Abstract
Colour polymorphism is a widespread phenomenon and often encompasses different behavioural traits and strategies. More recently, it has been shown that morphs can also signal consistent individual differences (personality). An example are Gouldian finches that show discrete head colour morphs in the same population with red-headed birds being more aggressive but less risk-taking and explorative than black-headed birds in the lab. The current study aimed to investigate the link between head colour and behavioural traits in a naturally risky situation in the wild by recording the order of descent at waterholes in relation to hypotheses considering conspicuousness, dominance relationships and experience. Other bird species at the waterholes were also included in the study. Adult Gouldian finches generally preceded juveniles and among the adults the least conspicuous black-headed females descended first to the waterhole. Overall, females descended before the males though this pattern disappeared later in the season likely due to family groups breaking up and releasing males from attending to the juveniles. Finally, Gouldian finches almost always followed other species, particularly Long-tailed finches, to the ground rather than taking the lead. A two-level process of decision-making seems to explain the responses best: on the first level, experience separates adults from juveniles with adults preceding juveniles and on the second level, conspicuousness acts as a factor among the adults with the least conspicuous category taking the lead. Future studies should directly test the link between head colour and personality in the wild, look more into seasonal effects and investigate whether Gouldian finches use Long-tailed finches as an indicator of safety.
Highlights
Natural selection favours traits that give the bearer an advantage that results in higher reproductive success and over time increases the frequency of alleles coding for these traits in the gene pool at the cost of alleles of other traits
There are cases where different variants of the same trait exist in the same population which is difficult to explain from an evolutionary point of view as the variants have to be of equal fitness to persist over time [1]
Sexes and head colour morphs of Gouldian finches differed in their likelihood to descend first (Goodness of Fit chi-square n = 394, df = 4, chi2 = 32.956, p
Summary
Natural selection favours traits that give the bearer an advantage that results in higher reproductive success and over time increases the frequency of alleles coding for these traits in the gene pool at the cost of alleles of other traits. This often results in one optimal trait. Examples are colour polymorphism where individuals differ in their appearance [2] or personality which describes consistent individual. Risk-taking in colour polymorphic Gouldian finches c9157b82f35d2aeb6783d04ddfc277a6. None of the sponsors played any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
