Experiments on colour ornaments and mate choice in king penguins
Research on animal ornaments used in mate choice has largely focused on males, particularly for bird species with sexually dimorphic coloured patches of feathers and integument. Relatively less information is available for coloured ornaments of sexually monomorphic species and the use of these ornaments during mate choice. The king penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus, is a monogamous […]
Courtship and mate choice in fishes- integrating behavioral and sensory ecology
Sexual selection theory predicts a coevolution between male sexual ornamentation and female preference. The implication of this prediction for sensory ecology is that there should be a tight coupling between the physiology of male signal production and the physiology of female signal reception. Indicator models of sexual selection predict that male ornamentation is correlated with […]
Plumage reflectance signals dominance in Florida scrub-jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens, juveniles
Although sexual selection is undeniably important in the evolution and maintenance of ornamental traits, it remains an unsuitable explanation for juvenile ornamentation. Male–male competition has been important in the evolution of UV-blue plumage ornamentation in birds, suggesting that this type of plumage may signal status more generally. In the present study, we compared dominance status […]