The evolution of carotenoid-based plumage colours in passerine birds

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dc.citation.issue1
dc.citation.volume92
dc.contributor.authorDelhey K
dc.contributor.authorValcu M
dc.contributor.authorDale J
dc.contributor.authorKempenaers B
dc.contributor.editorWillink B
dc.coverage.spatialEngland
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-30T01:13:50Z
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-25T06:41:31Z
dc.date.available2022-08-07
dc.date.available2024-01-30T01:13:50Z
dc.date.available2024-07-25T06:41:31Z
dc.date.issued2023-01-04
dc.description.abstract1. Many birds use carotenoids to colour their plumage yellow to red. Because birds cannot synthesise carotenoids, they need to obtain these pigments from food, although some species metabolise dietary carotenoids (which are often yellow) into derived carotenoids (often red). 2. Here, we study the occurrence of yellow and red carotenoid-based plumage colours in the passerines, the largest bird radiation and quantify the effects of potential ecological and life-history drivers on their evolution. 3. We scored the presence/absence of yellow and red carotenoid-based plumage in nearly 6,000 species and use Bayesian phylogenetic mixed models to assess the effects of carotenoid-availability in diet, primary productivity, body size, habitat and sexual selection. We also test the widespread assumption that red carotenoid-based colours are more likely to be the result of metabolization. Finally, we analyse the pattern of evolutionary transitions between yellow and red carotenoid-based plumage colours to determine whether, as predicted, the evolution of yellow carotenoid-based colours precedes red. 4. We show that, as expected, both colours are more likely to evolve in smaller species and in species with carotenoid-rich diets. Yellow carotenoid-based plumage colours, but not red, are more prevalent in species that inhabit environments with higher primary productivity and closed vegetation. In general, females were more likely to have yellow and males more likely to have red carotenoid-based plumage colours, closely matching the effects of sexual selection. Our analyses also confirm that red carotenoid-based colours are more likely to be metabolised than yellow carotenoid-based colours. Evolutionary gains and losses of yellow and red carotenoid-based plumage colours indicate that red colours evolved more readily in species that already deposited yellow carotenoids, while the reverse was rarely the case. 5. Our study provides evidence for a general, directional evolutionary trend from yellow to red carotenoid-based colours, which are more likely to be the result of metabolization. This may render them potentially better indicators of quality, and thus favoured by sexual selection.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.edition.editionJanuary 2023
dc.format.pagination66-77
dc.identifier.author-urlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35899818
dc.identifier.citationDelhey K, Valcu M, Dale J, Kempenaers B. (2023). The evolution of carotenoid-based plumage colours in passerine birds.. J Anim Ecol. 92. 1. (pp. 66-77).
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/1365-2656.13791
dc.identifier.eissn1365-2656
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn0021-8790
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/70689
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherJohn Wiley and Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society
dc.publisher.urihttps://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.13791
dc.relation.isPartOfJ Anim Ecol
dc.rights(c) 2022 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY-NC 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.subjectPasseriformes
dc.subjectcarotenoids
dc.subjectprimary productivity
dc.subjectsexual selection
dc.subjectsignalling
dc.subjectMale
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectAnimals
dc.subjectPhylogeny
dc.subjectColor
dc.subjectBayes Theorem
dc.subjectFeathers
dc.subjectPigmentation
dc.subjectCarotenoids
dc.subjectPasseriformes
dc.titleThe evolution of carotenoid-based plumage colours in passerine birds
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id455201
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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