns of carotenoid-based feather color consistent with Gloger’s observations
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Data from: Admixture mapping in a hybrid zone reveals loci associated with avian feather coloration
Identifying the genetic bases for color patterns has provided important insights into the control and expression of pigmentation and how these characteristics influence fitness. However, much more is known about the genetic bases for traits based on melanin pigments than for traits based on another major class of pigments, carotenoids. Here we use natural admixture in a hybrid zone between Audubon's and myrtle warblers (Setophaga coronata auduboni / S. c. coronata) to identify genomic regions associated with both types of pigmentation. Warblers are known for rapid speciation and dramatic differences in plumage. For each of five plumage coloration traits, we found highly significant associations with multiple SNPs across the genome and these were clustered in discrete regions. Regions near significantly associated SNPs were enriched for genes associated with keratin filaments, fibrils that makeup feathers. A carotenoid-based trait that differs between the taxa—throat color—had more than a dozen genomic regions of association. One cluster of SNPs for this trait overlaps the Scavenger Receptor Class F Member 2 (SCARF2) gene. Other scavenger receptors are presumed to be expressed at target tissues and involved in the selective movement of carotenoids into the target cells, making SCARF2 a plausible new candidate for carotenoid processing. In addition, two melanin-based plumage traits—colors of the eye line and eye spot—show very strong associations with a single genomic region mapping to chromosome 20 in the zebra finch. These findings indicate that only a subset of the genomic regions differentiated between these two warblers are associated with the plumage differences between them and demonstrate the utility of reduced-representation genomic scans in hybrid zones.
Replaced feathers, degree of bill corrugation, and bill coloration in 19 Central American hummingbird species
<p>We document molt extent; age-specific molt patterns, plumages, and percent of the bill with corrugations; the presence or absence of delayed plumage maturation and bill color changes in males of some species; and molt timing in the 19 resident hummingbird species of Belize. Molt strategies and rates of bill smoothing were similar to North American species, with all species showing limited to partial preformative molts, replacing only body feathers and some wing coverts and retaining all remiges and rectrices. Extent of bill corrugations reduced to ≤10% of bill length in all species by the time definitive cycle basic plumage is achieved. Males in sexually dichromatic species showed delayed maturation in plumage characteristics and/or bill coloration, and in two dichromatic species, some older females showed male-like plumage. Nine species representing multiple clades showed advanced timing to the second prebasic molt, indicating that this trait may be a proximal response to individuals not breeding during the first molt cycle. Species with advanced second prebasic molts replaced fewer wing coverts during the preformative molt than species with later molt timing.</p>
Data from: Admixture mapping in a hybrid zone reveals loci associated with avian feather coloration
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Replaced feathers, degree of bill corrugation, and bill coloration in 19 Central American hummingbird species
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Data from: The evolution of feather coloration and song in Old World orioles (genus Oriolus)
What is the tempo and mode of evolution – how fast and in what pattern do traits evolve – is a major question of evolutionary biology. Here we studied patterns of evolutionary change in visual and acoustic signals in Old World orioles. Since producing multiple signals may be costly, we also tested whether there was an evolutionary trade-off between the elaboration of those two types of signals. We studied 30 Oriolus taxa using comparative methods and a recent molecular phylogeny. Morphology and plumage hue evolved comparatively slowly, whereas song evolved rapidly. Among individual feather patches, the evolutionary rate of color was slowest in primaries, which are critical for flapping flight, and fastest in patches exposed to observers (mantle and breast). Thus, primaries seem to be under functional constraint while the evolution of visually exposed patches is perhaps shaped by sexual selection. Song evolution was comparatively fast, but also attracted to a single optimum. This may be due to selection for signal efficacy, because all orioles inhabit similar forested habitats. Only color diversity was best fit by a speciational model: the biggest changes in coloration were concentrated at speciation events, thus perhaps linked to the evolution of species recognition. Our analysis did not reveal any evolutionary trade-off between acoustic and visual signals, suggesting that the elaboration of visual and acoustic signals in the Old World orioles evolved independently. Our study shows that patterns of evolutionary change may be surprisingly complex even within a single clade of birds and thus further studies are needed to identify general patterns of signal macroevolution.
Data from: White plumage color as an honest indicator: feather macrostructure links reflectance with reproductive effort and success
<p class="normal1">The structural condition of feathers may generally have a decisive role in shaping the color properties of the plumage. However, the information content of structurally mediated color differences is poorly known. This makes it particularly hard to determine the meaning of color variation in pigment-free white plumage patches. The white wing patch of the collared flycatcher (<em>Ficedula albicollis</em>) is an important sexual trait, and changes in its reflectance are partly due to macrostructural condition. We used two years of macrostructural, reflectance and breeding data from both sexes to examine whether wing patch macrostructure lends information content to actual reflectance in terms of reproductive effort and success. Macrostructure strongly predicted actual reflectance in males but only weakly in females. Furthermore, in males, feather vane width was related positively to current year reproductive effort, and negatively to previous year reproductive effort. This indicates that macrostructurally mediated reflectance attributes may inform the receiver not only of actual reproductive capacity but also of individual quality via reproductive costs.</p>
The color of greater flamingo feathers fades when no cosmetics are applied
<p>Greater flamingos use cosmetic coloration by spreading uropygial secretions pigmented with carotenoids over their feathers, which makes the plumage redder. Because flamingos inhabit open environments that receive direct solar radiation during daytime, and carotenoids bleach when exposed to solar radiation, we expected that the plumage color would fade if there is no maintenance for cosmetic purposes. Here, we show that the concentrations of pigments inside feathers and on the surface of feathers were correlated, as well as that there was a correlation between the concentrations of pigments in the uropygial secretions and on the surface of feathers. There was fading in color (becoming less red) in feathers that received direct solar radiation when there was no plumage maintenance, but not so in others maintained in darkness. When we controlled for the initial color of feathers, the feathers of those individuals with higher concentration of pigments on the feather surfaces were those that lost less coloration after experimental exposure of feathers to sunny conditions. These results indicate that exposure to sunlight is correlated with the fading of feather color, which suggests that individuals need to regularly apply make-up to be more colorful. These results also reinforce the view that these birds use cosmetic coloration as a signal amplifier of plumage color. This may be important in species using highly variable habitats, such as wetlands, since the conditions experienced when molting may differ from those when the signal should be functional, usually months after molting.</p>
The color of greater flamingo feathers fades when no cosmetics are applied
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Data from: The evolution of feather coloration and song in Old World orioles (genus Oriolus)
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Data from: White plumage color as an honest indicator: feather macrostructure links reflectance with reproductive effort and success
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Allen Brain Atlas
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
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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.