Silver spoon effects on plumage quality in a passerine bird.

ABSTRACT: A silver spoon effect means that individuals who develop under favourable circumstances enjoy a fitness or performance advantage later in life. While there is large empirical support for silver spoon effects acting on different life-history traits in birds, such as survival and reproduction, the evidence for the carry-over effects of rearing conditions on the quality of future plumage generations is lacking. Here, we examined whether abilities of individuals to undergo extensive post-juvenile moult may depend on the quality of juvenile plumage developed during the nestling phase in a small passerine showing large individual variation in the extent of post-juvenile moult, the greenfinch (Carduelis chloris). We found that high structural quality and carotenoid chroma of juvenile feathers wer

SUBMITTER: Minias P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4632535 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature