Partial or complete? The evolution of post‐juvenile moult strategies in passerine birds

dc.contributor.author Delhey, Kaspar ca
dc.contributor.author Guallar, Santi ca
dc.contributor.author Rueda-Hernández, Rafael ca
dc.contributor.author Valcu, Mihai ca
dc.contributor.author Wang, Daiping ca
dc.contributor.author Kempenaers, Bart ca
dc.contributor.other Consorci del Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona ca
dc.date.accessioned 2025-11-05T13:10:34Z
dc.date.available 2025-11-05T13:10:34Z
dc.date.issued 2020-09-26
dc.description Moulting strategies in birds have evolved to avoid overlap with, or prepare for, other demanding parts of the annual cycle, such as reproduction or migration. When moulting for the first time after leaving the nest, young birds replace their typically poor‐quality plumage during the post‐juvenile moult. The extent of this moult varies between species from partial to complete. Earlier studies, restricted to Western Palearctic birds, suggest that in most species a complete post‐juvenile moult may not be possible simply because young birds are constrained by not having the same access to resources as adults, unless environmental conditions are favourable. These studies also show that complete post‐juvenile moult is more common in species with poor‐quality nest‐grown plumage. We expanded the spatial and taxonomic scope of previous studies to 1,315 species of passerines from across the world and considered both the role of constraints, plumage quality and other selective pressures favouring a complete post‐juvenile moult. Thus, we test whether complete moult is more prevalent in species where nest‐grown feathers are presumably of poor quality (shorter nestling period), that live in environments that foster quick plumage degradation (open habitats, high insolation and humidity), and where males are under strong sexual selection. Our data reveal that 24% of species carry out a complete post‐juvenile moult, and that this trait has a strong phylogenetic signal. Complete moult is more common in species that inhabit warmer regions and open habitats, show no delayed plumage maturation and have higher levels of sexual dichromatism (indicative of strong sexual selection). Neither the presumed quality of the nest‐grown plumage nor living in regions with high insolation correlates with complete moult. In conclusion, the evolution of complete post‐juvenile moult not only depends on whether birds can perform a complete moult (i.e. suitable environmental conditions) but also on the strength of selection associated with the need of a complete moult. In particular, the necessity to keep the plumage in good condition in challenging environments and the benefits associated with producing adult‐like plumage colours to attract mates or deter rivals seem to play an important role.
dc.format application/pdf ca
dc.format.extent 13 p. ca
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/2072/377690
dc.identifier https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13354
dc.identifier.citation Journal of animal ecology, 26 Sep. 2020 ca
dc.identifier.entitat consorcis ca
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/11703/120760
dc.language eng ca
dc.provenance Recercat (Dipòsit de la Recerca de Catalunya) ca
dc.publisher Wiley ca
dc.rights L'accés als continguts d'aquest document queda condicionat a l'acceptació de les condicions d'ús establertes per la següent llicència Creative Commons:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.rights © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society
dc.rights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject Passeriformes ca
dc.subject Ocells ca
dc.subject Plomes ca
dc.subject.category Ciència i tecnologia ca
dc.subject.forma articles ca
dc.title Partial or complete? The evolution of post‐juvenile moult strategies in passerine birds
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.type.driver info:eu-repo/semantics/article ca
metadadalocal.dependencia 8008920

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