Increased plumage darkness of female Shiny Cowbirds Molothrus bonariensis in the subtropics: An adaptation to bacterial degradation?

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The Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis is a sexually dichromatic species, in which males have blackish-blue iridescence and females are dull brown. However, in some subtropical parts of its distribution, females show a plumage polymorphism that ranges from dull brown to dark brown and even black. P...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Mahler, Bettina, Reboreda, Juan Carlos
Publicado:	2010
Materias:	Bacillus licheniformis Bacteria Feather degradation Melanization Molothrus bonariensis adaptation bacterium biodegradation color morph melanin microbial activity passerine physiological response plumage polymorphism selection sexual dimorphism subtropical region Argentina Bacteria (microorganisms)
Acceso en línea:	https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00191019_v152_n4_p775_Mahler http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00191019_v152_n4_p775_Mahler
Aporte de:	Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) de Universidad de Buenos Aires

id	paper:paper_00191019_v152_n4_p775_Mahler
record_format	dspace
spelling	paper:paper_00191019_v152_n4_p775_Mahler2023-06-08T14:40:11Z Increased plumage darkness of female Shiny Cowbirds Molothrus bonariensis in the subtropics: An adaptation to bacterial degradation? Mahler, Bettina Reboreda, Juan Carlos Bacillus licheniformis Bacteria Feather degradation Melanization Molothrus bonariensis adaptation bacterium biodegradation color morph melanin microbial activity passerine physiological response plumage polymorphism selection sexual dimorphism subtropical region Argentina Bacillus licheniformis Bacteria (microorganisms) Molothrus bonariensis The Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis is a sexually dichromatic species, in which males have blackish-blue iridescence and females are dull brown. However, in some subtropical parts of its distribution, females show a plumage polymorphism that ranges from dull brown to dark brown and even black. Plumage melanization has been shown to protect feathers from bacterial degradation, decreasing the effects of harmful bacterial activity and thus plumage damage. In this study, we assessed whether bacterial feather-degrading activity is acting as the selective force to increase darkness in the plumage of the female Shiny Cowbirds in Argentina. We compared the degradation of female Shiny Cowbird feathers belonging to different colour morphs when exposed to bacterial strains isolated from subtropical and temperate zones of its distribution, as well as to Bacillus licheniformis. We did not find differences in susceptibility to bacterial degradation between brown feathers and darker feathers. These results suggest that female plumage polymorphism in Shiny Cowbirds has not arisen as a defence against bacterial feather-degrading activity. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 British Ornithologists' Union. Fil:Mahler, B. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Reboreda, J.C. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. 2010 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00191019_v152_n4_p775_Mahler http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00191019_v152_n4_p775_Mahler
institution	Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str	I-28
repository_str	R-134
collection	Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic	Bacillus licheniformis Bacteria Feather degradation Melanization Molothrus bonariensis adaptation bacterium biodegradation color morph melanin microbial activity passerine physiological response plumage polymorphism selection sexual dimorphism subtropical region Argentina Bacillus licheniformis Bacteria (microorganisms) Molothrus bonariensis
spellingShingle	Bacillus licheniformis Bacteria Feather degradation Melanization Molothrus bonariensis adaptation bacterium biodegradation color morph melanin microbial activity passerine physiological response plumage polymorphism selection sexual dimorphism subtropical region Argentina Bacillus licheniformis Bacteria (microorganisms) Molothrus bonariensis Mahler, Bettina Reboreda, Juan Carlos Increased plumage darkness of female Shiny Cowbirds Molothrus bonariensis in the subtropics: An adaptation to bacterial degradation?
topic_facet	Bacillus licheniformis Bacteria Feather degradation Melanization Molothrus bonariensis adaptation bacterium biodegradation color morph melanin microbial activity passerine physiological response plumage polymorphism selection sexual dimorphism subtropical region Argentina Bacillus licheniformis Bacteria (microorganisms) Molothrus bonariensis
description	The Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis is a sexually dichromatic species, in which males have blackish-blue iridescence and females are dull brown. However, in some subtropical parts of its distribution, females show a plumage polymorphism that ranges from dull brown to dark brown and even black. Plumage melanization has been shown to protect feathers from bacterial degradation, decreasing the effects of harmful bacterial activity and thus plumage damage. In this study, we assessed whether bacterial feather-degrading activity is acting as the selective force to increase darkness in the plumage of the female Shiny Cowbirds in Argentina. We compared the degradation of female Shiny Cowbird feathers belonging to different colour morphs when exposed to bacterial strains isolated from subtropical and temperate zones of its distribution, as well as to Bacillus licheniformis. We did not find differences in susceptibility to bacterial degradation between brown feathers and darker feathers. These results suggest that female plumage polymorphism in Shiny Cowbirds has not arisen as a defence against bacterial feather-degrading activity. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 British Ornithologists' Union.
author	Mahler, Bettina Reboreda, Juan Carlos
author_facet	Mahler, Bettina Reboreda, Juan Carlos
author_sort	Mahler, Bettina
title	Increased plumage darkness of female Shiny Cowbirds Molothrus bonariensis in the subtropics: An adaptation to bacterial degradation?
title_short	Increased plumage darkness of female Shiny Cowbirds Molothrus bonariensis in the subtropics: An adaptation to bacterial degradation?
title_full	Increased plumage darkness of female Shiny Cowbirds Molothrus bonariensis in the subtropics: An adaptation to bacterial degradation?
title_fullStr	Increased plumage darkness of female Shiny Cowbirds Molothrus bonariensis in the subtropics: An adaptation to bacterial degradation?
title_full_unstemmed	Increased plumage darkness of female Shiny Cowbirds Molothrus bonariensis in the subtropics: An adaptation to bacterial degradation?
title_sort	increased plumage darkness of female shiny cowbirds molothrus bonariensis in the subtropics: an adaptation to bacterial degradation?
publishDate	2010
url	https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00191019_v152_n4_p775_Mahler http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00191019_v152_n4_p775_Mahler
work_keys_str_mv	AT mahlerbettina increasedplumagedarknessoffemaleshinycowbirdsmolothrusbonariensisinthesubtropicsanadaptationtobacterialdegradation AT reboredajuancarlos increasedplumagedarknessoffemaleshinycowbirdsmolothrusbonariensisinthesubtropicsanadaptationtobacterialdegradation
_version_	1768545079589339136

Increased plumage darkness of female Shiny Cowbirds Molothrus bonariensis in the subtropics: An adaptation to bacterial degradation?

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