Plumage coloration can have substantial effects on a bird's energy budget. This is because
different colours reflect and absorb light differently, affecting the heat loads acquired from …

Biological rules describe general morphological, structural and genetic patterns within and
across species. Within these, ecogeographical rules correlate phenotypic variation of …

Melanin is a ubiquitous natural pigment that exhibits broadband absorption and high
refractive index. Despite its widespread use in structural color production, how the absorbing …

Melanin, with its high refractive index (RI) and broadband absorption, is an important
biomaterial responsible for many of the vibrant structural colors observed in nature and for …

Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity and inflict massive economic costs.
Effective management of bio-invasions depends on reliable predictions of areas at risk of …

Adaptations to control heat transfer through the integument are a key component of
temperature regulation in animals. However, there remain significant gaps in our …

The diverse colours of bird feathers are produced by both pigments and nanostructures, and
can have substantial thermal consequences. This is because reflectance, transmittance and …

Colour lightness has received considerable attention owing to its diverse functional aspects,
such as in thermoregulation, pathogen resistance, and photoprotection. However, the …

Colour variation across climatic gradients is a common ecogeographical pattern; yet there is
long-standing contention over underlying causes, particularly selection for thermal benefits …

Research on the optical properties of animal integuments, including fur, feather, skin and
cuticle, has focussed almost exclusively on animal-visible wavelengths within the narrow …