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Individual quality explains association between plumage colouration, arrival dates and mate acquisition in yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia).

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:In many bird species colour traits influence social dominance and breeding success. In our study we first evaluated whether the colour of the basic plumage (tail feathers grown at the end of the breeding season), that provides an index of individual quality, influenced winter habitat use by yellow warblers. We then evaluated whether winter habitat use (inferred using ?13C and ?15N signatures of winter grown greater-coverts) influenced alternate plumage colouration, after controlling for individual quality using basic plumage colouration. Finally, we investigated whether basic and alternate plumage colouration influenced arrival dates, mate acquisition, breeding phenology and reproductive success of yellow warblers breeding in southern (Revelstoke, B.C.) and arctic (Inuvik, N.W.T.) Canada. RESULTS:The colour (chroma and hue) of tail feathers, grown on the breeding grounds, was not related to subsequent winter habitat use. Greater covert and tail feather colour (chroma and hue) were correlated, suggesting genetics and/or individual quality played a role in pigment deposition. After controlling for individual difference in tail colour, ?13C values did not explain any variation in greater covert colour, but birds with high ?15N signatures had greater coverts with higher chroma. Male arrival dates varied with tail chroma in Revelstoke and tail hue in Inuvik. Males that arrived early paired with older and/or more colourful mates that initiated clutches earlier, and at one site (Revelstoke) were more likely to fledge young. In addition, in Revelstoke (but not Inuvik) males with high tail hue also acquired more colourful mates. In contrast, after controlling for individual differences in tail colour, greater covert colour did not affect male arrival date, the quality of the mate obtained or reproductive success in either population. CONCLUSIONS:Our results suggest that plumage colour effects on breeding phenology and mate acquisition result from differences in the intrinsic quality of individuals rather than a carry-over effect of winter habitat use.

SUBMITTER: Jones TB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4024118 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Individual quality explains association between plumage colouration, arrival dates and mate acquisition in yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia).

Jones Teri B TB Drake Anna A Green David J DJ

BMC ecology 20140507

<h4>Background</h4>In many bird species colour traits influence social dominance and breeding success. In our study we first evaluated whether the colour of the basic plumage (tail feathers grown at the end of the breeding season), that provides an index of individual quality, influenced winter habitat use by yellow warblers. We then evaluated whether winter habitat use (inferred using δ13C and δ15N signatures of winter grown greater-coverts) influenced alternate plumage colouration, after contr ...[more]

PMID: 24886073

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Project description:Shifts in the timing of bird migration have been associated with climatic change and species traits. However, climatic change does not affect all species or geographic locations equally. Climate in the Pacific Northwest has shifted during the last century with mean temperatures increasing by 1 °C but little change in total annual precipitation. Few long-term data on migration phenology of birds are available in the Pacific Northwest. We analyzed trends in spring arrival dates from a site in the Oregon Coast Range where nearly daily inventories of birds were conducted in 24 of 29 years. Several species showed statistically significant shifts in timing of first spring arrivals. Six of 18 species occur significantly earlier now than during the initial phase of the study. One species arrives significantly later. Eleven show no significant shifts in timing. We associated trends in spring migration phenology with regional climatic variables, weather (precipitation and temperature), traits of species such as migration strategy, foraging behavior, diet, and habitat use, and regional trends in abundance as indexed by Breeding Bird Survey data. We found no set of variables consistently correlated with avian phenological changes. Post hoc analyses of additional climate variables revealed an association of migratory arrival dates across the 18 species with rainfall totals in northern California, presumably indicating that songbird arrival dates in Oregon are slowed by spring storm systems in California. When only the six species with the most strongly advancing arrival dates were analyzed, winter maximum temperatures in the preceding three winters appeared consistently in top models, suggesting a possible role for food availability early in spring to promote the survival and successful reproduction of the earliest-arriving birds. However, additional data on food availability and avian survival and reproductive success are required to test that hypothesis. Despite the appearance of some climate variables in top models, there remains a mismatch between strongly advancing arrival dates in some songbirds and a lack of clear directional change in those climate variables. We conclude that either some previously unrecognized variable or combination of variables has affected the timing of migration in some species but not others, or the appearance of statistically significant directional changes over time can occur without being driven by consistent environmental or species-specific factors.

Dataset Information

Individual quality explains association between plumage colouration, arrival dates and mate acquisition in yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia).

Publications

Individual quality explains association between plumage colouration, arrival dates and mate acquisition in yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia).

Similar Datasets

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