The hypothesis that ornaments can honestly signal quality only if their expression is
condition-dependent has dominated the study of the evolution and function of colour traits …

Although melanin is the most common pigment in animal integuments, the adaptive function
of variation in melanin-based coloration remains poorly understood. The individual fitness …

We know much about pathogen evolution and the emergence of new disease strains, but
less about host resistance and how it is signaled to other individuals and subsequently …

Gloger's rule is usually interpreted as predicting darker coloured animals in warmer and
more humid/vegetated regions. The relative importance of temperature and rainfall or …

1. Melanin pigments provide the most widespread source of coloration in vertebrates, but the
adaptive function of such traits remains poorly known. 2. In a wild population of tawny owls …

Colour polymorphism in vertebrates is usually under genetic control and may be associated
with variation in physiological traits. The melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r) has been involved …

We studied variation in plumage colour and life history in a population of tawny owls (Strix
aluco) in southern Finland, using 26 years of data on individually marked male and female …

Although gene by environment interactions may play a key role in the maintenance of
genetic polymorphisms, little is known about the ecological factors involved in these …

Colour polymorphism (CP) is widespread in animals, but mechanisms underlying morph
evolution and maintenance are not completely resolved. In reptiles, CP is often genetically …

The adaptive function of melanin‐based coloration is a long‐standing debate. A recent
genetic model suggested that pleiotropy could account for covariations between …