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Melanin-based coloration covaries with ovary size in an age-specific manner in the barn owl

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Abstract

While the adaptive function of black eumelanin-based coloration is relatively well known, the function of reddish-brown pheomelanin-based coloration is still unclear. Only a few studies have shown or suggested that the degree of reddish-brownness is associated with predator–prey relationships, reproductive parameters, growth rate and immunity. To gain insight into the physiological correlates of melanin-based coloration, I collected barn owl (Tyto alba) cadavers and examined the covariation between this colour trait and ovary size, an organ that increases in size before reproduction. A relationship is expected because melanin-based coloration often covaries with sexual activity. The results showed that reddish-brown juveniles had larger ovaries than whiter juveniles particularly in individuals in poor condition and outside the breeding season, while in birds older than 2 years lightly coloured females had larger ovaries than reddish-brown conspecifics. As barn owls become less reddish-brown between the first and second year of age, the present study suggests that reddish-brown pheomelanic and whitish colorations are associated with juvenile- and adult-specific adaptations, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

I thank Hughes Baudvin for having organised the collection of dead barn owls along French highways by the SAPRR (Société des Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant PPOOA-102913) for financial support. Ken Kraaijeveld and an anonymous referee kindly provided useful comments to improve the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Alexandre Roulin

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  1. Alexandre Roulin
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Roulin, A. Melanin-based coloration covaries with ovary size in an age-specific manner in the barn owl. Naturwissenschaften 96, 1177–1184 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-009-0579-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-009-0579-9

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