Carotenoid-based plumage coloration predicts resistance to a novel parasite in the house finch
Carotenoid-based plumage coloration predicts resistance to a novel parasite in the house finch
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基于类胡萝卜素的羽毛颜色预测家雀对一种新型寄生虫的抵抗力
DOI：
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发表时间：
2004
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
K. Farmer
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
G. Hill;K. Farmer
汉密尔顿-祖克假说认为，许多鸟类身上的鲜艳颜色是它们对寄生虫有抵抗力的信号。尽管这一假设很受欢迎，但之前只有一项研究测试了羽毛的颜色是否能预测个体对疾病挑战的反应。我们用一种新的细菌病原菌——鸡头支原体（Mycoplasma gallicepticum， MG）接种了24只羽毛颜色变化的雄性家雀（Carpodacus mexicanus）。我们发现羽毛颜色与接种后首次症状的时间没有关系，但我们发现羽毛颜色与疾病清除之间存在显著的负相关关系：红色羽毛的雄性比黄色羽毛的雄性对MG感染的清除明显更好。以类胡萝卜素为基础的羽毛颜色的色调已被证明是雌性家雀选择配偶的主要标准。这些观察结果表明，雌性选择更红的雄性的一个好处是获得对寄生虫有更好抵抗力的配偶。
The Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis proposes that the bright colours displayed by many species of birds serve as signals of individual resistance to parasites. Despite the popularity of this hypothesis, only one previous study has tested whether plumage coloration predicts how individuals respond to a disease challenge. We inoculated 24 male house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) of variable plumage hue with a novel bacterial pathogen, Mycoplasma gallicepticum (MG). We found no relationship between plumage hue and time to first symptoms following inoculation, but we found a significant negative relationship between plumage hue and clearance of disease: males with redder plumage cleared MG infection significantly better than did males with yellower plumage. The hue of carotenoid-based plumage coloration has been shown to be a primary criterion in female mate choice in the house finch. These observations suggest that one benefit to females for choosing redder males is obtaining mates with better resistance to parasites.