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Journal article
Fluorescent pigment concentration correlated with age, sex, and size in Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) plumage
The Wilson journal of ornithology, pp 1-11
29 Mar 2025
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Recent findings on the abilities of birds to see in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum have expanded questions about plumage coloration to include the luminescent characteristics of bird plumage, including fluorescence. Yet little is understood about the function of fluorescent pigments, and very few studies have attempted to describe their distribution throughout a population. In this study, we used a fluorometer to measure variation in the amount of fluorescent pigments (e.g. porphyrins) extracted from the secondary coverts of Long-eared Owls (Asio otus) migrating through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the spring of 2020 (n = 99). We found that age and sex were the strongest predictors of fluorescent pigment concentration, wherein older and female birds had the highest fluorescent pigment concentrations. We also found a significant positive relationship between fluorescent pigment concentration and weight in males and small females; however, larger females had no correlation between size and pigment concentration, indicating a potential saturation point for fluorescent pigments in feathers. While we conclude that although fluorescent pigments have the potential to serve as a communicative signal of age, sex, or size, we also acknowledge that these pigments could serve in a function unrelated to signaling, such as heat conservation. More research on these fluorescent pigments and metabolic pathways that lead to their production and deposition in feathers is needed before we can ascribe them a definitive function.
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Details
- Title
- Fluorescent pigment concentration correlated with age, sex, and size in Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) plumage
- Creators
- Emily V. Griffith - Drexel University, OrnithologyNova Mackentley - Whitefish Point Bird Observ, Paradise, MI USAChris M. Neri - Whitefish Point Bird Observ, Paradise, MI USABrandon M. Canfield - Northern Michigan UniversityAlec R. Lindsay - Northern Michigan University
- Publication Details
- The Wilson journal of ornithology, pp 1-11
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- SC 1353; 379 / Laughing Whitefish Bird Alliance
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Ornithology
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001455130800001
- Other Identifier
- 991022048018904721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Ornithology