Date of Award
2010
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.Sc.
Department
Biological Sciences
Keywords
Biological sciences
Supervisor
Stéphanie Doucet
Supervisor
Daniel Mennill
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Several factors may drive interspecific divergence, and investigating possible mechanisms from multiple angles may be most efficient for understanding the evolutionary history of diverse groups. The main objective of my thesis was to examine mechanisms that may promote plumage divergence in Parulidae warblers. In my first study, I investigated the signalling environments of 17 sympatric species of warblers to test predictions of sensory drive. I determined sexual selection has likely influenced plumage evolution in warblers, plumage and visual environment coloration were correlated, and warblers were not most conspicuous in chosen display environments. In my second study, I tested the relationship between sympatry and plumage divergence across 77 species and found an increase in sympatry is correlated with greater plumage divergence, and that closely related species tended to be highly sympatric. My thesis demonstrates multiple selective pressures have likely shaped the evolution of plumage coloration in this diverse group of birds.
Recommended Citation
Mistakidis, Allison Flora, "The influence of visual environment and sympatry on plumage coloration in New World warblers" (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 8283.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/8283