Unraveling a complex alternate molt strategy: more evidence for prealternate molts and alternate plumages in the Blue-an
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Unraveling a complex alternate molt strategy: more evidence for prealternate molts and alternate plumages in the Blue-and-yellow Tanager (Pipraeidea bonariensis darwinii) Alexis Díaz 1,2
&
Flor Hernández 1,3
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Letty Salinas 4
Received: 12 June 2019 / Revised: 20 March 2020 / Accepted: 14 April 2020 # Sociedade Brasileira de Ornitologia 2020
Abstract Some birds replace feathers after the formative plumage of the first cycle and after basic plumages in subsequent cycles as a consequence of prealternate molts. The presence of prealternate molts has been suggested to be due to prolonged exposure to sunlight, especially for birds inhabiting exposed and scrubby areas. Although prealternate molts appear to be common in many Nearctic-Neotropic passerines, these can be also present in resident Neotropical species. For example, prealternate molt has been reported in 14 species among nine genera in thraupids. Here, using wild individuals and museum specimens, we describe the presence of a Complex Alternate Strategy in the molt cycle of the Peru’s Blueand-yellow Tanager (Pipraeidea bonariensis darwinii). We categorized seven molt cycle–based age groups in 75 wildcaptured birds and thirteen molt cycle–based age categories across 167 museum specimens. Our results confirm the existence of limited to partial prealternate molts in Blue-and-yellow Tanager and demonstrate the importance of investigating the presence of these types of molts in wild bird populations. Keywords Bird banding . Molt cycle . Museum specimen . Prealternate molt
Introduction Prealternate molts have evolved in birds that need to replace feathers more than once in a cycle besides the prebasic molt (Pyle and Kayhart 2010). Species that inhabit open or scrubby habitats likely exhibit prealternate molts because of prolonged exposure to sunlight or selective pressures (sexual selection) (Moreno-Palacios et al. 2017; Johnson and Wolfe 2018). Moreover, the replacement of feathers as a consequence of Communicated by: Luis F. Silveira * Alexis Díaz [email protected] 1
Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad (CORBIDI), Santa Rita No 105, Dpto. 202, Urb. Huertos de San Antonio, Surco, Lima, Peru
2
Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
3
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
4
Departamento de Ornitología, Museo de Historia Natural y Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
these molts may cause changes on feather pigmentation, which might play a role in sexual selection (Searcy and Nowicki 2005; Moreno-Palacios et al. 2017). Although the presence of prealternate molts in temperate zone species of North America appear to be more common in migrants than in residents, especially in Nearctic-Neotropic migrants, they can also be present in Neotropical resident species (Ryder and Wolfe 2009; Wolfe et al. 2009; Johnson and Wolfe 2018). Evidence of thraupids exhibiting a Complex Alternate Strategy in their molt has been reported in 14
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