An inverse relationship between decoration and food colour preferences in satin bowerbirds does not support the sensory drive hypothesis
Author(s):
Gerald Borgia1 & Jason Keagy1,2
1Department of Biology, and 2Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
A recent version of the sensory drive hypothesis claims that female food colour preferences have driven the evolution of female preferences for the colour of male display traits. This hypothesis predicts a positive correlation between male display and food colour preferences. We found that male and female satin bowerbirds preferentially use long wavelength colours as food items. Male decoration preferences were biased toward short wave length colours and negatively correlated with food colour preferences. Our reconstruction of ancestral character states is most consistent with the hypothesis that the original bower decorations were inedible objects and were thus unlikely to have been dual use traits that also functioned as food items. Our results do not support the hypothesis that food colour preferences have driven the evolution of bower decoration colour preferences nor that sensory drive has caused similar food and decoration preferences, and suggest that different factors have shaped female preferences for male display and food colour preferences in bowerbirds.
DOI (Digital Object Identifier, will open in another window)::
doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.03.015
