Behavioral Ecology Advance Access originally published online on June 11, 2004
Behavioral Ecology 2004 15(5):805-809; doi:10.1093/beheco/arh083
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ultraviolet reflectance affects male-male interactions in the blue tit (Parus caeruleus ultramarinus)
a Laboratoire de Parasitologie Evolutive, CNRS UMR 7103, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 7 quai St. Bernard, Case 237, 75252 Paris cedex 05, France b Laboratoire d'Ecologie Générale CNRS UMR 8571, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 4 avenue du petit château, 91800 Brunoy, France
Address correspondence to C. Alonso-Alvarez. E-mail: calonso{at}snv.jussieu.fr. C. Doutrelant is now at School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 370 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
Several animal species have been shown to use phenotypic traits to assess the competitive ability of opponents and adjust their aggressiveness depending on the likelihood to win the contest. In birds, these phenotypic traits usually involve patches of colored feathers. The benefit to harbor honest signals of male quality is the avoidance of wasteful aggressive interactions. Recent work has shown that ultraviolet (UV) plumage reflectance is an important signal used by females during mate choice. Surprisingly, however, the role of UV signaling on intrasexual selection has been neglected. In the present study, we aimed to test whether UV reflectance of crown feathers was used as a signal of male competitive ability during male-male interactions. Breeding male blue tits (Parus caeruleus ultramarinus) were exposed during the female egg-laying period to blue tit taxidermic mounts with either control or reduced UV reflectance of crown feathers. In agreement with the prediction that UV reflectance advertises male quality, we found that breeding blue tits behaved less aggressively toward the UV-reduced decoy. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental evidence suggesting a role for UV signaling on intrasexual selection.
Key words: animal contests, male-male competition, sexual selection, sexual signals.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  E. S.A. Santos, R. Maia, and R. H. Macedo Condition-dependent resource value affects male-male competition in the blue-black grassquit Behav. Ecol., May 1, 2009; 20(3): 553 - 559. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Maia, J. V. O Caetano, S. N Bao, and R. H Macedo Iridescent structural colour production in male blue-black grassquit feather barbules: the role of keratin and melanin J R Soc Interface, April 6, 2009; 6(Suppl_2): S203 - S211. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Borgia Experimental blocking of UV reflectance does not influence use of off-body display elements by satin bowerbirds Behav. Ecol., July 1, 2008; 19(4): 740 - 746. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Solis, J. M. Aviles, C. De La Cruz, J. Valencia, and G. Sorci Winter male plumage coloration correlates with breeding status in a cooperative breeding species Behav. Ecol., March 1, 2008; 19(2): 391 - 397. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
O. Vedder, P. Korsten, M. J. L. Magrath, and J. Komdeur Ultraviolet plumage does not signal social status in free-living blue tits; an experimental test Behav. Ecol., March 1, 2008; 19(2): 410 - 416. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Delhey, A. Peters, A. Johnsen, and B. Kempenaers Fertilization success and UV ornamentation in blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus: correlational and experimental evidence Behav. Ecol., March 1, 2007; 18(2): 399 - 409. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. L.M Lim and D. Li Effects of age and feeding history on structure-based UV ornaments of a jumping spider (Araneae: Salticidae) Proc R Soc B, February 22, 2007; 274(1609): 569 - 575. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Jacot and B. Kempenaers Effects of nestling condition on UV plumage traits in blue tits: an experimental approach Behav. Ecol., January 1, 2007; 18(1): 34 - 40. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. Penteriani, M. del Mar Delgado, C. Alonso-Alvarez, and F. Sergio The importance of visual cues for nocturnal species: eagle owls signal by badge brightness Behav. Ecol., January 1, 2007; 18(1): 143 - 147. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Delhey, A. Peters, A. Johnsen, and B. Kempenaers Seasonal changes in blue tit crown color: do they signal individual quality? Behav. Ecol., September 1, 2006; 17(5): 790 - 798. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Korsten, C. M. Lessells, A. C. Mateman, M. van der Velde, and J. Komdeur Primary sex ratio adjustment to experimentally reduced male UV attractiveness in blue tits Behav. Ecol., July 1, 2006; 17(4): 539 - 546. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Stapley and M. J Whiting Ultraviolet signals fighting ability in a lizard Biol Lett, June 22, 2006; 2(2): 169 - 172. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. D Hadfield, M. D Burgess, A. Lord, A. B Phillimore, S. M Clegg, and I. P.F Owens Direct versus indirect sexual selection: genetic basis of colour, size and recruitment in a wild bird Proc R Soc B, June 7, 2006; 273(1592): 1347 - 1353. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. M. Heiling, K. Cheng, L. Chittka, A. Goeth, and M. E. Herberstein The role of UV in crab spider signals: effects on perception by prey and predators J. Exp. Biol., October 15, 2005; 208(20): 3925 - 3931. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. P Veiga and V. Polo Feathers at nests are potential female signals in the spotless starling Biol Lett, September 22, 2005; 1(3): 334 - 337. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. D. Eaton Human vision fails to distinguish widespread sexual dichromatism among sexually "monochromatic" birds PNAS, August 2, 2005; 102(31): 10942 - 10946. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|