Plumage coloration, not length or symmetry of tail-streamers, is a sexually selected trait in North American barn swallows

@article{citeulike:3175331, abstract = {Sexual adornments often vary markedly across a species' range, which presumably is owing to differences in local environmental conditions and the associated selection pressures, such as natural versus sexual selection or the relative signaling value of different ornamental traits. However, there are only a few reported examples in which the information content of mating signals varies geographically, and even fewer in which a set of secondary sexual traits serves different signaling functions in different populations. Classic studies of sexual selection in the European barn swallow (Hirundo rustica rustica) demonstrate that elongate tail-streamers provide several reproductive advantages to males and females and are used as reliable signals of mate quality. Here, we show that tail-streamers do not appear to confer these same benefits in a population of barn swallows from North America (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster). Instead, ventral plumage coloration, which is more exaggerated in North American swallows compared with their European counterparts, predicts patterns of assortative mating and annual reproductive success in H. r. erythrogaster. These observations support the idea that ornamental traits can serve different functions among animal populations and suggest that geographic variation in different sexual signals may facilitate population divergence, which may ultimately lead to speciation. 10.1093/beheco/arh035}, author = {Safran, Rebecca J. and Mcgraw, Kevin J. }, citeulike-article-id = {3175331}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arh035}, journal = {Behav. Ecol.}, keywords = {barn, color, erythrogaster, hirundo, rustica, selection, sexual, swallows}, month = {May}, number = {3}, pages = {455--461}, posted-at = {2008-08-30 22:46:23}, priority = {3}, title = {Plumage coloration, not length or symmetry of tail-streamers, is a sexually selected trait in North American barn swallows}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arh035}, volume = {15}, year = {2004} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:3175331 L3 - citeulike-article-id:3175331 N2 - Sexual adornments often vary markedly across a species' range, which presumably is owing to differences in local environmental conditions and the associated selection pressures, such as natural versus sexual selection or the relative signaling value of different ornamental traits. However, there are only a few reported examples in which the information content of mating signals varies geographically, and even fewer in which a set of secondary sexual traits serves different signaling functions in different populations. Classic studies of sexual selection in the European barn swallow (Hirundo rustica rustica) demonstrate that elongate tail-streamers provide several reproductive advantages to males and females and are used as reliable signals of mate quality. Here, we show that tail-streamers do not appear to confer these same benefits in a population of barn swallows from North America (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster). Instead, ventral plumage coloration, which is more exaggerated in North American swallows compared with their European counterparts, predicts patterns of assortative mating and annual reproductive success in H. r. erythrogaster. These observations support the idea that ornamental traits can serve different functions among animal populations and suggest that geographic variation in different sexual signals may facilitate population divergence, which may ultimately lead to speciation. 10.1093/beheco/arh035 IS - 3 JF - Behav. Ecol. EP - 461 TI - Plumage coloration, not length or symmetry of tail-streamers, is a sexually selected trait in North American barn swallows VL - 15 SP - 455 KW - barn KW - color KW - erythrogaster KW - hirundo KW - rustica KW - selection KW - sexual KW - swallows AU - Safran, Rebecca AU - Mcgraw, Kevin PY - 2004/05/01/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arh035 ER -