{"title":"Crown saturation and intrasexual dominance: Evidence of a negatively correlated handicap in male Saffron Finches","authors":"Camilo Ernesto Espinosa , James Montoya Lerma , Hector Fabio Rivera-Gutierrez , Lorena Cruz-Bernate","doi":"10.1016/j.avrs.2025.100241","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carotenoid-based plumage coloration may signal individuals’ overall body condition, influencing reproduction and survival of birds. In tropical species, little is known about the influence of color on social interactions and mate attraction. We evaluated the chromatic variation of 136 adult Saffron Finches (<em>Sicalis flaveola</em>) in Cali and Jamundí, Colombia. Our aim was to determine whether plumage coloration in this social, abundant, and widely distributed species is a signal used in mate choice and establishment of hierarchies. We predicted that there was intrasexual chromatic variation in crown and throat, and that individuals with higher saturation, regardless of sex, would be preferred by opposite sex and they would be dominant in intrasexual aggressive interactions, reflecting better condition. We quantified the reflectance of the crown and throat with visible and ultraviolet light (300–700 nm) subsequent to the molecular sex determination of each individual. Our results suggest that the chromatic variation in the crown and throat is explained by the perception of medium and long wavelengths in both sexes. Additionally, saturation is the color characteristic that best explains the chromatic variation. We formed duos of individuals based on chromatic contrast and conducted 23 mate choice experiments and 21 dominance experiments. The analysis of spectra and experiments revealed that dominance in males was associated with less saturated crowns. Our results reveal that in the Saffron Finches the “negatively correlated handicap” is a plausible hypothesis. Crown color appears to mediate dominance interactions, with less saturated males potentially taking greater risks to gain access to resources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51311,"journal":{"name":"Avian Research","volume":"16 2","pages":"Article 100241"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Avian Research","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716625000209","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ORNITHOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Carotenoid-based plumage coloration may signal individuals’ overall body condition, influencing reproduction and survival of birds. In tropical species, little is known about the influence of color on social interactions and mate attraction. We evaluated the chromatic variation of 136 adult Saffron Finches (Sicalis flaveola) in Cali and Jamundí, Colombia. Our aim was to determine whether plumage coloration in this social, abundant, and widely distributed species is a signal used in mate choice and establishment of hierarchies. We predicted that there was intrasexual chromatic variation in crown and throat, and that individuals with higher saturation, regardless of sex, would be preferred by opposite sex and they would be dominant in intrasexual aggressive interactions, reflecting better condition. We quantified the reflectance of the crown and throat with visible and ultraviolet light (300–700 nm) subsequent to the molecular sex determination of each individual. Our results suggest that the chromatic variation in the crown and throat is explained by the perception of medium and long wavelengths in both sexes. Additionally, saturation is the color characteristic that best explains the chromatic variation. We formed duos of individuals based on chromatic contrast and conducted 23 mate choice experiments and 21 dominance experiments. The analysis of spectra and experiments revealed that dominance in males was associated with less saturated crowns. Our results reveal that in the Saffron Finches the “negatively correlated handicap” is a plausible hypothesis. Crown color appears to mediate dominance interactions, with less saturated males potentially taking greater risks to gain access to resources.
期刊介绍:
Avian Research is an open access, peer-reviewed journal publishing high quality research and review articles on all aspects of ornithology from all over the world. It aims to report the latest and most significant progress in ornithology and to encourage exchange of ideas among international ornithologists. As an open access journal, Avian Research provides a unique opportunity to publish high quality contents that will be internationally accessible to any reader at no cost.