Light matters: testing the "Light Environment Hypothesis" under intra- and interspecific contexts.

ABSTRACT: The "Light Environment Hypothesis" (LEH) proposes that evolution of interspecific variation in plumage color is driven by variation in light environments across habitats. If ambient light has the potential to drive interspecific variation, a similar influence should be expected for intraspecific recognition, as color signals are an adaptive response to the change in ambient light levels in different habitats. Using spectrometry, avian-appropriate models of vision, and phylogenetic comparative methods, I quantified dichromatism and tested the LEH in both intra- and interspecific contexts in 33 Amazonian species from the infraorder Furnariides living in environments with different light levels. Although these birds are sexually monochromatic to humans, 81.8% of the species had at least one d

SUBMITTER: Hernandez-Palma A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4875815 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature