Publication Date:
2004-12-25
Description:
Toward the end of the breeding season, migratory songbirds face crucial tradeoffs between the timing of reproduction, molt, and migration. Using stable hydrogen isotopes, we show that male American redstarts investing in high levels of reproduction late in the season adopt a unique strategy of combining molt and migration. Tail feathers molted during migration also reflect less orange-red light, indicating reduced carotenoid concentration. Thus, we show how reproduction in a migratory animal can influence both life history strategies (location of molt) and social signals (feather color) during subsequent periods of the annual cycle.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Norris, D Ryan -- Marra, Peter P -- Montgomerie, Robert -- Kyser, T Kurt -- Ratcliffe, Laurene M -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2004 Dec 24;306(5705):2249-50.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada. ryann@biology.queensu.ca〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15618516" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
*Animal Migration
;
Animals
;
Breeding
;
Carotenoids/*analysis
;
Feathers/*chemistry
;
Female
;
Hydrogen/analysis
;
Isotopes
;
Life Cycle Stages
;
Male
;
*Molting
;
*Pigmentation
;
*Reproduction
;
Seasons
;
Songbirds/growth & development/*physiology
;
Time Factors
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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