Haemosporidian parasites and incubation period influence plumage coloration in tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae).

ABSTRACT: Birds are highly visually oriented and use plumage coloration as an important signalling trait in social communication. Hence, males and females may have different patterns of plumage coloration, a phenomenon known as sexual dichromatism. Because males tend to have more complex plumages, sexual dichromatism is usually attributed to female choice. However, plumage coloration is partly condition-dependent; therefore, other selective pressures affecting individuals' success may also drive the evolution of this trait. Here, we used tanagers as model organisms to study the relationships between dichromatism and plumage coloration complexity in tanagers with parasitism by haemosporidians, investment in reproduction and life-history traits. We screened blood samples from 2849 individual birds bel

SUBMITTER: Aguiar de Souza Penha V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9682435 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature