A tale of two tails: asymmetry in Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)

Yosef, Reuven; Kubicka, Anna Maria; Brandsma, Martin; Tryjanowski, Piotr

doi:10.1186/s40657-017-0094-1

Cited by 11 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…2007, Yosef et al . 2018). As noted by Graham (2021), however, the error inherent in measurement of feather ornaments is problematic for any comparison of asymmetry between large and small ornaments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, high-quality individuals are expected to have ornaments that are both larger and more symmetrical than low-quality individuals. Kimball et al (1997) reported this pattern in only one of several ornamental traits examined in Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus but other studies have failed to find such a pattern (Polak & Starmer 2005, Barto s et al 2007, Yosef et al 2018. As noted by Graham (2021), however, the error inherent in measurement of feather ornaments is problematic for any comparison of asymmetry between large and small ornaments.…”

Section: Ornament Asymmetry Vs Age Breeding Status and Body Conditionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Limited evidence that asymmetries of multiple Whiskered Auklet (Aethia pygmaea) feather ornaments could serve a display function

Jones

Hunter

Seneviratne

et al. 2023

Ibis

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Elaborate avian feather ornaments have proven to be enigmatic because their function is often unclear, even though they are used in courtship and social displays. Male and female Whiskered Auklets Aethia pygmaea display on their faces four elaborate feather ornaments that serve both courtship and mechanosensory functions: three bilateral pairs of white facial plume tracts (superorbital, suborbital and auricular) and a slender black forehead crest, each consisting of several filoplumes. We studied left–right symmetry in the three antenna‐like bilateral white head plumes of 721 wild‐caught marked individuals (162 of known sex, 94 of known age that were 1–16 years old) during 1992–2009. Auricular and suborbital plumes were slightly more asymmetric in subadults (1‐year‐olds) than in adults (≥ 2 years old) but the opposite was true for superorbital plumes. Ornament asymmetries were not sexually dimorphic, nor were they significantly related to individual body condition, body size or age, except that superorbital plume asymmetry decreased significantly with tarsus length. Relative asymmetry (scaled for ornament size) of all three ornaments was negatively correlated with plume size, as predicted by some sexual selection models, but variation in asymmetries was large and differences between left (L) and right (R) sides in most birds were probably too small to be detected visually. Marginal mean absolute asymmetries (|L–R|) of super‐ and suborbital plumes were correlated with ocean climate during the preceding year when the birds would have been moulting, suggesting that fluctuating asymmetry at the population level might be a useful index of environmental stress in this seabird. The spectacular bilaterally expressed facial plumes displayed by Whiskered Auklets provide an interesting test case for questions about asymmetry in sexually and naturally selected traits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ornament Asymmetry Vs Age Breeding Status and Body Conditionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Limited evidence that asymmetries of multiple Whiskered Auklet (Aethia pygmaea) feather ornaments could serve a display function

Jones

Hunter

Seneviratne

et al. 2023

Ibis

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Conservation planning following reclamation of intertidal areas throughout the Yellow and Bohai Seas, China

et al. 2019

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Tidal flats throughout the Yellow and Bohai Seas provide essential habitat for migrating shorebirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Land reclamation threatens this habitat. Using bird-sighting data and environmental variables, we identify areas appropriate for prioritized protection for 46 shorebird species, using a MaxEnt species distribution model and Zonation protection planning software. We also assess changes in habitat status and conservation importance of tidal flats along the Rudong and Dongtai coasts, Jiangsu Province, a significant shorebird biodiversity area recently inscribed as a World Heritage site. A priority area of 4523 km 2 , containing more saltpan and aquaculture areas than tidal flats, and more than 90% of all tidal flat areas in the priority area, is identified, of which only 12.05% is currently protected within existing National Nature Reserves. Tidal flats along the Rudong and Dongtai coasts have decreased in area from 2000 to 2015, and particularly from 2010 to 2015 at a rate nine times that for 2000-2010. An irreplaceability index for coastal habitat for Xiaoyangkou, Rudong county, increased from 2012 to 2015, signaling a need for urgent habitat management and protection, such as afforded by establishing new nature reserves. Effective management and restoration of saltpan and aquaculture habitat in Bohai and Laizhou bays is also necessary.

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Imperiled Prancing Crane: Population Status and Breeding Performance of Black-Necked Crane Grus nigricollis in Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Region

et al. 2021

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A tale of two tails: asymmetry in Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)

Cited by 11 publications

References 53 publications

Limited evidence that asymmetries of multiple Whiskered Auklet (Aethia pygmaea) feather ornaments could serve a display function

Limited evidence that asymmetries of multiple Whiskered Auklet (Aethia pygmaea) feather ornaments could serve a display function

Conservation planning following reclamation of intertidal areas throughout the Yellow and Bohai Seas, China

Imperiled Prancing Crane: Population Status and Breeding Performance of Black-Necked Crane Grus nigricollis in Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Region

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