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Article: Testing the functional significance of tail streamers

TitleTesting the functional significance of tail streamers
Authors
Issue Date1997
Citation
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 1997, v. 264, n. 1379, p. 211-217 How to Cite?
AbstractStudies of the evolution of elaborate ornaments have concentrated on their role in increasing attractiveness to mates. The classic examples of such sexually selected structures are the elongated tails of some bird species. Elongated tails can be divided into three categories - graduated tails, pin tails and streamers. There seems to be little debate about whether graduated and pin tails are ornaments; i.e. costly signals used in mate choice. However, in the case of streamers there is considerable discussion about their function. It has been suggested that tail streamers could be (i) entirely naturally selected, (ii) entirely sexually selected, (iii) partly naturally and partly sexually selected. The prime example of a species with tail streamers is the swallow (Hirundo rustica) in which both sexes have tail streamers. In this paper we discuss the aerodynamic consequences of different types of manipulation of the streamer and/or outer tail feather. We make qualitative predictions about the aerodynamic performance of swallows with manipulated tail streamers; these predictions differ depending on whether streamers have a naturally or sexually selected function. We demonstrate that these hypotheses can only be separated if tail streamers are shortened and changes in aerodynamic performance measured during turning flight.
Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/230679
ISSN
2023 Impact Factor: 3.8
2023 SCImago Journal Rankings: 1.692
ISI Accession Number ID

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorEvans, M. R.-
dc.contributor.authorThomas, A. L R-
dc.date.accessioned2016-09-01T06:06:32Z-
dc.date.available2016-09-01T06:06:32Z-
dc.date.issued1997-
dc.identifier.citationProceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 1997, v. 264, n. 1379, p. 211-217-
dc.identifier.issn0962-8452-
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/230679-
dc.description.abstractStudies of the evolution of elaborate ornaments have concentrated on their role in increasing attractiveness to mates. The classic examples of such sexually selected structures are the elongated tails of some bird species. Elongated tails can be divided into three categories - graduated tails, pin tails and streamers. There seems to be little debate about whether graduated and pin tails are ornaments; i.e. costly signals used in mate choice. However, in the case of streamers there is considerable discussion about their function. It has been suggested that tail streamers could be (i) entirely naturally selected, (ii) entirely sexually selected, (iii) partly naturally and partly sexually selected. The prime example of a species with tail streamers is the swallow (Hirundo rustica) in which both sexes have tail streamers. In this paper we discuss the aerodynamic consequences of different types of manipulation of the streamer and/or outer tail feather. We make qualitative predictions about the aerodynamic performance of swallows with manipulated tail streamers; these predictions differ depending on whether streamers have a naturally or sexually selected function. We demonstrate that these hypotheses can only be separated if tail streamers are shortened and changes in aerodynamic performance measured during turning flight.-
dc.languageeng-
dc.relation.ispartofProceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences-
dc.titleTesting the functional significance of tail streamers-
dc.typeArticle-
dc.description.naturelink_to_subscribed_fulltext-
dc.identifier.doi10.1098/rspb.1997.0030-
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-0031044575-
dc.identifier.volume264-
dc.identifier.issue1379-
dc.identifier.spage211-
dc.identifier.epage217-
dc.identifier.eissn1471-2970-
dc.identifier.isiWOS:A1997WL20400009-

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