| differential ability of carotenoid c4-oxygenation in yellow and red bishop species (euplectes spp.). | male breeding plumages of african widowbirds and bishops (euplectes spp.) show striking variation in carotenoid-based plumage coloration, with saturated yellow or orange-red patches of different size. yet, from observations and experiments, agonistic signaling appears to have been a generalized sexual selection pressure for redness in the genus. recent results show that yellow and red widowbird colors derive from distinctly different pigment profiles, and suggest that species vary in their abili ... | 2009 | 19686862 |
| can establishment success be determined through demographic parameters? a case study on five introduced bird species. | the dominant criterion to determine when an introduced species is established relies on the maintenance of a self-sustaining population in the area of introduction, i.e. on the viability of the population from a demographic perspective. there is however a paucity of demographic studies on introduced species, and establishment success is thus generally determined by expert opinion without undertaking population viability analyses (pvas). by means of an intensive five year capture-recapture monito ... | 2014 | 25333743 |
| behaviour-related drd4 polymorphisms in invasive bird populations. | it has been suggested that individual behavioural traits influence the potential to successfully colonize new areas. identifying the genetic basis of behavioural variation in invasive species thus represents an important step towards understanding the evolutionary potential of the invader. here, we sequenced a candidate region for neophilic/neophobic and activity behaviour - the complete exon 3 of the drd4 gene - in 100 yellow-crowned bishops (euplectes afer) from two invasive populations in spa ... | 2014 | 24750181 |
| selection on a behaviour-related gene during the first stages of the biological invasion pathway. | human-induced biological invasions are common worldwide and often have negative impacts on wildlife and human societies. several studies have shown evidence for selection on invaders after introduction to the new range. however, selective processes already acting prior to introduction have been largely neglected. here, we tested whether such early selection acts on known behaviour-related gene variants in the yellow-crowned bishop (euplectes afer), a pet-traded african songbird. we tested for no ... | 2017 | 28926158 |