Journal
OECOLOGIA
Volume 137, Issue 1, Pages 148-152Publisher
SPRINGER-VERLAG
DOI: 10.1007/s00442-003-1323-3
Keywords
carotenoids; honest signalling; maternal effects; paternal effects; plumage coloration
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Carotenoid-based colours are widespread in animals and are used as signals in intra- and interspecific communication. In nestling birds, the carotenoids used for feather pigmentation may derive via three pathways: (1) via maternal transfer to egg yolk; (2) via paternal feeds early after hatching when females are mainly brooding; or (3) via feeds from both parents later in nestling life. We analysed the relative importance of the proposed carotenoid sources in a field experiment on great tit nestlings (Parus major). In a within-brood design we supplemented nestlings with carotenoids shortly after hatching, later on in the nestling life, or with a placebo. We show that the carotenoid-based colour expression of nestlings is modified maximally during the first 6 days after hatching. It reveals that the observed variation in carotenoid-based coloration is based only on mechanisms acting during a short period of time in early nestling life. The experiment further suggests that paternally derived carotenoids are the most important determinants of nestling plumage colour.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available