Plumage colour is related to ectosymbiont load during moult in the serin, Serinus serinus: an experimental study

Figuerola, Jordi; Domènech, Jordi; Senar, Juan Carlos

doi:10.1006/anbe.2003.2072

Cited by 53 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The fact that both of these relationships were positive (as body condition improved, mite abundances increased) indicates that mites may not be detrimental to their hosts, contrary to what has been suggested by many authors (e.g. Figuerola et al, 2002;Figuerola, 2000;Harper, 1999;Thompson, 1997) . Whether good body condition of the host provides mites with ideal body conditions (thus explaining the high abundances) or if this trend was cause by underlying covariates was beyond the scope of this paper and would require manipulative/experimental rather than observational studies.…”

Section: Mite Infestation and Host Body Conditioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

Host-Parasite Interactions between Birds and Feather Mites

Tarakini¹,

Bastian²

2012

ijssr

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There is current uncertainty on whether feather mites are a cause or consequence of poor body condition in birds. We aimed at investigating the bird-mite relationships and elucidating the functional significance of feather mites on birds found on the Urra Field station, Sorbas, in Almeria province, south-east Spain. We captured birds using mist nest and assessed birds for body condition (weight, fat and pectoral muscles), mite distribution on the wings and tested for diurnal changes in mite abundance. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to test for differences in mite abundance across species, sex, age and to test for differences in mite distribution on wings across species while the Fisher`s exact test was used to test for diurnal mite abundance. There were no significant differences in mite abundance between males and females in blackcaps, house sparrows, Sardinian and Willow warblers. There were significant differences in the abundance of mites on Blackcaps, house sparrows, sardinian and willow warblers. This study was carried out just before the breeding season, thus the juveniles may have been "mite-contaminated" by adults during the winter. Also, blackcaps could potentially be carrying different mite species, collected enroute during their migration. With more observational data over different time of day and seasons, investigations could be carried out to describe mite movements depending on varying environmental factors.

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Section: Mite Infestation and Host Body Conditioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

Host-Parasite Interactions between Birds and Feather Mites

Tarakini¹,

Bastian²

2012

ijssr

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“…FIGUEIROLA & SENAR (2007) identified a stabilizing natural selection on the coloration of Serins (Serinus Serinus). In this species, it is possible that individuals with drabber plumage have lower survival rates because they are more parasitized (FIGUEIROLA et al 2003), whereas individuals with bright plumage, who invest more in the acquisition of partners, are more vulnerable to predation. Future studies need to test these hypotheses (aposematic, detectability) for the coal-crested finch.…”

Section: Evolution Of Antipredator Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex-dependent foraging effort and vigilance in coal-crested finches, Charitospiza eucosma (Aves: Emberizidae) during the breeding season: evidence of female-biased predation?

Diniz¹

2011

Zoologia (Curitiba, Impr.)

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ABSTRACT. Sexual dimorphism in birds is often attributed to sexual selection, but another interpretation suggests the evolution of this phenomenon by natural selection. Predation may be an important selective pressure, acting mainly on females. In this study, I tested the latter hypothesis on the coal-crested finch (Charitospiza eucosma Oberholser, 1905) in a neotropical savanna of the Central Brazil (Cerrado). I used capture methods for ascertaining the sex ratio in the population, and focal observations to gather behavioral data. My results show that the sex ratio is skewed toward males (1:1.39). Males were more vigilant, vocalized for longer periods of time, and used higher perches than females. Females foraged more, spent more time on parental care and remained on the ground for longer periods than males. These results support the 'foraging effort hypothesis, suggesting that females are more preyed upon because they spend more time foraging. Ultimately, this may reflect the fact that females invest more on parental care than males. The sexdependent parental investment may favor the evolution of different antipredator strategies in males and females: the camouflage in females as a less efficient strategy than vigilance in males.

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“…At intraspecific level, positive, negative, and non-significant relationships between parasitism and plumage coloration have been reported (Hill, 2006). However, experiments performed up to now largely support the idea of a negative impact of ectoparasites (Figuerola et al, 2003) and coccidian endoparasites (Brawner et al, 2000;McGraw and Hill, 2000;Hõrak et al, 2004) on plumage coloration. Many of the colorations involved in sexual selection are derived from carotenoids (Badyaev and Hill, 2000), pigments that cannot be synthesized by birds and thus have to be incorporated from their diets (Olson and Owens, 1998).…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

Plasma carotenoid levels in passerines are related to infection by (some) parasites

2014

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Plumage coloration plays an important role in intra and inter-sexual competition in birds. Many of the yellow, orange, or red colors present in birds are carotenoid dependent. Carotenoids cannot be synthetized de novo by birds and consequently should be obtained through their diet, and access to carotenoids may differ between individuals and species. In addition to ornamentation, carotenoids are important for bird physiology and it has been proposed that a trade-off in their allocation to these two functions occurs. Under this scenario parasites may play a central role in maintaining the honesty of plumage as a signaling system by increasing the demands for carotenoids for infection or damage control and/or by reducing carotenoid absorption in the intestines. We analyzed the relationship between (1) carotenoid concentrations in plasma and (2) blood and intestinal parasite richness and abundance in 22 species of passerines sampled in spring. Loads of different groups of parasites were unrelated so conclusions drawn from examining a particular group of parasites cannot be extrapolated to the whole community of pathogens and parasites inhabiting a host. At intraspecific level plasma carotenoid concentration was negatively related to the richness of intestinal parasites and the abundance of some groups of intestinal parasites, at interspecific level plasma carotenoid concentration was negatively related with the abundance of intestinal parasites. No relationship at intra-nor interspecific level was found between carotenoids and blood parasites. The results suggest that intestinal parasites play an important role in the evolution and maintenance of carotenoid-derived sexually selected ornamentations probably through a negative impact on the uptake of carotenoids at the gut.

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Plumage colour is related to ectosymbiont load during moult in the serin, Serinus serinus: an experimental study

Cited by 53 publications

References 24 publications

Host-Parasite Interactions between Birds and Feather Mites

Host-Parasite Interactions between Birds and Feather Mites

Sex-dependent foraging effort and vigilance in coal-crested finches, Charitospiza eucosma (Aves: Emberizidae) during the breeding season: evidence of female-biased predation?

Plasma carotenoid levels in passerines are related to infection by (some) parasites

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