Sexual differences in levels of blood carotenoids in Cirl Buntings Emberiza cirlus
Carotenoids are responsible for the bright red and yellow plumage of birds. These substances cannot be synthesised by birds and must be obtained from the diet and transported through the blood to the feathers. The carot enoid content of blood was measured in Cirl Buntings Emberiza cirlus, a species...
| Authors: | , |
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| Format: | article |
| Publication Date: | 1998 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repository: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/44553 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/44553 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Emberiza cirlus Carotenoids passerines plumage brightness Sexual dimorphism sexual attractiveness |
| Summary: | Carotenoids are responsible for the bright red and yellow plumage of birds. These substances cannot be synthesised by birds and must be obtained from the diet and transported through the blood to the feathers. The carot enoid content of blood was measured in Cirl Buntings Emberiza cirlus, a species with sexually dimorphic yellow plumage. Carotenoid concentra tion, estimated from the coloration of the plasma, was higher in males than in females and juveniles. These differences were unrelated to the greater in cidence of feather moult in males. Although the reasons for the differences are not understood, the results of this and two previous studies suggest that, in species with sexually dichromatic plumage, the quantity of carotenoids transported in the blood is higher in the more brightly coloured sex. |
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