Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Connecting The Dots: Exploring The Relationship Between Avian Eggshell Pigmentation And Paternal Provisioning Effort, Kara E. Hodges
Connecting The Dots: Exploring The Relationship Between Avian Eggshell Pigmentation And Paternal Provisioning Effort, Kara E. Hodges
Theses and Dissertations
In a number of bird species, eggs laid by females breeding in the same population can vary extensively in the extent of their eggshell pigmentation, but the adaptive significance of this intraspecific variation remains unknown. One hypothesis posits that shell pigmentation is an honest signal of female quality that reflects her level of oxidative stress, one that is used by males to inform their subsequent paternal investment. We employed a reciprocal clutch cross-fostering design to test whether provisioning by male house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) responds to the clutch pigmentation of their mates. In experimental replicates, dark clutches were swapped with …