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Visual effects in great bowerbird sexual displays and their implications for signal design
journal contribution
posted on 2014-04-09, 00:00 authored by John EndlerJohn Endler, Julie Gaburro, Laura KelleyIt is often assumed that the primary purpose of a male's sexual display is to provide information about quality, or to strongly stimulate prospective mates, but other functions of courtship displays have been relatively neglected. Male great bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis) construct bowers that exploit the female's predictable field of view(FOV) during courtship displays by creating forced perspective illusions, and the quality of illusion is a good predictor of mating success. Here,we present and discuss two additional components of male courtship displays that use the female's predetermined viewpoint: (i) the rapid and diverse flashing of coloured objects within her FOV and (ii) chromatic adaptation of the female's eyes that alters her perception of the colour of the displayed objects. Neither is directly related to mating success, but both are likely to increase signal efficacy, and may also be associated with attracting and holding the female's attention. Signal efficacy is constrained by trade-offs between the signal components; there are both positive and negative interactions within multicomponent signals. Important signal components may have a threshold effect on fitness rather than the often assumed linear relationship. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
History
Journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological SciencesVolume
281Issue
1783Publisher DOI
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ISSN
0962-8452eISSN
1471-2954Publication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2014, Royal Society PublishingUsage metrics
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No categories selectedKeywords
Science & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineBiologyEcologyEvolutionary BiologyLife Sciences & Biomedicine - Other TopicsEnvironmental Sciences & Ecologybowerbirdsexual displayvisual effectsillusionsholding attentionconstraintsCHROMATIC ADAPTATIONMATING SUCCESSTIME-COURSESATIN BOWERBIRDSCOLOR PATTERNSMALE TRAITSDECORATIONSEVOLUTIONFRAMEWORKAnimal CommunicationAnimalsColor PerceptionCourtshipFemaleMaleMating Preference, AnimalSexual Behavior, AnimalSongbirdsFEMALE PREFERENCESSPOTTED BOWERBIRDCOLOR APPEARANCEMATE CHOICE
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