Condition-dependence, pleiotropy and the handicap principle of sexual selection in melanin-based colouration.

Détails

Ressource 1Télécharger: BIB_A5147D408032.P001.pdf (410.91 [Ko])
Etat: Public
Version: Final published version
ID Serval
serval:BIB_A5147D408032
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Titre
Condition-dependence, pleiotropy and the handicap principle of sexual selection in melanin-based colouration.
Périodique
Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
Auteur⸱e⸱s
Roulin A.
ISSN
1469-185X (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0006-3231
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
05/2016
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
91
Numéro
2
Pages
328-348
Langue
anglais
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Review
Publication Status: ppublish
Résumé
The signalling function of melanin-based colouration is debated. Sexual selection theory states that ornaments should be costly to produce, maintain, wear or display to signal quality honestly to potential mates or competitors. An increasing number of studies supports the hypothesis that the degree of melanism covaries with aspects of body condition (e.g. body mass or immunity), which has contributed to change the initial perception that melanin-based colour ornaments entail no costs. Indeed, the expression of many (but not all) melanin-based colour traits is weakly sensitive to the environment but strongly heritable suggesting that these colour traits are relatively cheap to produce and maintain, thus raising the question of how such colour traits could signal quality honestly. Here I review the production, maintenance and wearing/displaying costs that can generate a correlation between melanin-based colouration and body condition, and consider other evolutionary mechanisms that can also lead to covariation between colour and body condition. Because genes controlling melanic traits can affect numerous phenotypic traits, pleiotropy could also explain a linkage between body condition and colouration. Pleiotropy may result in differently coloured individuals signalling different aspects of quality that are maintained by frequency-dependent selection or local adaptation. Colouration may therefore not signal absolute quality to potential mates or competitors (e.g. dark males may not achieve a higher fitness than pale males); otherwise genetic variation would be rapidly depleted by directional selection. As a consequence, selection on heritable melanin-based colouration may not always be directional, but mate choice may be conditional to environmental conditions (i.e. context-dependent sexual selection). Despite the interest of evolutionary biologists in the adaptive value of melanin-based colouration, its actual role in sexual selection is still poorly understood.

Mots-clé
Animals, Biological Evolution, Genetic Pleiotropy, Mating Preference, Animal/physiology, Melanins/genetics, Melanins/metabolism, Pigmentation
Pubmed
Open Access
Oui
Création de la notice
19/11/2014 9:40
Dernière modification de la notice
20/08/2019 15:10
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