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The health signalling of ornamental traits in the Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix)
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SYSNO ASEP 0398392 Document Type J - Journal Article R&D Document Type Journal Article Subsidiary J Článek ve WOS Title The health signalling of ornamental traits in the Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) Author(s) Svobodová, J. (CZ)
Gabrielová, B. (CZ)
Synek, P. (CZ)
Maršík, Petr (UEB-Q) RID, ORCID
Vaněk, Tomáš (UEB-Q) RID, ORCID
Albrecht, Tomáš (UBO-W) RID, SAI, ORCID
Vinkler, Michal (UBO-W) RID, ORCIDNumber of authors 7 Source Title Journal of Ornithology. - : Springer - ISSN 0021-8375
Roč. 154, č. 3 (2013), s. 717-725Number of pages 9 s. Language eng - English Country DE - Germany Keywords Carotenoids ; Condition-dependent ; Game bird ; Melanin coloration ; Phytoheamagglutinin ; Plasmodium Subject RIV EG - Zoology Subject RIV - cooperation Institute of Vertebrate Biology - Zoology Institutional support UEB-Q - RVO:61389030 ; UBO-W - RVO:68081766 UT WOS 000323930500011 EID SCOPUS 84879133024 DOI 10.1007/s10336-013-0936-5 Annotation Birds express various secondary ornaments that can indicate individual condition and health. Amongst these, red-coloured carotenoid-based ornaments are supposed to be particularly valuable predictors of individual quality, due to their sensitivity to oxidative stress. Nevertheless, melanin-pigmented traits might also signal health and immune functions. Both types of ornaments may be either skin-based or feather-based, each differing in their dynamics. In the present study, we compared the health- and stress-indicating capacity of melanin-based feather ornamentation and putatively carotenoid-based skin ornamentation in a single species-the Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), a vulnerable avian species of the European agricultural landscape. In captive males, we firstly verified the carotenoid content of the red-coloured skin tissue behind the eye by chromatography (HPLC). Secondly, we assessed the individual health status of all males by examining differential leukocyte count, the frequency of immature erythrocytes, malaria prevalence and proinflammatory immune responsiveness to phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). Both the size of the melanin-based ornament and red chroma of the carotenoid-based ornament were related to the heterophil: lymphocyte (H/L) ratio. Hence, in the Grey Partridge, both redness of the skin ornament and area of the feather ornament may serve as honest indicators of individual health and long-term stress. However, the two ornamental components were unrelated to each other, and the directions of their association to the H/L ratio were opposite. We therefore propose that, in this species, larger melanin-based feather ornamentation size is linked to higher levels of stress (possibly caused by more intensive social interactions with other males), while the level of expression of the carotenoid-based skin ornamentation more reliably signals actual individual health status. Workplace Institute of Vertebrate Biology Contact Hana Slabáková, slabakova@ivb.cz, Tel.: 543 422 524 Year of Publishing 2014
Number of the records: 1