Skip Navigation


Behavioral Ecology Advance Access originally published online on April 15, 2008
Behavioral Ecology 2008 19(4):847-853; doi:10.1093/beheco/arn035
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Lay Summary
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
19/4/847    most recent
arn035v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Vergara, P.
Right arrow Articles by Fargallo, J. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Vergara, P.
Right arrow Articles by Fargallo, J. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Sex, melanic coloration, and sibling competition during the postfledging dependence period

Pablo Vergara and Juan A. Fargallo

Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain

Address correspondence to P. Vergara. E-mail: vergara{at}mncn.csic.es.


  Abstract

Success in sibling competition is one of the main factors determining individual body condition in the early stages of life and consequently offspring survival and fitness. In birds, most studies on this topic have been focused on the nesting period, but sibling competition still continues during the postfledging period. We studied sibling competition over 3 years during the postfledgling dependence period in the Eurasian kestrel Falco tinnunculus, a reversed sexually size dimorphic species. Contrary to that in the nesting stage, male fledglings showed a higher competitive capacity than females resulting from their greater success in capturing larger prey items delivered by parents. Furthermore, male fledglings showing grayer coloration in the rump captured greater number of larger prey than browner males. Our results suggest that patterns of sibling competition in nestlings can differ from those found during postfledging, revealing the importance of studying this period in order to achieve a more complete view of sibling competition. In addition, kestrel fledglings with grayer rumps were more likely to have larger prey items, suggesting that this character can be interpreted as a phenotypic indicator of quality.

Key words: brood hierarchies, Falco tinnunculus, hatching order, prey delivery, sex differences, status signaling.

Received 2 May 2007; revised 3 February 2008; accepted 4 March 2008.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Exp. Biol.Home page
D. Parejo and N. Silva
Methionine supplementation influences melanin-based plumage colouration in Eurasian kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, nestlings
J. Exp. Biol., November 1, 2009; 212(21): 3576 - 3582.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.