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Bacteria as an agent for change in structural plumage color: Correlational and experimental evidence


Metadata FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributorGeoffrey Hill, hillgee@auburn.eduen_US
dc.creatorShawkey, Matthew
dc.creatorPillai, Shreekumar
dc.creatorHill, Geoffrey
dc.creatorSiefferman, Lynn
dc.creatorRoberts, Sharon
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-17T20:38:07Z
dc.date.available2023-05-17T20:38:07Z
dc.date.created2007
dc.identifier10.1086/510100en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/510100en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://aurora.auburn.edu/handle/11200/50516
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.35099/aurora-584
dc.description.abstractRecent studies have documented that a diverse assemblage of bacteria is present on the feathers of wild birds and that uropygial oil affects these bacteria in diverse ways. These findings suggest that birds may regulate the microbial flora on their feathers. Birds may directly inhibit the growth of harmful microbes or promote the growth of other harmless microbes that competitively exclude them. If keratinolytic (i.e., feather-degrading) bacteria degrade colored feathers, then plumage coloration could reveal the ability of individual birds to regulate microbial flora. We used field- and lab-based methods to test whether male eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) with brighter blue structural plumage coloration were better able to regulate their microbial flora than duller males. When we sampled bluebirds in the field, individuals with brighter color had higher bacterial loads than duller individuals. In the lab, we tested whether bacteria could directly alter feather color. We found that keratinolytic bacteria increased the brightness and purity, decreased the ultraviolet chroma, and did not affect the hue of structural color. This change in spectral properties of feathers may occur through degradation of the cortex and spongy layer of structurally colored barbs. These data suggest that bacteria can alter structural plumage color through degradation.en_US
dc.formatPDFen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Chicago Pressen_US
dc.relation.ispartofAmerican Naturalisten_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries0003-0147en_US
dc.rights©The Authors 2007. ©University of Chicago Press 2007. This is this the version of record published by the University of Chicago Press. It is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Item should be cited as: Shawkey, Matthew D., Shreekumar R. Pillai, Geoffrey E. Hill, Lynn M. Siefferman, and Sharon R. Roberts. Bacteria as an agent for change in structural plumage color: correlational and experimental evidence. The American Naturalist 169, no. S1 (2007): S112-S121.en_US
dc.subjectfeather-degrading bacteriaen_US
dc.subjectplumage coloren_US
dc.subjectstructural coloren_US
dc.subjectsexual selectionen_US
dc.subjectSialia sialisen_US
dc.titleBacteria as an agent for change in structural plumage color: Correlational and experimental evidenceen_US
dc.typeTexten_US
dc.type.genreJournal Article, Academic Journalen_US
dc.citation.volume169en_US
dc.citation.issue1en_US
dc.citation.spageS112en_US
dc.citation.epageS121en_US
dc.description.statusPublisheden_US
dc.description.peerreviewYesen_US
dc.creator.orcid0000-0001-8864-6495en_US
dc.creator.orcid0000-0002-5131-8209en_US
dc.creator.orcid0000-0002-9600-2902en_US

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