Microstructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers

Abstract Brilliantly-colored birds are a model system for research into evolution and sexual selection. Red, orange, and yellow carotenoid-colored plumages have been considered honest signals of condition; however, sex differences in feather pigments and microstructures are not well understood. Here...

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Autores principales:	Dakota E. McCoy, Allison J. Shultz, Charles Vidoudez, Emma van der Heide, Jacqueline E. Dall, Sunia A. Trauger, David Haig
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/fd578b6029534dce80f7582f54280d25
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:fd578b6029534dce80f7582f54280d252021-12-02T17:32:57ZMicrostructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers10.1038/s41598-021-88106-w2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/fd578b6029534dce80f7582f54280d252021-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88106-whttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Brilliantly-colored birds are a model system for research into evolution and sexual selection. Red, orange, and yellow carotenoid-colored plumages have been considered honest signals of condition; however, sex differences in feather pigments and microstructures are not well understood. Here, we show that microstructures, rather than carotenoid pigments, seem to be a major driver of male–female color differences in the social, sexually-dimorphic tanager genus Ramphocelus. We comprehensively quantified feather (i) color (using spectrophotometry), (ii) pigments (using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS)), and (iii) microstructures (using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) optical modeling). Males have significantly more saturated color patches than females. However, our exploratory analysis of pigments suggested that males and females have concordant carotenoid pigment profiles across all species (MCMCglmm model, female:male ratio = 0.95). Male, but not female, feathers have elaborate microstructures which amplify color appearance. Oblong, expanded feather barbs in males enhance color saturation (for the same amount of pigment) by increasing the transmission of optical power through the feather. Dihedral barbules (vertically-angled, strap-shaped barbules) in males reduce total reflectance to generate “super black” and “velvet red” plumage. Melanin in females explains some, but not all, of the male–female plumage differences. Our results suggest that a widely cited index of honesty, carotenoid pigments, cannot fully explain male appearance. We propose that males are selected to evolve amplifiers—in this case, microstructures that enhance appearance—that are not necessarily themselves linked to quality.Dakota E. McCoyAllison J. ShultzCharles VidoudezEmma van der HeideJacqueline E. DallSunia A. TraugerDavid HaigNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-20 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Dakota E. McCoy Allison J. Shultz Charles Vidoudez Emma van der Heide Jacqueline E. Dall Sunia A. Trauger David Haig Microstructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers
description	Abstract Brilliantly-colored birds are a model system for research into evolution and sexual selection. Red, orange, and yellow carotenoid-colored plumages have been considered honest signals of condition; however, sex differences in feather pigments and microstructures are not well understood. Here, we show that microstructures, rather than carotenoid pigments, seem to be a major driver of male–female color differences in the social, sexually-dimorphic tanager genus Ramphocelus. We comprehensively quantified feather (i) color (using spectrophotometry), (ii) pigments (using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS)), and (iii) microstructures (using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) optical modeling). Males have significantly more saturated color patches than females. However, our exploratory analysis of pigments suggested that males and females have concordant carotenoid pigment profiles across all species (MCMCglmm model, female:male ratio = 0.95). Male, but not female, feathers have elaborate microstructures which amplify color appearance. Oblong, expanded feather barbs in males enhance color saturation (for the same amount of pigment) by increasing the transmission of optical power through the feather. Dihedral barbules (vertically-angled, strap-shaped barbules) in males reduce total reflectance to generate “super black” and “velvet red” plumage. Melanin in females explains some, but not all, of the male–female plumage differences. Our results suggest that a widely cited index of honesty, carotenoid pigments, cannot fully explain male appearance. We propose that males are selected to evolve amplifiers—in this case, microstructures that enhance appearance—that are not necessarily themselves linked to quality.
format	article
author	Dakota E. McCoy Allison J. Shultz Charles Vidoudez Emma van der Heide Jacqueline E. Dall Sunia A. Trauger David Haig
author_facet	Dakota E. McCoy Allison J. Shultz Charles Vidoudez Emma van der Heide Jacqueline E. Dall Sunia A. Trauger David Haig
author_sort	Dakota E. McCoy
title	Microstructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers
title_short	Microstructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers
title_full	Microstructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers
title_fullStr	Microstructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers
title_full_unstemmed	Microstructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers
title_sort	microstructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/fd578b6029534dce80f7582f54280d25
work_keys_str_mv	AT dakotaemccoy microstructuresamplifycarotenoidplumagesignalsintanagers AT allisonjshultz microstructuresamplifycarotenoidplumagesignalsintanagers AT charlesvidoudez microstructuresamplifycarotenoidplumagesignalsintanagers AT emmavanderheide microstructuresamplifycarotenoidplumagesignalsintanagers AT jacquelineedall microstructuresamplifycarotenoidplumagesignalsintanagers AT suniaatrauger microstructuresamplifycarotenoidplumagesignalsintanagers AT davidhaig microstructuresamplifycarotenoidplumagesignalsintanagers
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Microstructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers

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