Abstract
Carotenoid-based ornamentation shows great variability in Common Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) males. Plumage colour ranges from dull yellow to bright red, but the majority of birds tend to be reddish-orange. It has been suggested that moult in this species is bimodal and that the extent of red feathering depends on the period in which feather development occurred. In this study, we analysed the relationship between timing of moult and male plumage colouration in a Common Crossbill population from the Catalonian Pyrenees (NE Spain). Our results demonstrate that the concentrations of dietary carotenoids necessary for the development of red colouration in this species vary significantly within seasons, and that the main time of feather development is apparently well adapted to the period of highest pigment availability in the environment. The intra-specific colour differences between males might be related to the ability to find food resources rich in red carotenoid precursors and to overcome the physiological processes involved in their metabolism, strongly suggesting that red colouration in Crossbills functions as an honest signal of condition and health status.
Zusammenfassung
Jahreszeitliche Schwankungen im Blutplasmaspiegel roter Karotinoid-Pigmente bei freilebenden Fichtenkreuzschnabel-Männchen Loxia curvirostra
Männliche Fichtenkreuzschnäbel (Loxia curvirostra) zeigen eine hohe Variabilität in der durch Karotinoide bedingten Färbung. Die Gefiederfarbe reicht von mattem Gelb bis zu leuchtendem Rot, die Mehrzahl der Vögel tendiert aber zu einem rötlichen Orange. Es wurde vermutet, dass die Mauser bei dieser Art in zwei Phasen (bimodal) verläuft und dass das Ausmaß der roten Gefiederpartien von dem Zeitraum abhängt, in dem die Federbildung stattfindet. In dieser Studie untersuchten wir die Beziehung zwischen dem Zeitpunkt der Mauser und der männlichen Gefiederfarbe bei einer Fichtenkreuzschnabel-Population aus den katalanischen Pyrenäen (Nordost-Spanien). Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Karotinoid-Konzentrationen in der Nahrung, die zur Ausbildung der roten Färbung bei dieser Art nötig sind, eine signifikante jahreszeitliche Variation aufweisen, und dass die Hauptphase der Federbildung anscheinend gut an den Zeitraum der höchsten Pigmentverfügbarkeit in der Umwelt angepasst ist. Die intraspezifischen Färbungsunterschiede zwischen den Männchen könnten mit deren Fähigkeit zusammenhängen, Nahrungsquellen zu finden, welche reich an roten Karotinoidvorstufen sind, und die physiologischen Prozesse, welche an der Weiterverarbeitung im Stoffwechsel beteiligt sind, zu bewältigen. Dies ist ein deutlicher Hinweis darauf, dass die Rotfärbung bei Fichtenkreuzschnäbeln ein ehrliches Signal für die Kondition und den Gesundheitsstatus darstellt.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Nuria Fernández, Isabel García and Llüisa Arroyo for helping in the laboratory and Xavi Colomè for field assistance. Dr. Marc Förschler and two anonymous referees kindly provided useful comments on the manuscript. We are grateful to Dr. George Britton (School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK) who provided us with the standard of 3-hydroxy-echinenone. This work was founded by Research Projects CGL2006-07481 to J.C.S., J.J.N., J.G. and M.J., CGL2012-38262 to J.C.S. and J.J.N., and the FPI Grant BES2004-5631 to E.D.V. (Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología). Birds were handled under permission of the Catalan Ringing Office (ICO) and the Departament of Medi Ambient, Generalitat de Catalunya.
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del Val, E., Negro, J.J., Garrido-Fernández, J. et al. Seasonal variation of red carotenoid pigments in plasma of wild Crossbill males Loxia curvirostra . J Ornithol 155, 211–218 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-013-1002-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-013-1002-z