15 Result(s)
within
Article
Liliana D’Alba
-
Article
First observation of a brood patch on a male sunbird (Chalcomitra amethystina)
Nest care and brooding in sunbirds (Nectariniidae) is thought to be performed exclusively by females. Here, we provide the first evidence that male sunbirds might help with brooding. During a ringing session i...
-
Article
Open AccessPterosaur melanosomes support signalling functions for early feathers
Remarkably well-preserved soft tissues in Mesozoic fossils have yielded substantial insights into the evolution of feathers1. New evidence of branched feathers in pterosaurs suggests that feathers originated in t...
-
Article
Open AccessSubstrate thermal properties influence ventral brightness evolution in ectotherms
The thermal environment can affect the evolution of morpho-behavioral adaptations of ectotherms. Heat is transferred from substrates to organisms by conduction and reflected radiation. Because brightness influ...
-
Article
Open AccessExposure to UV radiance predicts repeated evolution of concealed black skin in birds
Plumage is among the most well-studied components of integumentary colouration. However, plumage conceals most skin in birds, and as a result the presence, evolution and function of skin colour remains unexplo...
-
Article
Egg pigmentation probably has an early Archosaurian origin
-
Article
Pterosaur plumage
Imaging of pterosaur skin reveals evidence of coloured feather-like structures, but whether these are homologous with true feathers is open to debate.
-
Article
Fifty shades of white: how white feather brightness differs among species
White colouration is a common and important component of animal visual signalling and camouflage, but how and why it varies across species is poorly understood. White is produced by wavelength-independent and ...
-
Article
Open AccessA bony-crested Jurassic dinosaur with evidence of iridescent plumage highlights complexity in early paravian evolution
The Jurassic Yanliao theropods have offered rare glimpses of the early paravian evolution and particularly of bird origins, but, with the exception of the bizarre scansoriopterygids, they have shown similar sk...
-
Article
Beyond colour: consistent variation in near infrared and solar reflectivity in sunbirds (Nectariniidae)
The visible spectrum represents a fraction of the sun’s radiation, a large portion of which is within the near infrared (NIR). However, wavelengths outside of the visible spectrum that are reflected by coloure...
-
Article
Mechanisms of antimicrobial defense in avian eggs
One of the greatest threats to the survival of avian eggs is the risk of infection by microbes; as such, a large number of parental defense mechanisms have evolved in response to the decreased fitness imposed ...
-
Article
Melanosome evolution indicates a key physiological shift within feathered dinosaurs
Sampling of extant and fossil amniotes reveals that the diversity of melanosome morphologies increased sharply around the time of the origin of pinnate feathers in maniraptoran dinosaurs (the lineage leading t...
-
Article
New evidence on the colour and nature of the isolated Archaeopteryx feather
Archaeopteryx has been regarded as an icon of evolution ever since its discovery from the Late Jurassic limestone deposits of Solnhofen, Germany in 1861. Here we report the first evidence of colour from Archaeopt...
-
Article
Experimental evidence that kee** eggs dry is a mechanism for the antimicrobial effects of avian incubation
Avian incubation dramatically reduces the abundance and diversity of microbial assemblages on eggshells, and this effect has been hypothesized as an adaptive explanation for partial incubation, the bouts of in...
-
Article
Open AccessDifferential deposition of antimicrobial proteins in blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) clutches by laying order and male attractiveness
Female birds can influence offspring fitness by varying the relative quantities of egg components they deposit within and between clutches. Antimicrobial proteins (lysozyme, ovotransferrin, and avidin) are sig...
-
Article
Intra-specific interactions influence egg composition in the lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus)
Egg composition, which is under maternal control, can have a profound effect on offspring fitness. The presence of maternal testosterone and carotenoids in avian egg yolk, for example, is thought to enhance th...
