Broad-scale variation in sexual dichromatism in songbirds is not explained by sex differences in exposure to predators during incubation

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61989592%3A15310%2F17%3A73584202" target="_blank" >RIV/61989592:15310/17:73584202 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jav.01144/full" target="_blank" >http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jav.01144/full</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jav.01144" target="_blank" >10.1111/jav.01144</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Broad-scale variation in sexual dichromatism in songbirds is not explained by sex differences in exposure to predators during incubation

Original language description

The evolution of sexual dichromatism provoked one of the greatest disagreements between Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. According to Darwin the main driving force is sexual selection, whereby choosy females prefer showy males, leading to the evolution of conspicuous male plumage. On the other hand, Wallace suggested that dichromatism may arise because nest predation favors more cryptic females. To test the role of natural selection in the evolution of dichromatism we combined quantitative data on differences in parental share in nest attentiveness (representing the strength of natural selection on males vs females) with spectrophotometric measurements of dichromatism in 412 species of songbirds from 69 families. We expected to find stronger dichromatism in open-nesting species with more divergent parental roles and in body parts exposed during incubation. Dichromatism was not related to the differences in parental share during incubation, but it was most pronounced in lekking species, migrants, and small species. Our results thus suggest that Wallace&apos;s hypothesis is not able to explain broad-scale variation in the dichromatism of songbirds, but point to a role for sexual selection, mutual mate choice, and migration strategy in shaping the extraordinary variation in dichromatism exhibited by songbirds.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10613 - Zoology

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2017

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Journal of Avian Biology

ISSN

0908-8857

e-ISSN

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Volume of the periodical

48

Issue of the periodical within the volume

10

Country of publishing house

DK - DENMARK

Number of pages

8

Pages from-to

1322-1330

UT code for WoS article

000414072600007

EID of the result in the Scopus database

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