Social selection and the perception of colours

鸟类和人类一样，在社会互动中做出决定时，也会对颜色和图案做出反应，比如交配、合作和战斗。过去二十年的研究极大地促进了我们对这些颜色和图案信号的理解，我们现在有充分的证据表明，鸟类显示的颜色信号的变化具有适应性后果，因为这些信号可以揭示信号发出者的健康、状况、动机和经验。研究人员还开发出了测量这些信号的复杂方法，这在一定程度上要归功于相对廉价的反射光谱法、图像分析和用于分析的计算机程序的发展。不太为人所知的是，感知能力的局限性会影响鸟类的感知和反应。例如，我们知道鸟类能看到什么，但我们对它们区分颜色的能力以及这些颜色对它们行为的内在影响知之甚少。这项研究计划通过实验室和实地研究来解决这两个问题，研究对象是一组精心挑选的物种，这些物种表现出不同的颜色，生活在不同的环境中，有各种各样的交配系统，并且在分类上多样化。这项研究的结果将有助于重新定义鸟类羽毛颜色和图案进化的性别和社会选择的限制和轨迹。因此，我们的发现将直接影响我们对羽毛颜色和图案如何以及为什么进化的理解，并将有助于进化原理的一般知识。鸟类的颜色和图案也是一种广告形式，我们的研究对以人为中心的空间和视觉媒体产品广告的设计，以及农业和研究环境中动物饲养设施的设计都有间接的影响。因此，如果我们的研究表明，人类和动物空间的颜色影响他们的行为，我们可以科学地解决动物福利和农业生产力的最佳环境颜色。

Birds, like humans, respond to both colours and patterns when making decisions during social interactions when they have to make decisions about mating, cooperating, and fighting. Research over the past two decades has contributed immensely to our understanding of those colour and pattern signals, and we now have good evidence that variation in colours signals displayed by birds has fitness consequences because those signals can reveal the health, condition, motivation, and experience of the signaller. Researchers have also developed sophisticated ways of measuring those signals, thanks in part due to the development of relatively inexpensive reflectance spectrometry, image analysis and computer programs for analysis. What is less well known are the limits of perceptual abilities that influence exactly what birds can perceive and respond to. We know, for example what birds can see but we know little about their abilities to discriminate between colours, and the intrinsic effects of those colours on their behaviour. This research proposal addresses both of those problems with lab and field studies on a carefully selected group of species that display different colours, live in different environments, have a variety if mating systems, and are taxonomically diverse. The results of this research will help redefine both the limits and the trajectory of sexual and social selection on the evolution of bird plumage colours and patterns. Thus our findings will have direct impact on our understanding of how and why plumage colours and patterns evolve, and will contribute to the general knowledge of evolutionary principles. Bird colours and patterns are also a form of advertisement, and our research has indirect implications for the design of both human centred spaces and product advertisement by visual media, as well as in the design of animal-holding facilities in both agricultural and research settings. Thus if our research shows that the colours of human and animal spaces influence their behaviour, we can address scientifically the best environmental colours for animal welfare and agricultural productivity.