Colourful traits in female birds relate to individual condition, reproductive performance and male-mate preferences: a meta-analytic approach

Colourful traits in females are suggested to have evolved and be maintained by sexual selection. Although several studies have evaluated this idea, support is still equivocal. Evidence has been compiled in reviews, and a handful of quantitative syntheses has explored cumulative support for the link...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology letters (2005) 2021-09, Vol.17 (9), p.20210283-20210283
Main Authors: Hernández, América, Martínez-Gómez, Margarita, Beamonte-Barrientos, René, Montoya, Bibiana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Behaviour
Animals
Birds
Clutch Size
Female
Male
Phenotype
Reproduction
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Summary:Colourful traits in females are suggested to have evolved and be maintained by sexual selection. Although several studies have evaluated this idea, support is still equivocal. Evidence has been compiled in reviews, and a handful of quantitative syntheses has explored cumulative support for the link between condition and specific colour traits in males and females. However, understanding the potential function of females' colourful traits in sexual communication has not been the primary focus of any of those previous studies. Here, using a meta-analytic approach, we find that evidence from empirical studies in birds supports the idea that colourful female ornaments are positively associated with residual mass and immune response, clutch size and male-mate preferences. Hence, colourful traits in female birds likely evolved and are maintained by sexual selection as condition-dependent signals.
ISSN:1744-957X
1744-9561
1744-957X
DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2021.0283