Ultraviolet reflectance and female mating preferences in the common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 479-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Zampiga ◽  
G. Gaibani ◽  
D. Csermely
Keyword(s):  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Visible Spectral Range ◽  
Falco Tinnunculus ◽  
Uv Filter ◽  
Skin Reflectance ◽  
Ultraviolet Reflectance ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
Female Mating Preferences ◽  
Uv Reflection

Previous studies revealed the importance of plumage brightness (considering only the visible spectral range) in female mate choice of common kestrels ( Falco tinnunculus L., 1758). Our study focuses on the effect of UV reflectance on female preference; we hypothesize that common kestrel females prefer males with UV-reflecting plumage and refuse, or are not attracted to, males whose plumage UV reflectance is prevented. We tested the preference of 20 captive females who were given a choice between two males, one behind a UV-transmitting (UV+) filter and another one behind a UV-blocking (UV–) filter. Female preference was measured as frequency and duration of visits to either male, specifically by sitting on the perch or hanging on to the partition wall. Females visited the male behind the UV+ filter more often than the male behind the UV– filter, indicating that females prefer males with UV-reflecting plumage than males without UV reflection. UV plumage and skin reflectance could provide females with information regarding current male conditions more so than other colours and other morphological parameters.

scholarly journals Is UV signalling involved in male-male territorial conflict in the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)? A new experimental approach

Behaviour ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Dijkstra ◽  
Peter Korsten ◽  
Jan Komdeur
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Approach ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Blue Tit ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Fertile Period ◽  
Territorial Conflict ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
Aggressive Reactions ◽  
Uv Coloration

Structurally-based ultraviolet (UV) coloration of plumage can signal male quality and plays a role in female mate choice in many bird species. UV-reflecting badges could also be important signals in male-male competition. We tested if territorial blue tit ( Cyanistes caeruleus ) males discriminate between conspecific male intruders which differ in the UV reflectance of their crown feathers. To this aim, we used a new experimental approach in which we simultaneously (instead of sequentially) introduced two male blue tit taxidermic mounts in the territories of resident males during the female fertile period; one mount with natural crown UV reflectance and one mount with reduced crown UV. The two mounts provoked strong aggressive reactions from resident males. Males specifically directed their aggression to conspecific intruders, as a male blue tit mount received substantially more aggression than a mount of a European robin ( Erithacus rubecula ). However, aggression of resident males did not vary between the UV-reduced and the control mount. Furthermore, the variation in natural crown UV reflectance of the resident males did not predict the intensity of their aggressive response. Contrary to previous findings our results suggest that UV signals play only a limited role in male-male interactions during territorial intrusions in the female fertile period.

The Detection of Near-Ultraviolet Light by Nonmigratory and Migratory Birds

The Auk ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Parrish ◽  
James A. Ptacek ◽  
Kevin L. Will
Keyword(s):  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Insectivorous Birds ◽  
Uv Spectrum ◽  
Near Ultraviolet ◽  
Ultraviolet Reflectance ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
Uv Vision ◽  
First Time

Abstract Near-ultraviolet (UV) light reception was demonstrated for the first time in three species of nonmigratory emberizid and passerid birds. Behavioral data also established that eight additional alcedinid and emberizid birds can detect near-UV wavelengths. The finding that these more recently evolved species can see near-UV light implies that near-UV vision is probably an important visual capability in most, if not all, diurnal birds. Although the utility of near-UV reception for birds remains equivocal, the fact that nonmigratory as well as migratory birds can perceive UV suggests that birds may be able to utilize the UV spectrum for homing, orientation, and navigation, as do the UV-sensitive arthropods. It also can be inferred that UV vision may be especially useful to insectivorous birds for the detection of UV reflectance patterns, which many otherwise cryptic arthropods possess for mate recognition. Ultraviolet reflectance patterns also may be useful to frugivorous and nectarivorous birds for the detection of food items.

scholarly journals Ultraviolet reflectance by the cere of raptors

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Mougeot ◽  
Beatriz E Arroyo
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Sexual Signal ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Circus Pygargus ◽  
Ultraviolet Reflectance ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
Sexual Signalling ◽  
Carotenoid Pigmentation

Ultraviolet (UV) signals have been shown to play key roles in social and sexual signalling in birds. Using a spectrophotometer, we analysed the colour of the cere (skin above the beak) of a diurnal raptor, the Montagu's harrier ( Circus pygargus ), and show that it reflects in the UV part of the spectrum. The cere is a well-known sexual signal in raptors, with carotenoid based pigmentation being indicative of quality. We thus hypothesized that UV reflectance also signals quality. Accordingly, we found that in our sample of wild males, the location of the UV peak was related to the orangeness of cere and correlated with male body mass and condition (mass corrected for size). Also, males with brighter UV were mated to females that laid earlier, as expected if UV reflectance relates to a male's quality and attractiveness. Future studies should investigate the relationships between UV reflectance and carotenoid pigmentation of cere, and test how UV reflectance influences mate choice.

Sexual selection: the handicap principle does work – sometimes

1987 ◽  
Vol 231 (1262) ◽  
pp. 123-145 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Threshold Value ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Handicap Principle ◽  
Feedback Process ◽  
Fitness Effects ◽  
High Viability ◽  
Female Mating Preferences ◽  
Line Of Equilibria ◽  
Threshold Increase

Zahavi’s ‘handicap principle’ proposes that females prefer males with handicaps (mating characters that reduce survival chances) because handicaps are indicators of heritable viability. It is shown here that there are conditions under which the ‘handicap principle’ causes the runaway exaggeration of male handicaps and female mating preferences. The conditions required are ( a ) that the fitness effects of the handicap and ‘viability’ genes combine non-multiplicatively (Zahavi’s handicap), and/or ( b ) that the handicap should directly reveal the presence or absence of genes for high viability (the revealing handicap). The ‘handicap principle’ by itself cannot initiate increases in female preference when the handicap is rare. It only works when a threshold value of female preference is exceeded, and Fisher’s feedback process operates. When Fisher’s feedback process occurs alone, a line of equilibria exists, where for each intensity of female preference there is a corresponding equilibrium development of the male mating character. When the ‘handicap principle’ also operates, the internal line of equilibria is eliminated, and only boundary equilibria persist (i. e. fixation or loss of the handicap). All populations at what were previously internal equilibria, or in which the intensity of female preference is above threshold, increase in a runaway to fixation of the handicap; therefore, handicapping male mating characters are more likely to be exaggerated when they are also indicators of viability.

Colour vision in sengis (Macroscelidea, Afrotheria, Mammalia): choice experiments indicate dichromatism

Behaviour ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 157 (14-15) ◽  
pp. 1127-1151
Author(s):  
Patricia Thüs ◽  
Klaus Lunau ◽  
Petra Wester
Keyword(s):  
Colour Vision ◽  
Choice Experiments ◽  
Maximum Sensitivity ◽  
Cone Photoreceptors ◽  
Protective Mechanisms ◽  
Uv Filter ◽  
In Vitro Expression ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
The Senses

Abstract Little research has been conducted on the senses of sengis (elephant-shrews, Macroscelidea, Afrotheria, Mammalia); behavioural investigations about the animals’ vision are completely missing. Other Afrotheria (manatees, elephants, tenrecs, rock hyraxes) are dichromats, having two types of cone photoreceptors in the retina. We tested the hypotheses of dichromatic colour vision in sengis. With choice experiments, we examined the potential of two sengi species to discriminate between trained colours (blue, green, red) and different shades of grey, and to differentiate between trained UV-reflecting (high UV reflectance) and UV-absorbing (low UV reflectance) plates. Both sengi species recognised blue and green and could distinguish them from all shades of grey. The ability to perceive red and ultraviolet could not be proven. Thus, the sengis are most likely dichromats based on green and blue sensitive receptor types. We discuss protective mechanisms in the lens as a UV filter explaining maximum sensitivity in the UV suggested for another sengi species after in vitro expression assays.

Innate and learned aspects of vole urine UV-reflectance use in the hunting behaviour of the common kestrel Falco tinnunculus

2006 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 318-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora Zampiga ◽  
Giorgia Gaibani ◽  
Davide Csermely ◽  
Hans Frey ◽  
Herbert Hoi
Keyword(s):  
Falco Tinnunculus ◽  
Hunting Behaviour ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
The Common

scholarly journals Enhanced UV-Reflection Facilitated a Shift in the Pollination System of the Red Poppy, Papaver rhoeas (Papaveraceae)

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Martínez-Harms ◽  
Ravit Hadar ◽  
Natalia Márquez ◽  
Randolf Menzel ◽  
Avi Shmida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Uv Light ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Flower Color ◽  
Pollination System ◽  
Central European ◽  
Papaver Rhoeas ◽  
The North ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Uv Reflection

Evolutionary change is considered a major factor influencing the invasion of new habitats by plants. Yet, evidence on how such modifications promote range expansion remains rather limited. Here we investigated flower color modifications in the red poppy, Papaver rhoeas (Papaveraceae), as a result of its introduction into Central Europe and the impact of those modifications on its interactions with pollinators. We found that while flowers of Eastern Mediterranean poppies reflect exclusively in the red part of the spectrum, those of Central European poppies reflect both red and ultraviolet (UV) light. This change coincides with a shift from pollination by glaphyrid beetles (Glaphyridae) to bees. Glaphyrids have red-sensitive photoreceptors that are absent in bees, which therefore will not be attracted by colors of exclusively red-reflecting flowers. However, UV-reflecting flowers are easily detectable by bees, as revealed by visual modeling. In the North Mediterranean, flowers with low and high UV reflectance occur sympatrically. We hypothesize that Central European populations of P. rhoeas were initially polymorphic with respect to their flower color and that UV reflection drove a shift in the pollination system of P. rhoeas that facilitated its spread across Europe.

scholarly journals Sexual selection of male parental care in giant water bugs

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 150720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin-ya Ohba ◽  
Noboru Okuda ◽  
Shin-ichi Kudo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Female Mate Preference ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Water Bugs ◽  
Selection Of

Paternal care can be maintained under sexual selection, if it helps in attracting more mates. We tested the hypothesis in two giant water bug species, Appasus major and Appasus japonicus , that male parental care is sexually selected through female preference for caring males. Females were given an opportunity to choose between two males. In the first test of female mate choice, one male carried eggs on its back, while the other did not. The egg status was switched between these two males in the second test. The experiment revealed that females of both species preferred caring males (i.e. egg-bearing) to non-caring males. Nonetheless, the female mate preference for egg-bearing males was stronger in A. major than in A. japonicus . Our results suggest that sexual selection plays an important role in maintaining elaborate paternal care in giant water bugs, but the importance of egg-bearing by males in female mate choice varies among species.

No consistent female preference for higher crown UV reflectance in Blue TitsCyanistes caeruleus: a mate choice experiment

Ibis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 152 (2) ◽  
pp. 393-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
RALF H. J. M. KURVERS ◽  
KASPAR DELHEY ◽  
MARK L. ROBERTS ◽  
ANNE PETERS
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Uv Reflectance

scholarly journals Male-male interactions select for conspicuous male colouration in damselflies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Kawsar Khan ◽  
Marie E. Herberstein
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Female Mate Preference ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Juvenile Males ◽  
First Time

AbstractMale ornamentation, such as conspicuous male colouration, can evolve through female mate choice. Alternatively, in species without overt female mate preference, conspicuous male colouration can evolve via intrasexual selection to resolve male-male competition or to prevent costly male-male mating attempts. Here, we investigated the drivers of conspicuous male colouration in an ontogenetic colour changing damselfly, Xanthagrion erythroneurum, where the juvenile males are yellow and change colour to red upon sexual maturity. We first showed that red males were chromatically and achromatically more conspicuous than the yellow males. We then quantified the condition of the males and showed that red males were larger and in better condition than yellow males. We tested female preference in a choice experiment where we artificially manipulated male colour, and found that females did not choose mates based on male colouration. We further tested whether the male colouration affected male-male interactions. We presented red and yellow males in the breeding arena, and found that red males received less intra- and interspecific aggression than yellow males. Our study experimentally showed, for the first time, that male conspicuousness is not a target of female mate choice in damselflies. Intra- and interspecific male-male interactions therefore appear to be the driver of conspicuous male colouration in damselflies.

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