Influence of Hatch Order on Begging and Plumage Coloration of Nestling Eastern Bluebirds

Soley, Nathan; Siefferman, Lynn; Navara, Kristen J.; Hill, Geoffrey E.

doi:10.1676/11-006.1

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…An alternative explanation for the stronger effect of food supplementation on plumage of male nestlings is that supplementally fed parents may have fed males more often than females. Although we do not know if this was the case, previous research suggests that the begging rates of male and female nestling Eastern Bluebirds do not differ (Soley et al 2011). In addition, although adult Eastern Bluebirds have been found to show favoritism for some older nestlings (at least 14 d old; Barrios-Miller and Siefferman 2013) and fledglings (Ligon and Hill 2010), they likely use plumage cues that are not apparent until young are about 14 d old.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Supplemental food increases ornamentation of male nestling Eastern Bluebirds

Doyle

Siefferman

2014

Journal of Field Ornithology

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Although the condition‐dependence and signaling function of ornamental plumage coloration among adult males is well studied, less research has focused on the information content of ornamental coloration among juvenile birds. Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) nestlings grow their nuptial plumage while in the nest and dependent on parents for food, making them an ideal species for studying the development and function of elaborate plumage. Previous research suggests that plumage brightness of Eastern Bluebirds functions, in the juvenile stage, in parent–offspring interactions as a sexually selected trait in adults. Using an experimental approach, we tested the effects of supplemental food on the structural plumage coloration (i.e., tips of primary feathers) of Eastern Bluebird nestlings in Watauga County, North Carolina, during the 2011 breeding season. We provided supplemental mealworms daily to breeding pairs from the onset of incubation through the nestling period, and measured plumage brightness, UV chroma, and mass of nestlings (N = 89 males and 71 females). Male nestlings of supplementally fed parents exhibited brighter plumage. The mass and UV chroma of young bluebirds were not significantly affected by food supplementation. However, the relationship between mass and brightness differed between male nestlings in the control and supplementally fed treatments. Males reared in food‐supplemented territories exhibited a positive relationship between color and mass. Nestlings in control territories, however, exhibited a negative relationship between size and brightness, suggesting that reduced food availability results in a tradeoff between allocating resources toward somatic growth and development of bright plumage. Our results suggest that UV‐blue structural plumage in male juvenile Eastern Bluebirds is at least partially condition‐dependent and may help to explain why plumage color can influence social interactions in Eastern Bluebirds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Supplemental food increases ornamentation of male nestling Eastern Bluebirds

Doyle

Siefferman

2014

Journal of Field Ornithology

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“…The nestling hormone manipulation may have caused duller plumage as a consequence of stress. Indeed, the natural covariation between body size during development and plumage coloration (this study; Siefferman and Hill 2007;Soley et al 2011) was decoupled in the testosterone-treated birds. Additionally, the testosterone implantation in nestlings caused a concurrent rise in circulating corticosterone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…Perhaps only nestlings in good condition, with highly functional cellular processes, could afford to express brighter structural plumage while withstanding the reduction in body condition associated with the testosterone implants. Two previous studies suggest that plumage coloration is condition dependent in nestling bluebirds; experimentally induced poor natal condition reduced color brightness (Siefferman and Hill 2007), and nestling growth was positively related to blue brightness (Soley et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Effect of Prenatal and Natal Administration of Testosterone on Production of Structurally Based Plumage Coloration

Siefferman¹,

Liu²,

Navara³

et al. 2013

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

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Testosterone has been implicated as a developmental mechanism involved in the organization and expression of sexually dimorphic traits, such as plumage coloration, in birds. Although research findings relating testosterone levels to plumage expression is equivocal, few studies have investigated how testosterone may influence the expression of structurally based plumage coloration. Here, we use experimental and correlational evidence to test the hypothesis that testosterone influences the development and maintenance of structurally based plumage coloration in a wild-breeding population of eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis). First, we experimentally manipulated yolk testosterone and measured the effect on the development of plumage coloration of nestlings. Second, we implanted juvenile bluebirds with testosterone and measured the effect on nestling growth, body condition, and plumage coloration of nestlings. Third, we measured covariation between circulating testosterone and plumage coloration of breeding males. Yolk testosterone injections had no significant effect on nestling plumage coloration. Testosterone implantation, however, caused a reduction in plumage brightness, elevated corticosterone, and slower growth in nestlings. Finally, in breeding adult males we found no significant relationship between structural coloration and testosterone; however, males with higher testosterone levels exhibited duller chestnut (melanin-based) plumage. Our observations lead us to reject the hypothesis that testosterone increases structural plumage coloration in male eastern bluebirds.

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“…Although no studies have directly tested for this association, some indirect evidence exists: For example, a study exploring the effects of reducing the amount of albumen in yellow-legged gull eggs found a negative correlation between egg size and begging rates of chicks in untreated control eggs (Alquati et al, 2007). Additionally, begging rates in birds often vary with hatching order (Gilby, Sorato, & Griffith, 2012;Müller, Boonen, Groothuis, & Eens, 2010;Rice et al, 2013;Soley, Siefferman, Navara, & Hill, 2011) and brood size (e.g. Helfenstein et al, 2008), which in turn are often correlated with egg size (Parsons, 1976;Slagsvold, Sandvik, Rofstad, Lorentsen, & Husby, 1984;Vinuela, 1997).…”

Section: Take Down Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Egg size, begging behaviour and offspring fitness in Nicrophorus vespilloides

Mäenpää

Smiseth

2017

Animal Behaviour

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Egg size reflects the amount of energy that female parents have invested in their offspring prior to hatching, and is thus often used as a proxy for prehatching investment. According to life history theory, prehatching investment, in turn, is at a trade-off with posthatching investment, as the amount of resources allocated at the prehatching stage diminishes the resources available at the posthatching stage. As small eggs have smaller energy reserves than large eggs, the offspring originating from small eggs may have higher hunger levels, and thus beg more, offering the parents information about the need for more posthatching care. However, little is known about the relationship between egg size and begging behaviour, and the fitness correlates of the two. In this study, we directly investigated the association between these two traits in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. Concurrently, we examined the effects of egg size on two components of offspring fitness: offspring growth and survival. We found no association between egg size and offspring begging behaviour. Egg size did, however, show a mostly positive, albeit indirect, association with offspring fitness traits (development time, size and survival). Therefore, an increase in egg size does have an impact on offspring fitness, but this impact is not mediated through offspring begging. To our knowledge, this is the first time the relationship between egg size and begging behaviour has been investigated directly.

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Influence of Hatch Order on Begging and Plumage Coloration of Nestling Eastern Bluebirds

Cited by 9 publications

References 43 publications

Supplemental food increases ornamentation of male nestling Eastern Bluebirds

Supplemental food increases ornamentation of male nestling Eastern Bluebirds

Effect of Prenatal and Natal Administration of Testosterone on Production of Structurally Based Plumage Coloration

Egg size, begging behaviour and offspring fitness in Nicrophorus vespilloides

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