How feather colour reflects its melanin content

Functional Ecology

Volumn 19, Issue 5, 2005, Pages 816-821

  McGraw, K J ^a   Safran, R J ^b   Wakamatsu, K ^c  

^a ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program   (United States)

^c FUJITA HEALTH UNIVERSITY   (Japan)

Author keywords

Barn Swallow; Eumelanin; Hirundo rustica; Phaeomelanin; Plumage coloration; Sexual selection

Indexed keywords

BIRD; COLOR; FEATHER; INTRASPECIFIC INTERACTION; MELANIN;

ANIMALIA; AVES; HIRUNDO; HIRUNDO RUSTICA; HIRUNDO RUSTICA ERYTHROGASTER; VERTEBRATA;

EID: 33845569391     PISSN: 02698463     EISSN: 13652435     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.01032.x     Document Type: Article

References (24)

1. Buchanan, K.L., Evans, M.R., Goldsmith, A.R., Bryant, D.M. & Rowe, L.V. (2001) Testosterone influences basal metabolic rate in male house sparrows: a new cost of dominance signalling? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 268, 1337-1344.
2. Evans, M.R., Goldsmith, A.R. & Norris, S.R.A. (2000) The effects of testosterone on antibody production and plumage coloration in male house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 47, 156-163.
3. Haase, E., Ito, S. & Wakamatsu, K. (1995) Influences of sex, castration, and androgens on the eumelanin and phaeomelanin contents of different feathers in wild mallards. Pigment Cell Research 8, 164-170.
4. Hill, G.E. (2000) Energetic constraints on expression of carotenoid-based plumage coloration. Journal of Avian Biology 31, 559-566.
5. Hill, G.E. (2006) Environmental regulation of ornamental coloration in birds. Bird Coloration. II. Function and Evolution (eds G.E. Hill & K.J. McGraw), in press. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
6. Hill, G.E. & McGraw, K.J. (2006a) Bird Coloration. I. Mechanisms and Measurements. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, in press.
7. Hill, G.E. & McGraw, K.J. (2006b) Bird Coloration. II. Function and Evolution. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, in press.
8. Inouye, C.Y., Hill, G.E., Montgomerie, R. & Stradi, R.D. (2001) Carotenoid pigments in male house finch plumage in relation to age, subspecies, and ornamental coloration. Auk 118, 900-915.
9. Ito, S. & Fujita, K. (1985) Microanalysis of eumelanin and phaeomelanin in hair and melanomas by chemical degradation and liquid chromatography. Analytical Biochemistry 144, 527-536.
10. Ito, S. & Wakamatsu, K. (1994) An improved modification of permanganate oxidation that gives constant yield of pyrrole-2,3,5-tricarboxylic acid. Pigment Cell Research 1, 141-144.
11. Land, E.J. & Riley, P.A. (2000) Spontaneous redox reactions of dopaquinone and the balance between the eumelanic and phaeomelanic pathways. Pigment Cell Research 13, 273-277.
12. McGraw, K.J. (2003) Melanins, metals, and mate quality. Oikos 102, 402-406.
13. McGraw, K.J. (2006) The mechanics of melanin coloration in birds. Bird Coloration. 1. Mechanisms and Measurements (eds G.E. Hill & K.J. McGraw), pp. 243-294. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
14. McGraw, K.J. & Gregory, A.J. (2004) Carotenoid pigments in male American goldfinches: what is the optimal biochemical strategy for becoming colourful? Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 83, 273-280.
15. McGraw, K.J., Dale, J. & Mackillop, E.A. (2003) Social environment during molt and the expression of melanin-based plumage pigmentation in male house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 53, 116-122.
16. McGraw, K.J., Wakamatsu, K., Ito, S., Nolan, P.M., Jouventin, P., Dobson, F.S., Austic, R.E., Safran, R.J., Siefferman, L.M., Hill, G.E. & Parker, R.S. (2004a) You can't judge a pigment by its color: carotenoid and melanin content of yellow and brown feathers in swallows, bluebirds, penguins, and domestic chickens. Condor 106, 390-395.
17. McGraw, K.J., Safran, R.J., Evans, M.R. & Wakamatsu, K. (2004b) European barn swallows use melanin pigments to color their feathers brown. Behavioral Ecology 15, 889-891.
18. Safran, R.J. (2004) Adaptive site selection rules and variation in group size of barn swallows: individual decisions predict population patterns. American Naturalist 164, 121-131.
19. Safran, R.J. & McGraw, K.J. (2004) Plumage coloration, not the length or symmetry of tail streamers, is a sexually selected trait in North American barn swallows. Behavioral Ecology 15, 455-461.
20. Saks, L., McGraw, K.J. & Horak, P. (2003) How feather colour reflects its carotenoid content. Functional Ecology 17, 555-561.
21. Senar. J.C. (2006) Bird colors as intrasexual signals of aggression and dominance. Bird Coloration. II. Function and Evolution (eds G.E. Hill & K.J. McGraw), in press. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
22. Shawkey, M.D. & Hill, G.E. (2005) Carotenoids need nanostructures to shine. Biology Letters 1, 121-124.
23. Wakamatsu, K. & Ito, S. (2002) Advanced chemical methods in melanin determination. Pigment Cell Research 15, 174-183.
24. Wakamatsu, K., Ito, S. & Rees, J.L. (2002) The usefulness of 4-amino-3-hydroxyphenylalanine as a specific marker of phaeomelanin. Pigment Cell Research 15, 225-232.