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Evolution Of Breeding Plumages In Birds: A Multiple-Step Pathway To Seasonal Dichromatism In New World Warblers (Aves: Parulidae), Ryan S. Terrill, Glenn F. Seeholzer, Jared D. Wolfe

Michigan Tech Publications

Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Many species of birds show distinctive seasonal breeding and nonbreeding plumages. A number of hypotheses have been proposed for the evolution of this seasonal dichromatism, specifically related to the idea that birds may experience variable levels of sexual selection relative to natural selection throughout the year. However, these hypotheses have not addressed the selective forces that have shaped molt, the underlying mechanism of plumage change. Here, we examined relationships between life-history variation, the evolution of a seasonal molt, and seasonal plumage dichromatism in the New World warblers (Aves: Parulidae), a …