Plumage reflectance is not affected by preen wax composition in red knots Calidris canutus
It has recently been shown that sandpipers (Scolopacidae) abruptly switch the chemical composition of their preen gland secretions from mono‐ to diester waxes just before the period of courtship. The timing and context of the shift suggested that diesters could provide a visible quality signal durin...
Published in: | Journal of Avian Biology |
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Language: | English |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03317.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.0908-8857.2004.03317.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03317.x |
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crwiley:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03317.x 2024-06-02T08:04:47+00:00 Plumage reflectance is not affected by preen wax composition in red knots Calidris canutus Reneerkens, Jeroen Korsten, Peter 2004 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03317.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.0908-8857.2004.03317.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03317.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Journal of Avian Biology volume 35, issue 5, page 405-409 ISSN 0908-8857 1600-048X journal-article 2004 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03317.x 2024-05-03T10:52:22Z It has recently been shown that sandpipers (Scolopacidae) abruptly switch the chemical composition of their preen gland secretions from mono‐ to diester waxes just before the period of courtship. The timing and context of the shift suggested that diesters could provide a visible quality signal during mate choice. We used captive red knots Calidris canutus to test whether mono‐ and diester preen waxes affect the light reflectance (“colour”) of the plumage. We also determined light absorbance spectra of the two wax types. The reflectance of breast feathers of the breeding plumage was measured with spectrophotometry when birds secreted monoesters and six weeks later when they secreted diester preen waxes. Light reflectance was also measured after removing the mono‐ and diester waxes from the plumage with a solvent. The results show that: (1) diester preen waxes absorb more light, especially ultraviolet (UV), than monoester preen waxes, but that (2) the compositional shift in the preen waxes did not change plumage reflectance and, (3) the removal of preen waxes did not change the reflectance of the plumage within the light spectrum assumed visible to birds (320–700 nm). This is not consistent with the idea that compositional shifts in the preen waxes of red knots have a visual function. Article in Journal/Newspaper Calidris canutus Wiley Online Library Journal of Avian Biology 35 5 405 409 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
It has recently been shown that sandpipers (Scolopacidae) abruptly switch the chemical composition of their preen gland secretions from mono‐ to diester waxes just before the period of courtship. The timing and context of the shift suggested that diesters could provide a visible quality signal during mate choice. We used captive red knots Calidris canutus to test whether mono‐ and diester preen waxes affect the light reflectance (“colour”) of the plumage. We also determined light absorbance spectra of the two wax types. The reflectance of breast feathers of the breeding plumage was measured with spectrophotometry when birds secreted monoesters and six weeks later when they secreted diester preen waxes. Light reflectance was also measured after removing the mono‐ and diester waxes from the plumage with a solvent. The results show that: (1) diester preen waxes absorb more light, especially ultraviolet (UV), than monoester preen waxes, but that (2) the compositional shift in the preen waxes did not change plumage reflectance and, (3) the removal of preen waxes did not change the reflectance of the plumage within the light spectrum assumed visible to birds (320–700 nm). This is not consistent with the idea that compositional shifts in the preen waxes of red knots have a visual function. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Reneerkens, Jeroen Korsten, Peter |
spellingShingle |
Reneerkens, Jeroen Korsten, Peter Plumage reflectance is not affected by preen wax composition in red knots Calidris canutus |
author_facet |
Reneerkens, Jeroen Korsten, Peter |
author_sort |
Reneerkens, Jeroen |
title |
Plumage reflectance is not affected by preen wax composition in red knots Calidris canutus |
title_short |
Plumage reflectance is not affected by preen wax composition in red knots Calidris canutus |
title_full |
Plumage reflectance is not affected by preen wax composition in red knots Calidris canutus |
title_fullStr |
Plumage reflectance is not affected by preen wax composition in red knots Calidris canutus |
title_full_unstemmed |
Plumage reflectance is not affected by preen wax composition in red knots Calidris canutus |
title_sort |
plumage reflectance is not affected by preen wax composition in red knots calidris canutus |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03317.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.0908-8857.2004.03317.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03317.x |
genre |
Calidris canutus |
genre_facet |
Calidris canutus |
op_source |
Journal of Avian Biology volume 35, issue 5, page 405-409 ISSN 0908-8857 1600-048X |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03317.x |
container_title |
Journal of Avian Biology |
container_volume |
35 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
405 |
op_container_end_page |
409 |
_version_ |
1800749431912398848 |