Symposium number: 39

Title: EVOLUTION OF COLOR ORNAMENTS

Principal organizer: Raulo Alatalo
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, PO Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Second organizer: Staffan Andersson
Department of Zoology, Göteborg University, Box 463, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden

First keynote speaker: Staffan Andersson
Department of Zoology, Göteborg University, Box 463, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
Title of first keynote paper: Phylogeny, sexual selection and constraints on carotenoid coloration and ornamental plumage diversity in widowbirds and bishops (Euplectes spp.)

Second keynote speaker: Rauno Alatalo
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, PO Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Title of second keynote paper: Evolution of multiple ornaments in the black grouse (Tetrao tetrix)

Contributed talks

Symposium description: Over the past ten years the interest in studying the significance of avian coloration has exploded not least because of the notion that birds can detect UV-light. Coloration frequently serves as a sexual ornament in male birds and short-wave length signals such as UV or blue coloration are usually based on structural features of the feathers, while long-wave length signals such as orange and red arise from the acquisition of carotenoids in the diet. We will discuss about the evolution of these color ornaments with a comprehensive framework that covers also other types of sexual signals. Also, we will distinguish the role of the signals in attracting females in contrast to the direct competition between males. We explore the significance of the color signals as indicators of individual quality. Finally, there will be a special emphasis on the phylogeny of the color ornaments to study the direction of evolution and the possible constraints.

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