Blue-green eggshell coloration is not a sexually selected signal of female quality in an open-nesting polygynous passerine

0358873 - ÚBO 2012 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Honza, Marcel - Požgayová, Milica - Procházka, Petr - Cherry, M. I.
Blue-green eggshell coloration is not a sexually selected signal of female quality in an open-nesting polygynous passerine.
Science of Nature. Roč. 98, č. 6 (2011), s. 493-499. ISSN 0028-1042. E-ISSN 1432-1904
R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA600930605; GA AV ČR IAA600930903; GA MŠMT LC06073
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60930519
Keywords : Acrocephalus arundinaceus * Blue-green chroma * Egg colour * Female condition * Great reed warbler * Polygyny
Subject RIV: EG - Zoology
Impact factor: 2.278, year: 2011

Here we tested two main assumptions of the sexually selected egg coloration hypothesis: (1) whether the intensity of eggshell blue-green chroma (BGC) reflects female quality; and (2) whether males make their decisions on the level of parental care according to the intensity of eggshell BGC. In the polygynous study species, the great reed warbler, females simultaneously paired with the same male, compete for his nest attendance and could benefit from signalling their quality through egg coloration. However, we found no association between the variation in eggshell BGC and measures of female quality. Moreover, males did not adjust their investment in nest defence in relation to the eggshell BGC. We conclude that blue-green egg coloration in this open-nesting passerine is unlikely to have a signalling function. Rather, the large colour variation among clutches of individual females may depend on yearly fluctuations in environmental conditions.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0196789