A tale of two tails: asymmetry in Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)

• Main Authors: Yosef, Reuven, Kubicka, Anna, Brandsma, Martin, Tryjanowski, Piotr
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Figshare 2018
• Subjects: Medicine; Cell Biology; Neuroscience; Evolutionary Biology; FOS Biological sciences; Ecology; Developmental Biology; Lanius excubitor
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3971766.v1; https://figshare.com/collections/A_tale_of_two_tails_asymmetry_in_Great_Grey_Shrike_Lanius_excubitor_/3971766/1

Abstract Background Asymmetry in the wild is a controversial, and to date, unresolved subject. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is the developmental instability (intra-individual variation) while, directional asymmetry (DA) expresses the asymmetry of the population mean. Methods We analysed 63 Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor) skins at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. The black markings on the tails were digitized in order to evaluate the symmetry of the two sides of each shrike. Ptilochronology helped understand if nutritional condition affected symmetry. Results ANOVA revealed no significant differences in size of the tail between sexes (F = 1.67, p > 0.05). However, there was significant difference in the shape of the black area in feathers between the sexes (F = 2.14, p