Skip Navigation



Behavioral Ecology Advance Access published online on July 22, 2008
Behavioral Ecology, doi:10.1093/beheco/arn085
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplementary Material
Right arrow Lay Summary
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 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 Hegyi, G.
Right arrow Articles by Eens, M.
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Hegyi, G.
Right arrow Articles by Eens, M.
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

The roles of ecological factors and sexual selection in the evolution of white wing patches in ducks

Gergely Hegyia,b, László Zsolt Garamszegib and Marcel Eensb

a Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary b Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium

Address correspondence to G. Hegyi. E-mail: everest{at}ludens.elte.hu.


  Abstract

Most studies of the evolution of sexual ornamentation have dealt with plumage attributes. White plumage patches are widespread in birds, the disproportionate role of wearing costs makes their evolutionary trajectories unique, and their visual assessment is less biased than that of other color categories. Still, comparative studies of white patches are very rare. We examined the evolution of white wing patches in ducks (Anatinae), assessing both sex-specific trait expression and dichromatism. Habitat openness, nest site (cavity or open), or the length of the incubation period did not predict white patch expression. Patch size on the wing coverts of females increased with parental care contribution by males. Covert patch size relative to the wing surface was positively related to body size in males, suggesting a role in sexual competition. White wing patch expression was unrelated to the frequency of social mate change or testis size, a measure of general sperm competition intensity. However, covert patch size in both sexes showed strong negative correlation with the phallus length of males, an indicator of the prevalence of forced copulations. Further studies are needed to clarify the role of flight feather patches and the factors that limit the exaggeration of white wing patches in this and other groups.

Key words: Anatinae, forced copulation, intrasexual competition, parental care, predation, social mating system, white plumage ornament.

Received 1 November 2007; revised 23 June 2008; accepted 23 June 2008.


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




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.