Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
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 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 arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (16)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Jawor, J. M.
Right arrow Articles by Breitwisch, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Jawor, J. M.
Right arrow Articles by Breitwisch, R.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Behavioral Ecology Vol. 14 No. 4: 515-520
© 2003 International Society for Behavioral Ecology

Assortative mating by multiple ornaments in northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Jodie M. Jawor, Susan U. Linville, Sara M. Beall and Randall Breitwisch

Department of Biology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469-2320, USA

Address correspondence to J.M. Jawor. E-mail: jmjawor{at}hotmail.com.

In positive assortative mating, individuals of similar phenotype mate together more frequently than expected by chance. Assortative mating by a variety of qualities, including ornamentation, is well documented in birds. Studies of assortative mating by ornaments have focused on single, highly conspicuous ornaments, but many species of birds possess multiple ornaments in both sexes. We compared ornament expressions between mates of northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) to determine if assortative mating occurred by one or more of the four ornaments displayed by both sexes. All cardinals possess tall head crests and red-orange bills. In addition, males have black face masks and entirely red body plumage, whereas females have blackish face masks and red underwing coverts. We predicted that cardinals mate assortatively by plumage color because red plumage expression has been shown to indicate quality in both sexes. We found that cardinals mate assortatively by plumage and bill color, the two ornaments colored by carotenoid pigments, but not by mask expression or crest length. Whether this mating pattern arises by mutual mate choice or intrasexual selection is not known.

Key words: assortative mating, Cardinalis cardinalis, carotenoids, multiple ornaments, nonrandom mating, northern cardinal.


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
 Proc R Soc BHome page
S. A Tarof, P. O Dunn, and L. A Whittingham
Dual functions of a melanin-based ornament in the common yellowthroat
Proc R Soc B, June 7, 2005; 272(1568): 1121 - 1127.
[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.