Relationships between territory quality and carotenoid-based plumage colour, cell-mediated immune response, and body mass in Great Tit <I>Parus major</I> nestlings

Abstract

Plumage colour is classified as pigmentary or structural, depending on whether it is caused by pigments or by feather microstructure. However, recent findings indicate that carotenoid-based plumage colouration also reflects at UV-blue wavelengths and that the underlying structure is related to the reflectance properties of the yellow feathers. Thus, yellow plumage is based on interactions between structural and pigmentary components. This study investigat- ed the relationships among the vegetation structure of breeding territories, both components of plumage colour, T-cell- mediated immune response and body mass of nestling Great Tits Parus major. By using a model of avian visual percep- tion, we found that, while plumage yellowness was associated with mature vegetation, plumage brightness and UV- blue reflectance were related to immature habitats in territories. We noted considerable variability in the development of carotenoid-based colour components under different environmental conditions, as plumage yellowness, but not brightness or UV-blue reflectance, depends on the availability of carotenoids, which is assumed to be high in mature territories with high food abundance. Territorial features denoting mature territories were also related to high body mass and immune response in nestlings, but none of the colour components were related to these variables of the veg- etation structure, suggesting that habitat quality is related to nestling body mass and immune response through mech- anisms different from those through which it is related to colour.