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Gape coloration reliably reflects immunocompetence of barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) nestlings

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  • Nicola Saino
  • Roberto Ambrosini
  • Roberta Martinelli
  • Paola Ninni
  • Anders Pape Møller

Abstract

In some passerines, parents allocate more food to offspring with the brightest red gapes, but the function of parental decisions based on offspring gape coloration is unknown. We hypothesize that gape coloration is part of a communication system where nestlings reveal their condition to attending parents, which may thus base their decisions on reliable signals of offspring reproductive value. We analyze the effects of brood size manipulation, injection with an immunogen and food deprivation, on gape coloration, morphology, and T-cell--mediated immunocompetence of nestling barn swallows (Hirundo rustica). For each gape we measured three components of coloration (hue, saturation, and brightness) and obtained an overall color score by principal component analysis. Enlargement of brood size and injection with an antigen resulted in less red and less saturated and brighter gape color. Nestlings in enlarged broods had smaller body mass and T-cell--mediated immunocompetence compared to those in reduced broods. A positive covariation existed between redness and saturation of gape color and T-cell--mediated immunocompetence. Gape color siblings raised in different nests did not depend on parentage. Thus, condition-dependent gape coloration can reveal different components of nestling state on which parents may base their adaptive decisions about allocation of care to the offspring. Copyright 2003.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicola Saino & Roberto Ambrosini & Roberta Martinelli & Paola Ninni & Anders Pape Møller, 2003. "Gape coloration reliably reflects immunocompetence of barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) nestlings," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 14(1), pages 16-22, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:beheco:v:14:y:2003:i:1:p:16-22
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Parejo-Pulido & Lorenzo Pérez-Rodríguez & Inmaculada Abril-Colón & Jaime Potti & Tomás Redondo, 2023. "Passive and active parental food allocation in a songbird," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 34(5), pages 729-740.
    2. Mirre J P Simons & Alan A Cohen & Simon Verhulst, 2012. "What Does Carotenoid-Dependent Coloration Tell? Plasma Carotenoid Level Signals Immunocompetence and Oxidative Stress State in Birds–A Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(8), pages 1-1, August.

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