An avian equivalent of make-up?

• Published in: Ecology Letters
• Main Authors: Piersma, T, Dekker, M, Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 1999
• Subjects: annual cycle; Arctic; Calidris canutus; mate choice; migration; plumage quality; preen wax; sexual selection; shorebirds; uropygial gland; LONG-DISTANCE MIGRANT; KNOT CALIDRIS-CANUTUS; Red Knot
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/5a449edf-d652-406d-82a7-49eb6b2f9d22; https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/5a449edf-d652-406d-82a7-49eb6b2f9d22; https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.1999.00078.x

We report that a long-distance migrating shorebird, the red knot, makes a complete switch from commonly occurring monoester preen waxes to a much rarer class of higher-molecular-weight diester waxes at the time of take-off to the high arctic breeding grounds. The cold arctic climate would have required a lowering of wax-viscosity, and thus, a shift in the reverse direction. We propose that a sexually selected need for a brilliant plumage has lead to this center-intuitive temporary shift from monoesters to diester waxes. The difficulty of application of the diester preen waxes under cold conditions would ensure the reliability of the quality-signalling function of this most probably sexually selected trait.