| a new quill mite syringophiloidus plocei sp. nov. (prostigmata: syringophilidae) parasitizing ploceid birds (passeriformes) in gabon - a combined description using morphology and dna barcoding. | a new species of quill mites (syringophilidae) syringophiloidus plocei sp. nov. parasitizing ploceus cucullatus (st. muller) (type host), p. aurantius (vieillot) and p. nigerrimus (vieillot) (ploceidae: passeriformes) in gabon is described using external morphology and dna barcode data (the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit i sequences (coi) and d1-d3 region of the nuclear 28s rrna gene). females of s. plocei sp. nov. differ from s. pseudonigritae glowska, dragun-damian and dabert, 2012 ... | 2016 | 27447221 |
| the decline of an adaptation in the absence of a presumed selection pressure. | the colonial nesting village weaver (ploceus cucullatus) lays eggs that vary in ground color and pattern, but individual females lay similar eggs each time. tests on captive african stocks have shown that females reject eggs of other cohorts if such eggs are sufficiently different. the village weaver may have evolved rejection behavior and variable eggs in response to cuckoo parasitism in africa. the village weaver was introduced into hispaniola from africa as early as the 18th century. before t ... | 1989 | 28568503 |
| shedding light on bird egg color: pigment as parasol and the dark car effect. | the vibrant colors of many birds' eggs, particularly those that are blue to blue-green, are extraordinary in that they are striking traits present in hundreds of species that have nevertheless eluded evolutionary functional explanation. we propose that egg pigmentation mediates a trade-off between two routes by which solar radiation can harm bird embryos: transmittance through the eggshell and overheating through absorbance. we quantitatively test four components of this hypothesis on variably c ... | 2016 | 27104989 |
| sugar preferences and digestive efficiency of the village weaver: a generalist avian pollinator of african plants. | recent research has shown that nectar properties of flowers pollinated by generalist avian nectarivores differ markedly from those of flowers pollinated by specialist avian nectarivores. in particular, flowers pollinated by generalist avian nectarivores tend to have very dilute nectar dominated by hexose sugars. to establish whether pollinator-mediated selection can explain these traits, we tested nectar sugar preferences and digestive capabilities of the village weaver (ploceus cucullatus), a c ... | 2010 | 20581283 |
| repeatability of nest morphology in african weaver birds. | it is generally assumed that birds build nests according to a genetic 'template', little influenced by learning or memory. one way to confirm the role of genetics in nest building is to assess the repeatability of nest morphology with repeated nest attempts. solitary weaver birds, which build multiple nests in a single breeding season, are a useful group with which to do this. here we show that repeatability of nest morphology was low, but significant, in male southern masked weaver birds and no ... | 2010 | 19846449 |
| persistence of egg recognition in the absence of cuckoo brood parasitism: pattern and mechanism. | broad ecological shifts can render previously adaptive traits nonfunctional. it is an open question as to how and how quickly nonfunctional traits decay once the selective pressures that favored them are removed. the village weaverbird (ploceus cucullatus) avoids brood parasitism by rejecting foreign eggs. african populations have evolved high levels of within-clutch uniformity as well as individual distinctiveness in egg color and spotting, a combination that facilitates identification of forei ... | 2006 | 16568640 |
| evolution of bird eggs in the absence of cuckoo parasitism. | historical introductions of species into new habitats can create rare opportunities to test evolutionary hypotheses, such as the role of natural selection in maintaining traits. this study examines two independent introductions of the african village weaverbird (ploceus cucullatus) to islands where selection on egg appearance traits is expected to differ markedly from that of the source populations. the color and spotting of village weaver eggs in africa are highly consistent within clutches, bu ... | 2005 | 16326805 |