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Physical Alignments Between Plumage Carotenoid Spectra and Cone Sensitivities in Ultraviolet-Sensitive (UVS) Birds (Passerida: Passeriformes)

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Abstract

Among birds, single cone sensitivities responsible for color vision appear surprisingly conserved even though chromatic signals vary greatly. Thus it is widely held that avian visual signal and receptor characteristics are rarely aligned. Analysis of a diverse passerine clade (Passerida) with characteristically ultraviolet-sensitive (UVS) vision revealed that plumage carotenoid reflectance spectra matched cone maximal sensitivities at several levels: (1) plumage carotenoid reflectance minima and maxima in aggregate aligned with the four UVS single cones; (2) the corresponding reflectance features of yellow (hydroxy- and ε-keto) and red (3- and 4-β-keto) carotenoid classes aligned with different combinations of cones; (3) pairs of reflectance features (e.g. one minimum and one maximum) of each carotenoid class aligned with pairs of (opponent) cones that evoke chromatic perception; (4) passerid plumage carotenoids aligned more closely to their own (UVS) visual system than to the distinctive homologous cone classes of the violet-sensitive system found in other birds. The ubiquitous occurrence of plumage carotenoids ipso facto demonstrates that alignments of avian visual signals and receptors are widespread, and provides novel evidence that carotenoids are important to avian communication. Moreover, alignment of different physical spectra to different cone combinations in a fixed receptor array provides a straightforward mechanism that accommodates signal diversity within the context of a relatively conserved visual system. The distinct patterns of variation and alignment observed for yellow versus red carotenoids further suggest that these pigment classes convey different physical aspects of content, which may foster carotenoid-based plumage diversity through signal design trade-offs.

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Acknowledgments

I thank the American Museum of Natural History (Paul R. Sweet), Delaware Museum of Natural History (Jean Woods), Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University (Jeremiah Trimball), University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (Janet Hinshaw), United States National Museum (James Dean), and University of Wisconsin Zoological Museum (Paula Holahan) for generous loans of specimens. William Feeny assisted with the drafting of the figures. The comments by two reviewers contributed to the clarity of the presentation. The National Science Foundation (IOS 0741857) and Vilas Life Cycle Program of the University of Wisconsin (133-PRJ45 EB, 133-PRJ45EC) provided generous financial support of this work.

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    Robert Bleiweiss

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Bleiweiss, R. Physical Alignments Between Plumage Carotenoid Spectra and Cone Sensitivities in Ultraviolet-Sensitive (UVS) Birds (Passerida: Passeriformes). Evol Biol 41, 404–424 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-014-9273-8

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