Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Male barn swallows use different signalling rules to produce ornamental tail feathers

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Evolutionary Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

    We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.

    Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.

Abstract

The evolution of secondary sexual characters is the subject of controversial debate between those defending their role as ‘viability indicators’ and those arguing that ornaments are purely ‘attractive traits’ selected by females. Recent theoretical studies suggest that these hypotheses are not mutually exclusive, as both viability and attractiveness can contribute to improve the reproductive success of progeny and could thus simultaneously underlie female choices. If that is the case, strategies of cheaper advertisement, allowing the expression of larger ornaments for the same cost, could proliferate even in species in which honest signalling of viability prevails. Under this scenario, different males could invest a different amount of resources per ornament unit of expression, thus using different signalling rules. We studied the relationship between tail feather length (a trait that is the subject of a female mate preference) and feather mass (a measure of investment in feather production) in a barn swallow Hirundo rustica population. Different males used different and consistent signalling rules when developing ornamental feathers. That is, to produce a feather of a given length, each male used a constant amount of resources across different years, but this amount varied between males. Although the amount of material invested in feathers (feather mass) is a condition-dependent trait, the organization of this material in ornamental feathers (i.e. the signalling rules) was not. Neither survival nor risk of feather breakage was related to the signalling rules. Thus, these results suggest that both ‘viability’ and ‘runaway’ mechanisms are independent determinants of the evolution of ornamental sexual feathers in the barn swallow. A preference for long tails will ensure that females either obtain a sire with high viability, or one transferring the capability to produce longer and more attractive tails at a lower cost of production to its offspring.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amundsen T (2000) Why are female birds ornamented? Trends Ecol Evol 15:149–155

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andersson M (1982) Sexual selection, natural selection and quality advertisement. Nature 299:818–820

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andersson M (1994) Sexual selection. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Aparicio JM, Bonal R, Cordero PJ (2003) Evolution of the structure of tail feathers: implications for the theory of sexual selection. Evolution 57:397–405

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Backwell PRY, Christy JH, Telford SR, Jennions MD, Passmore NI (2000) Dishonest signalling in a fiddler crab. Proc R Soc Lond B 267:719–724

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barbosa A, Merino S, Cuervo JJ, de Lope F, Møller AP (2003) Feather damage of long tails in Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica. Ardea 91:85–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnard P (1990) Male tail length, sexual display intensity and female sexual response in a parasitic African finch. Anim Behav 39:652–656

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bro-Jørgensen J, Johnstone RA, Evans MR (2007) Uninformative exaggeration of male sexual ornaments in barn swallows. Curr Biol 17:850–855

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan KL, Evans MR (2000) The effect of tail streamer length on aerodynamic performance in the barn swallow. Behav Ecol 11:228–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Candolin U (2000) Male-male competition ensures honest signalling of male parental ability in the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 49:57–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotton S, Fowler K, Pomiankowski A (2004) Do sexual ornaments demonstrate heightened condition-dependent expression as predicted by the handicap hypothesis? Proc R Soc Lond B 271:771–783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotton S, Small J, Hashim R, Pomiankowski A (2010) Eyespan reflects reproductive quality in wild stalk-eyed flies. Evol Ecol 24:83–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuervo JJ, Møller AP (2006) Experimental tail elongation in male Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica reduces provisioning of young, but only in second broods. Ibis 148:449–458

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawkins MS, Guilford T (1991) The corruption of honest signalling. Anim Behav 41:865–873

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dufva R (1996) Blood parasites, health, reproductive success, and egg volume in female Great Tits Parus major. J Avian Biol 27:83–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher RA (1915) The evolution of sexual preferences. Eugenics Rev 7:775–787

    Google Scholar 

  • Folstad I, Karter AJ (1992) Parasites, bright males, and the immunocompetence handicap. Am Nat 139:603–622

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griggio M, Devigili A, Hoy H, Pilastro A (2009) Female ornamentation and directional male mate preference in the rock sparrow. Behav Ecol 20:1072–1078

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton WD, Zuk M (1982) Heritable true fitness and bright birds-a role for parasites. Science 218:384–387

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoefler CD, Persons MH, Rypstra AL (2008) Evolutionarily costly courtship displays in a wolf spider: a test of viability indicator theory. Behav Ecol 19:974–979

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ihara Y, Aoki K, Feldman MW (2003) Runaway sexual selection with paternal transmission of the male trait and gene-culture determination of the female preference. J Theor Biol 63:53–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iwasa Y, Pomiankowski A (1994) The evolution of mate preferences for multiple sexual ornaments. Evolution 48:853–867

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen H, Steinsland I, Ringsby TH, Sæther BE (2008) Evolutionary dynamics of a sexual ornament in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus): the role of indirect selection within and between sexes. Evolution 62:1275–1293

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kleinbaum DG, Kupper LL, Muller KE (1988) Applied regression analysis and multivariable methods. Duxbury, Belmont, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Kokko H, Brooks R, McNamara JM, Houston AI (2002) The sexual selection continuum. Proc R Soc Lond B 269:1331–1340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotiaho JS (2001) Costs of sexual traits: a mismatch between theoretical considerations and empirical evidence. Biol Rev 76:365–376

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lande R (1981) Models of speciation by sexual selection on polygenic traits. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 78:3721–3725

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP (1988) Female choice selects for male sexual tail ornaments in monogamous swallow. Nature 332:640–642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP (1989) Viability costs of male tail ornaments in a swallow. Nature 339:132–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP (1993) Sexual selection in the barn swallow Hirundo rustica 3. Female tail ornaments. Evolution 47:417–431

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP (1994a) Sexual selection and the barn swallow. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP (1994b) Male ornament size as a reliable cue to enhanced viability in the barn swallow. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 91:6929–6932

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP (1996) Development of fluctuating asymmetry in tail feathers of the barn swallow Hirundo rustica. J Evol Biol 9:677–694

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP, Alatalo RV (1999) Good-genes effects in sexual selection. Proc R Soc Lond B 266:85–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP, de Lope F (1994) Differential costs of a secondary sexual character: an experimental test of the handicap principle. Evolution 48:1676–1683

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP, Pomiankowski A (1993) Why have birds got multiple sexual ornaments. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 32:167–176

    Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP, de Lope F, Saino N (1995) Sexual selection in the barn swallow Hirundo rustica 4. Aerodynamic adaptations. J Evol Biol 8:671–687

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP, Barbosa A, Cuervo JJ, de Lope F, Merino S, Saino N (1998) Sexual selection and tail streamers in the barn swallow. Proc R Soc Lond B 265:409–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muñoz A, Aparicio JM, Bonal R (2008) Male barn swallows use different resource allocation rules to produce ornamental tail feathers. Behav Ecol 19:404–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murai M, Backwell PRY, Jennions MD (2009) The cost of reliable signalling: experimental evidence for predictable variation among males in a cost-benefit trade-off between sexually selected traits. Evolution 63:2363–2371

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy TG (2007) Racketed tail of the male and female turquoise-browed motmot: male but not female tail length correlates with pairing success, performance, and reproductive success. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 61:911–918

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palokangas P, Alatalo RV, Korpimäki E (1992) Female choice in the kestrel under different availability of mating options. Anim Behav 43:659–665

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pomiankowski A, Møller AP (1995) A resolution of the lek paradox. Proc R Soc Lond B 260:21–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prum RO (1999) Development and evolutionary origin of feathers. J Exp Zool 285:291–306

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pryke SR, Andersson S (2005) Experimental evidence for female choice and energetic costs of male tail elongation in red-collared widowbirds. Biol J Linn Soc 86:35–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radwan J (2002) Good genes go fisherian. Trends Ecol Evol 17:539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe L, Houle D (1996) The lek paradox and the capture of genetic variance by condition dependent traits. Proc R Soc Lond B 263:1415–1421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe LV, Buchanan KL, Evans MR (2001) The function and evolution of the tail streamer in hirundines. Behav Ecol 12:157–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saino N, Møller AP (1996) Sexual ornamentation and inmunocompetence in the barn swallow. Behav Ecol 7:227–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saino N, Bolzern AM, Møller AP (1997) Inmunocompetence, ornamentation and viability of male barn swallows (Hirundo rustica). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94:549–552

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saino N, Calza S, Ninni P, Møller AP (1999) Barn swallows trade survival against offspring condition and inmunocompetence. J Anim Ecol 68:999–1009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons LV, Emlen DJ (2008) No fecundity cost o female secondary sexual trait expression in the horned beetle Onthophagus sagittarius. J Evol Biol 21:1227–1235

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith HG, Montgomerie R (1991) Sexual selection and the tail ornaments of North American barn swallows. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 28:195–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tubaro PL, Mahler B, Lijtmaer DA (2005) Patterns of rectrix rachis modification in pintails and the evolution of sexually selected traits. Biol J Linn Soc 86:477–485

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veiga JP (1995) Honest signalling and the survival cost of badges in the house sparrow. Evolution 49:570–572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vincent J (1990) Structural biomaterials. Princeton University Press, Princeton (NJ)

    Google Scholar 

  • Winquist T, Lemon RE (1994) Sexual selection and exaggerated male tail length in birds. Am Nat 143:95–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahavi A (1975) Mate selection-a selection for handicap. J Theor Biol 53:205–214

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Joaquín Ortego and Gustavo Calabuig helped us with the field and laboratory work. AP Møller and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments that improved a previous version of the manuscript. Barn swallows were captured under a license from the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha. This work was supported from the projects: PCI08-0130-3954 (JCCM) and CGL2008-00095BOS (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación). AM was supported by a JCCM contract, and RB by a Juan de la Cierva (MICINN) contract.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CREAF, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edificio C, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain

    Alberto Muñoz

  2. Grupo de Investigación de la Biodiversidad Genética y Cultural, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain

    José Miguel Aparicio & Raúl Bonal

  3. Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales (ICAM)-Área Zoología, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 45071, Toledo, Spain

    Alberto Muñoz & Raúl Bonal

Authors
  1. Alberto Muñoz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. José Miguel Aparicio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Raúl Bonal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alberto Muñoz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Muñoz, A., Aparicio, J.M. & Bonal, R. Male barn swallows use different signalling rules to produce ornamental tail feathers. Evol Ecol 25, 1217–1230 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-011-9512-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-011-9512-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation