Coloration of chicks modulates costly interactions among family members

Judith Morales and Alberto Velando

Behavioral Ecology, 2018, vol. 29, issue 4, 894-903

Abstract: Offspring in many animals display ornaments during parental dependency, but their role remains unclear. By reducing the plumage color of blue tit nestlings, we found that color influences sib-sib interactions, and also interactions between fathers (but not mothers) and chicks. Color-reduced nestlings received similar amounts of parental food, but they gained less body mass than control siblings, suggesting that ornamentation during early life plays an important role on social-mediated costs.

Keywords: begging; behavioral reaction norms; family interactions; parental care; parent–offspring conflict; prey-testings; sibling conflict (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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