NDLI: Are blue eggs a sexually selected signal of female collared flycatchers? A cross-fostering experiment

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Krist, Miloš Grim, Tomáš
Copyright Year	2007
Abstract	Impressive variation in egg colouration among birds has puzzled evolutionary biologists for a long time. The most frequently studied selective forces moulding egg colouration—predation and brood parasitism—have either received little empirical support or may play a role in only a minority of species. A novel hypothesis has suggested that egg colour may be significantly influenced by sexual selection. Females may deposit a blue-green pigment biliverdin into eggshells instead of using it for themselves as a powerful antioxidant. By this handicap, females may signal their quality to males, which are then hypothesized to increase their paternal effort. We experimentally tested the hypothesis in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), a species laying blue-green eggs. We cross-fostered clutches between nests to disentangle effects of female/territory quality and egg colour on paternal effort and nestling quality. The results supported two assumptions of sexual signalling through egg colour hypothesis: Blue pigment seems to be a limited resource for females, and female quality is positively correlated with the intensity of the blue-green colour. However, we did not find support for the main prediction of the hypothesis, as male parental effort parameters (feeding frequencies to nestlings and intensity of nest defence) were unrelated to egg colour. We discuss possible reasons for the discrepancy between our results and previous correlative analyses that supported the hypothesis that blue egg colour may be a postmating, sexually selected signal in females.
Starting Page	863
Ending Page	876
Page Count	14
File Format	PDF
ISSN	03405443
Journal	Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Volume Number	61
Issue Number	6
e-ISSN	14320762
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2007-01-10
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Egg colour Differential allocation Female signalling Immunity Parental investment Zoology Behavioural Sciences
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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Data from: Are blue eggs a sexually selected signal of female collared flycatchers? A cross-fostering experiment (Dataset)

Data from: Cross-fostering eggs reveals that female collared flycatchers adjust clutch sex ratios according to parental ability to invest in offspring (Dataset)

Carotenoids in the egg yolks of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) in relation to parental quality, environmental factors and laying order

Pigment allocation to eggs decreases plasma antioxidants in a songbird

Yolk androgen deposition as a compensatory strategy

Robin’s egg blue: does egg color influence male parental care?

Yolk hormones and sexual conflict over parental investment in the pied flycatcher

Reproductive allocation in female house wrens is not influenced by experimentally altered male attractiveness

Maternal investment in eggs is affected by male feet colour and breeding conditions in the blue-footed booby, Sula nebouxii

Are blue eggs a sexually selected signal of female collared flycatchers? A cross-fostering experiment

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Data from: Are blue eggs a sexually selected signal of female collared flycatchers? A cross-fostering experiment (Dataset)

Data from: Cross-fostering eggs reveals that female collared flycatchers adjust clutch sex ratios according to parental ability to invest in offspring (Dataset)

Carotenoids in the egg yolks of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) in relation to parental quality, environmental factors and laying order

Pigment allocation to eggs decreases plasma antioxidants in a songbird

Yolk androgen deposition as a compensatory strategy

Robin’s egg blue: does egg color influence male parental care?

Yolk hormones and sexual conflict over parental investment in the pied flycatcher

Reproductive allocation in female house wrens is not influenced by experimentally altered male attractiveness

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Are blue eggs a sexually selected signal of female collared flycatchers? A cross-fostering experiment