Heritable variation in a plumage indicator of viability in male great tits Parus major
Article Abstract:
A study was conducted to determine whether the attractiveness of the male great tit Parus major to female P. major is a heritable trait, and whether male attractiveness is directly related to the viability of their offspring. The study involved a cross-fostering in which parent birds raised unrelated young. The results showed that plumage trait associated with male attractiveness is a heritable trait, and that it correlates with the viability of their of offspring. These results provide empirical proof of sexual selection by female birds based on genetic quality as indicated by visible traits.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1993
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Red enhances human performance in contests
Article Abstract:
The color red is a sexually selected sign of male quality in variety of animals, which can increase male dominance in some non-human species. A similar effect can influence the outcome of physical contests in humans and it is found that not only the sexual selection may have influenced the evolution in human response to colors but also that the color of sportswear needs to be taken into account to ensure a level playing field in sport.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2005
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Fluctuating asymmetry measurement
Article Abstract:
There are two statistical problems with the use of fluctuating asymmetry to show sexual selection of secondary traits for natural selection. One problem occurs if relative fluctuating asymmetry is measured, causing meaningless regressions. Another problem occurs when absolute asymmetry is measured and the longer element of a pair is not made the independent variable, as is illustrated by an example using ring-neck pheasants.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1993
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Temporal variation in responses to intraspecific brood parasitism in the moorhen. Factors affecting the rates of intraspecific nest parasitism among Anseriformes and Galliformes
- Abstracts: Chaotic variations in the eccentricity of the planet orbiting 16 Cygni B. Li in V404 Cygni
- Abstracts: Oblique rifting in a slow-spreading ridge. Spreading rate dependence of gravity anomalies along oceanic transform faults
- Abstracts: Americans in Europe: the role of travel in the spread of European ethology after World War II. Long-term effects of intraspecific and interspecific cross-fostering on two species of Peromyscus
- Abstracts: High-redshift star formation in the Hubble Deep Field revealed by a submillimetre-wavelength survey. Hubble repairs to top active year in space