Urban and rural male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) differ in territorial aggression and activation of vasotocin neurons in response to song challenge.

When living in urban habitats, 'urban adapter' species often show greater aggression toward conspecifics, yet we do not understand the mechanisms underlying this behavioral shift. The neuroendocrine system regulates socio-sexual behaviors including aggression and thus could mediate behavioral responses to urbanization. Indeed, urban male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia), which are more territorially aggressive, also have greater abundance of the neuropeptide arginine vasotocin (AVT) in nodes of the brain social behavior network. Higher abundance of AVT could reflect long-term synthesis that underlies baseline territoriality or short-term changes that regulate aggression in response to social challenge. To begin to resolve the timeframe over which the AVT system contributes to habitat differences in aggression we used immediate early gene co-expression as a measure of the activation of AVT neurons. We compared Fos induction in AVT-immunoreactive neurons of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTm) and paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) between urban and rural male song sparrows in response to a short (< 5 min.) or long (> 30 min.) song playback to simulate territorial intrusion by another male. We found that urban males had a higher proportion of Fos-positive AVT neurons in both brain regions compared to rural males, regardless of the duration of song playback. Our results suggest that AVT neurons remain activated in urban males, independently of the duration of social challenge. These findings that Fos induction in AVT neurons differs between rural and urban male song sparrows further implicate this system in regulating behavioral responses to urbanization.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation and organization in urban and rural song sparrows.

Urban habitats present animals with persistent disturbances and acute stressors not present in rural habitats or present at significantly lower levels. Differences in the glucocorticoid stress response could underlie colonization of these novel habitats. Despite urban habitats characterization as more stressful, previous comparisons of urban and rural birds have failed to find consistent differences in baseline and stress induced glucocorticoid levels. Another aspect of glucocorticoid regulation that could underlie an animal's ability to inhabit novel habitats, but has yet to be well examined, is more efficient termination of the glucocorticoid stress response which would allow birds in urban habitats to recover more quickly after a disturbance. The glucocorticoid stress response is terminated by negative feedback achieved primarily through their binding of receptors in the hippocampus and hypothalamus and subsequent decreased synthesis and release from the adrenals. We investigated if male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) in urban habitats show more efficient termination of the glucocorticoid stress response than their rural counterparts using two approaches. First, we measured glucocorticoid receptor, mineralocorticoid receptor and 11ß-HSD2 (an enzyme that inactivates corticosterone) mRNA expression in negative feedback targets of the brain (the hippocampus and hypothalamus) as a proxy measure of sensitivity to negative feedback. Second, we measured plasma corticosterone levels after standardized restraint and again following a challenge with the synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone, as a means of assessing how quickly birds decreased glucocorticoid synthesis and release. Though there were no differences in the hypothalamus of urban and rural song sparrows, urban birds had lower glucocorticoid receptor and 11ß-HSD2 mRNA expression in the hippocampus. Further, urban and rural birds had similar reductions in corticosterone following the dexamethasone challenge, suggesting that they do not differ in how quickly they decrease glucocorticoid synthesis and release. Thus, urban and rural song sparrows display similar termination of the glucocorticoid stress response even though urban birds have decreased hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor and 11ß-HSD2 abundance.

Male zebra finches exposed to lead (Pb) during development have reduced volume of song nuclei, altered sexual traits, and received less attention from females as adults.

Lead (Pb) is a pervasive global contaminant that interferes with sensitive windows for neurological development and causes oxidative damage to tissues. The effects of moderate and high exposure to Pb have been well-studied in birds, but whether low-level early-life exposure to Pb influences adult phenotype remains unclear. Female songbirds use a male's song and coloration to discriminate between high- and low-quality males. Therefore, if early-life exposure to Pb disrupts song learning ability or shifts the allocation of antioxidant pigments away from colorful secondary sexual traits, male birds exposed to Pb may be less attractive to females. We exposed developing zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to Pb-contaminated drinking water (100 or 1000 parts per billion [ppb]) after hatching (days 0-100). Once male finches reached adulthood (120-150 days post hatch), we measured song learning ability, coloration of bill and cheek patches, and volume of song nuclei in the brain. We also measured female preference for Pb-exposed males relative to control males. Finally, we measured motoric and spatial cognitive performance in male and female finches to assess whether cognitive traits differed in their sensitivity to Pb exposure. Male zebra finches exposed to 1000 ppb Pb had impaired song learning ability, reduced volume of song nuclei, bills with less redness and received less attention from females. Additionally, Pb exposure impaired motoric performance in both male and female finches but did not affect performance in a spatial cognitive task. Adult finches exposed to Pb-contaminated water had higher blood-Pb levels, though in all cases blood-Pb levels were below 7.0 µg dL-1. This study suggests that low-level exposure to Pb contributes to cognitive deficits that persist into adulthood and may indirectly influence fitness by altering secondary sexual traits and reducing male attractiveness.

Cortisol is the predominant glucocorticoid in the giant paedomorphic hellbender salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis).

Corticosterone is widely regarded to be the predominant glucocorticoid produced in amphibians. However, we recently described unusually low baseline and stress-induced corticosterone profiles in eastern hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis), a giant, fully aquatic salamander. Here, we hypothesized that hellbenders might also produce cortisol, the predominant glucocorticoid used by fishes and non-rodent mammals. To test our hypothesis, we collected plasma samples in two field experiments and analyzed them using multiple analytical techniques to determine how plasma concentrations of cortisol and corticosterone co-varied after 1) physical restraint and 2) injection with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), the pituitary hormone responsible for triggering the release of glucocorticoids from amphibian interrenal glands. Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we found that baseline and restraint-induced plasma concentrations of cortisol were more than five times those of corticosterone. We then demonstrated that plasma concentrations of both glucocorticoids increased in response to ACTH in a dose-dependent manner, but cortisol concentrations were consistently higher (up to 10-fold) than corticosterone. Cortisol and corticosterone concentrations were not correlated with one another at basal or induced conditions. The extremely low plasma concentrations of corticosterone in hellbenders suggests that corticosterone could simply be a byproduct of cortisol production, and raises questions as to whether corticosterone has any distinct physiological function in hellbenders. Our results indicate that hellbenders produce cortisol as their predominant glucocorticoid, supporting a small and inconclusive body of literature indicating that some other amphibians may produce appreciable quantities of cortisol. We hypothesize that the use of cortisol by hellbenders could be an adaptation to their fully aquatic life history due to cortisol's ability to fulfill both mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid functions, similar to its functions in fishes. Given the large number of amphibian species that are fully aquatic or have aquatic life stages, we suggest that the broadly held assumption that corticosterone is the predominant glucocorticoid in all amphibians requires further scrutiny. Ultimately, multi-species tests of this assumption will reveal the ecological factors that influenced the evolution of endocrine adaptations among amphibian lineages, and may provide insight into convergent evolution of endocrine traits in paedomorphic species.

Territorial aggression in urban and rural Song Sparrows is correlated with corticosterone, but not testosterone.

Urban songbirds of several species more vigorously defend their territories in response to conspecific song playback than do their rural counterparts, but the hormonal basis of this behavioral difference is unclear. It is well established in vertebrates that both testosterone and corticosterone affect the intensity of territoriality. Previous studies have found no evidence that initial (i.e., immediately following territorial challenge, but prior to restraint) plasma testosterone accounts for the elevated territorial aggression of urban birds. Determining if testosterone still contributes to urban-rural differences in territoriality requires also assessing males' abilities to transiently increase plasma testosterone (in response to an injection of gonadotropin-releasing hormone). We tested whether these hormones are correlated with the territorial response to conspecific song playback in urban and rural male Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) in Montgomery County, Virginia. We found that the elevated territorial aggression of urban sparrows was not related to variation in either initial plasma testosterone or the ability to transiently increase testosterone. In contrast, despite no overall habitat difference in initial corticosterone, levels of this hormone were positively correlated with territoriality in urban and rural sparrows. Furthermore, for a given level of corticosterone, urban sparrows were more territorially aggressive. Our findings suggest that initial corticosterone may either play a role in the regulation of persistent differences in territorial behavior between free-ranging urban and rural male Song Sparrows or be affected by the intensity of behavioral response to territorial challenge.

Beeswax corticosterone implants produce long-term elevation of plasma corticosterone and influence condition.

Glucocorticoids can play a critical role in modulating life-history trade-offs. However, studying the effects of glucocorticoids on life-history often requires experimentally elevating plasma glucocorticoid concentrations for several weeks within normal physiological limits and without repeated handling of the animal. Recently, implants made of beeswax and testosterone (T) were shown to have release dynamics superior to some currently available T implants, and these beeswax implants dissolved, eliminating the need to recapture the animal. We evaluated the utility of beeswax implants containing four different dosages of corticosterone (CORT; the primary glucocorticoid in birds) and their effect on several condition indices in a captive colony of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). The three implants with the greatest CORT doses (0.05, 0.1, and 0.5mg) produced spikes in plasma CORT concentrations 20h after treatment, but were within the limits that zebra finches may normally experience. The 0.5mg CORT implant elevated plasma CORT between typical baseline and restraint stress levels reported in other studies of zebra finches for the entire 35day experiment. Birds in the 0.5mg implant group were heavier, had greater furcular fat scores, and had lower hematocrit than birds in the control and other CORT implant groups. Beeswax CORT implants are a low cost method of elevating plasma CORT for a prolonged time. Furthermore, because there is no need to remove these implants at the end of a study, this method may be amenable to studies of free-ranging animals.

Relationships among plumage coloration, blood selenium concentrations and immune responses of adult and nestling tree swallows.

In a number of taxa, males and females both display ornaments that may be associated with individual quality and could be reliable signals to potential mates or rivals. We examined the iridescent blue/green back and white breast of adult tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) to determine whether plumage reflectance is related to adult or offspring immune responses. We simultaneously addressed the influence of blood selenium levels and the interaction between blood selenium and plumage coloration on adult and nestling immunity. Selenium is a well-known antioxidant necessary for mounting a robust immune response but its importance in wild birds remains poorly understood. In females, the brightness of white breast coloration was positively associated with bactericidal capacity, but there was no association with blood selenium. In contrast, male bactericidal capacity was associated with an interactive effect between dorsal plumage coloration and blood selenium concentration. Males with bluer hues and greater blue chroma showed increased bactericidal capacity as blood selenium concentrations increased, while bactericidal capacity declined in greener males at higher blood selenium concentrations. In nestlings, bactericidal capacity was positively associated with nestling blood selenium concentrations and white brightness of both social parents. These results suggest that white plumage reflectance is indicative of quality in tree swallows and that greater attention should be paid to the reflectance of large white plumage patches. Additionally, the role of micronutrients, such as selenium, in mediating relationships between physiology and signals of quality, should be explored further.

The effects of a remediated fly ash spill and weather conditions on reproductive success and offspring development in tree swallows.

Animals are exposed to natural and anthropogenic stressors during reproduction that may individually or interactively influence reproductive success and offspring development. We examined the effects of weather conditions, exposure to element contamination from a recently remediated fly ash spill, and the interaction between these factors on reproductive success and growth of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) across nine colonies. Females breeding in colonies impacted by the spill transferred greater concentrations of mercury (Hg), selenium (Se), strontium, and thallium to their eggs than females in reference colonies. Parental provisioning of emerging aquatic insects resulted in greater blood Se concentrations in nestlings in impacted colonies compared to reference colonies, and these concentrations remained stable across 2 years. Egg and blood element concentrations were unrelated to reproductive success or nestling condition. Greater rainfall and higher ambient temperatures during incubation were later associated with longer wing lengths in nestlings, particularly in 2011. Higher ambient temperatures and greater Se exposure posthatch were associated with longer wing lengths in 2011 while in 2012, blood Se concentrations were positively related to wing length irrespective of temperature. We found that unseasonably cold weather was associated with reduced hatching and fledging success among all colonies, but there was no interactive effect between element exposure and inclement weather. Given that blood Se concentrations in some nestlings exceeded the lower threshold of concern, and concentrations of Se in blood and Hg in eggs are not yet declining, future studies should continue to monitor exposure and effects on insectivorous wildlife in the area.

Interspecific differences in egg production affect egg trace element concentrations after a coal fly ash spill.

In oviparous vertebrates, trace elements transfer from mother to offspring during egg production. For animals that produce eggs slowly, like turtles, the trace element concentration of each egg reflects an integration of dietary and stored accumulation over the duration of vitellogenesis. Because turtles also produce eggs synchronously, all eggs within a clutch should exhibit uniform trace element concentrations. In contrast, for animals that produce eggs in sequence and primarily from current dietary resources, like many birds, the trace element concentrations of eggs should be less uniform within a clutch, and likely reflect short-term changes in dietary exposure. We tested the hypothesis that stinkpot turtle (Sternotherus odoratus) clutches exhibit lower variability and higher repeatability in barium, selenium, strontium, and thallium concentrations than those of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) from a site impacted by a recent coal ash spill. All four trace elements exhibited significantly lower variability and significantly higher repeatability in stinkpot clutches than in swallow clutches. Mean trace element concentrations of stinkpot eggs were also significantly higher than those of swallow eggs although both species feed primarily on aquatic invertebrates. Variability in swallow egg trace element concentrations was partially due to significant laying order effects. Our results support the hypothesis that interspecific variation in the source of resources and in the synchronicity and rate of egg production can lead to interspecific differences in the variability of egg trace element concentrations.

Spatial and temporal variation in the diet of tree swallows: implications for trace-element exposure after habitat remediation.

Emerging aquatic insects play a key role in transporting aquatic contaminants into terrestrial ecosystems. Tree swallows are frequently the focus of studies examining this movement because they are thought to forage heavily on emerging aquatic insects when breeding in riparian areas. We examined the tree swallow diet to determine if trace elements from a recently remediated coal fly ash spill were moving into the terrestrial ecosystem. We collected bolus samples from adult tree swallows as they entered the nest box to feed their young. Despite strategically locating boxes in riparian areas, we found that the consumption of insects with an aquatic larval stage ranged from 28 to 75% of insects among colonies. We also found significant differences among colonies in the taxa found in bolus samples. Chironomidae (midges) were the primary emerging aquatic insects consumed by tree swallows, whereas Ephemeroptera were brought to nestlings infrequently. The consumption of insects with an aquatic larval stage, Chironomidae in particular, was positively correlated with exposure to trace elements from the spill. Bolus samples from the spill site contained greater concentrations of many trace elements compared with reference locations, but concentrations of most elements were lower than levels thought to cause reproductive impairment. These results support the hypothesis that emerging aquatic insects transport trace elements to terrestrial consumers and that Chironomidae play an important role in this movement. Our results also indicate that it is important to assess the composition of the diet and to not infer exposure to trace elements based on nesting location.

Hatching asynchrony impacts cognition in male zebra finches.

Conditions experienced early in life can shape brain development and later cognition. Altricial songbirds are particularly vulnerable to early environmental perturbations. Research on "Developmental Stress" in songbirds has addressed how early-life conditions may impair song learning and has been extended to consider other components of adult phenotype. Early-life challenges ranging from ectoparasites to competition with siblings have been shown to compromise song learning and other measures of cognition, as well as behavioral strategy. Here, we examined both the effects of hatching asynchrony and early-life immune system challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on neophobia, song learning, motoric learning, and spatial cognition in male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). We found that hatch order had a significant impact on motoric and spatial learning, such that later hatched males performed better than first and second hatched birds. In contrast, LPS treatment only impacted motoric learning and neither hatch order nor immune system challenge impacted song quality, song learning accuracy, or neophobia. These results are consistent with a growing body of evidence that conditions early in life can improve cognitive performance at adulthood. Moreover, these findings indicate that hatch order is an important factor to consider in developmental studies in asynchronously hatching birds.

Repeatability and sources of variation of the bacteria-killing assay in the common snapping turtle.

Research on reptile ecoimmunology lags behind that on other vertebrates, despite the importance of such studies for conservation and evolution. Because the innate immune system is highly conserved across vertebrate lineages, assessments of its performance may be particularly useful in reptiles. The bacteria-killing assay requires a single, small blood sample and quantifies an individual's ability to kill microorganisms. The assay's construct validity and interpretability make it an attractive measure of innate immunity, but it requires proper optimization and sample storage. We optimized this assay for the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) to assess the repeatability of the assay and the effects of freezing and thawing on bactericidal capacity. We determined whether age (adult female and hatchlings) or incubation temperature influenced bactericidal capacity. We found that the assay was repeatable and that freezing plasma samples for 6 weeks at -80°C did not decrease bactericidal capacity nor did a single 30-min thaw and subsequent refreezing. However, we detected subtle interassay variation and results from one assay were 5-6% greater than those from the other two. Adult females had significantly greater bactericidal ability than hatchlings and we found no relationship between incubation temperature and bactericidal capacity. This assay is a useful tool in snapping turtles and may have applicability in other reptiles. However, species-specific optimization is required to ensure that variation among individuals exceeds interassay variation. Consideration should be given to optimization conditions that facilitate comparisons between or within groups, particularly groups that differ considerably in bactericidal capacity.

Haematological and immunological characteristics of eastern hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) infected and co-infected with endo- and ectoparasites.

Disease is among the leading causes of the global decline in amphibian populations. In North America, parasites and pathogens are among the factors implicated in precipitous population declines of the giant hellbender salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), but the incidence of infections and the responses of hellbenders to infections remain poorly studied. Here, we document the prevalence of leech and trypanosome infections in a wild population of eastern hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) and describe haematological and immunological characteristics of hellbenders harbouring these infections. We hypothesized that hellbenders parasitized by trypanosomes would be anaemic, that individuals infected with either or both parasites would exhibit shifts in white blood cell counts and that hellbenders infected with leeches would exhibit altered plasma bactericidal capacity. We found that 24 and 68% of hellbenders in our sample population were infected with leeches and trypanosomes, respectively, and 20% were co-infected with both parasites. We found no evidence suggestive of anaemia among infected individuals. However, hellbenders infected with either or both parasites exhibited marked shifts in circulating white blood cells that were consistent with predictable responses to parasitic infection. Additionally, we found that hellbenders harbouring leeches had much higher plasma bactericidal capacity than individuals without leeches, and we offer multiple potential mechanistic explanations for this observation. We also found evidence that cellular and serological immune responses to parasites were less robust in juvenile than adult hellbenders. This finding warrants further investigation in light of the demographic characteristics, specifically the scarcity of juvenile age classes, of hellbender populations where disease is a possible contributor to declines. Finally, we describe two methodological advances that will improve future studies seeking to diagnose trypanosome infections and to test the bactericidal capacity of hellbenders and perhaps other amphibians. Our study provides fundamental insights into how hellbenders respond physiologically to endo- and ectoparasites, which could ultimately prove useful for their conservation.

The evolution of sexual size dimorphism in the house finch. V. Maternal effects.

The phenotype of a mother and the environment that she provides might differentially affect the phenotypes of her sons and daughters, leading to change in sexual size dimorphism. Whereas these maternal effects should evolve to accommodate the adaptations of both the maternal and offspring generations, the mechanisms by which this is accomplished are rarely known. In birds, females adjust the onset of incubation (coincident with the first egg or after all eggs are laid) in response to the environment during breeding, and thus, indirectly, determine the duration of offspring growth. In the two house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) populations that breed at the extremes of the species' distribution (Montana and Alabama), females experience highly distinct climatic conditions during nesting. We show that in close association with these conditions, females adjusted jointly the onset of incubation and the sequence in which they produced male and female eggs and consequently modified the growth of sons and daughters. The onset of incubation in newly breeding females closely tracked ambient temperature in a pattern consistent with the maintenance of egg viability. Because of the very different climates in Montana and Alabama, females in these populations showed the opposite patterns of seasonal change in incubation onset and the opposite sex bias in egg-laying order. In females with breeding experience, incubation onset and sex bias in laying order were closely linked regardless of the climatic variation. In nests in which incubation began with the onset of egg laying, the first-laid eggs were mostly females in Montana, but mostly males in Alabama. Because in both populations, male, but not female, embryos grew faster when exposed to longer incubation, the sex-bias produced highly divergent sizes of male and female juveniles between the populations. Overall, the compensatory interaction between the onset of incubation and the sex-biased laying order achieved a compromise between maternal and offspring adaptations and contributed to rapid morphological divergence in sexual dimorphism between populations of the house finch breeding at the climatic extremes of the species range.

Variation in riparian consumer diet composition and differential bioaccumulation by prey influence the risk of exposure to elements from a recently remediated fly ash spill.

Emerging aquatic insects play a key role in transporting aquatic nutrients and contaminants to riparian consumers. However, little is known about how within- and between-year variation in the diet or patterns of element bioaccumulation in emerging insect taxa may influence the risk of exposure to wildlife. During 2 breeding seasons, the composition of the diet of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) was examined at several colonies that were exposed to element contamination from a remediated coal fly ash spill to determine how variation in the diet influenced the risk of exposure to elements. The proportion of the diet that consisted of insects with an aquatic larval stage was positively related to concentrations of As, Fe, Se, and Tl in the samples. The proportion of the diet that consisted of Chironomidae (midges) was positively related to exposure to these elements at most colonies within and between years. Ephemeroptera (mayflies) contained higher concentrations of Se than midges, including 17 samples with concentrations of Se above 5 µg/g dry mass, the threshold of toxicological concern for birds. This was even the case at colonies several kilometers downstream from the spill. The results indicate that greater consideration should be given to the pattern of element bioaccumulation among different prey taxa and their relative importance in the diet to better assess the risk of contaminant exposure.

Exposure to residual concentrations of elements from a remediated coal fly ash spill does not adversely influence stress and immune responses of nestling tree swallows.

Anthropogenic activities often produce pollutants that can affect the physiology, growth and reproductive success of wildlife. Many metals and trace elements play important roles in physiological processes, and exposure to even moderately elevated concentrations of essential and non-essential elements could have subtle effects on physiology, particularly during development. We examined the effects of exposure to a number of elements from a coal fly ash spill that occurred in December 2008 and has since been remediated on the stress and immune responses of nestling tree swallows. We found that nestlings at the site of the spill had significantly greater blood concentrations of Cu, Hg, Se and Zn in 2011, but greater concentrations only of Se in 2012, in comparison to reference colonies. The concentrations of elements were below levels of significant toxicological concern in both years. In 2011, we found no relationship between exposure to elements associated with the spill and basal or stress-induced corticosterone concentrations in nestlings. In 2012, we found that Se exposure was not associated with cell-mediated immunity based on the response to phytohaemagglutinin injection. However, the bactericidal capacity of nestling plasma had a positive but weak association with blood Se concentrations, and this association was stronger at the spill site. Our results indicate that exposure to these low concentrations of elements had few effects on nestling endocrine and immune physiology. The long-term health consequences of low-level exposure to elements and of exposure to greater element concentrations in avian species require additional study.

Interaction between maternal effects: onset of incubation and offspring sex in two populations of a passerine bird.

Maternal phenotype and maternal environment can profoundly affect the phenotype and fitness of offspring. Yet the causes of variation in such maternal effects are rarely known. Embryos in avian eggs cannot develop without being incubated and this creates an opportunity for maternal control of duration and onset of offspring development. However, females might adjust the start of incubation (e.g., coincident with the first egg or delayed until after egg-laying) in response to environmental conditions that they experience at the time of breeding. We studied two populations of the house finch ( Carpodacus mexicanus) that breed at the climatic extremes of the species' geographical range (Montana and Alabama) and found that in both populations, the timing of incubation onset was closely associated with the bias in the sequence in which male and female eggs were laid within a clutch. When females started incubation with the first egg, they produced sons and daughters in highly biased sequence, when females delayed the onset of incubation until after the egg-laying, the sequence of sons and daughters was not biased. Because in both populations, onset of incubation was associated with the ambient temperature, these results emphasize that maternal effects on offspring can be influenced by ecological conditions experienced by parental generation.

The effect of mycoplasmosis on carotenoid plumage coloration in male house finches.

Parasites are widely assumed to cause reduced expression of ornamental plumage coloration, but few experimental studies have tested this hypothesis. We captured young male house finches Carpodacus mexicanus in Alabama before fall molt and randomly divided them into two groups. One group was infected with the bacterial pathogen Mycoplasma gallicepticum (MG) and the other group was maintained free of MG infection. All birds were maintained through molt on a diet of seeds with tangerine juice added to their water as a source of beta-cryptoxanthin, the natural precursor to the primary red carotenoid pigment in house finch plumage. All males grew drab plumage, but males with MG infection grew feathers that were significantly less red (more yellow), less saturated, and less bright than males that were not infected. MG targets upper respiratory and ocular tissue. Our observations show that a pathogen that does not directly disrupt carotenoid absorption or transportation can still have a significant effect on carotenoid utilization.

Sex-biased hatching order and adaptive population divergence in a passerine bird.

Most species of birds can lay only one egg per day until a clutch is complete, and the order in which eggs are laid often has strong and sex-specific effects on offspring growth and survival. In two recently established populations of the house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) in Montana and Alabama, breeding females simultaneously adjusted the sex and growth of offspring in relation to their position in the laying order, thereby reducing the mortality of sons and daughters by 10 to 20% in both environments. We show experimentally that the reduction in mortality is produced by persistent and sex-specific maternal effects on the growth and morphology of offspring. These strong parental effects may have facilitated the rapid adaptive divergence among populations of house finches.