The signalling function of melanin‐based colouration is debated. Sexual selection theory
states that ornaments should be costly to produce, maintain, wear or display to signal quality …

The study of avian signalling systems is an important avenue for research on animal
communication. More specifically, the use of plumage traits to signal status or fighting ability …

Speciation is one of the most important processes in biology, yet the study of the genomic
changes underlying this process is in its infancy. North American warbler species …

Melanin-based traits involved in animal communication have been traditionally viewed as
occurring under strict genetic control. However, it is generally accepted that both genetic and …

Melanin is the most widespread pigment in organisms. Melanin-based coloration has been
repeatedly observed to be associated with the same traits and in the same direction in …

The 'good genes' hypothesis for the evolution of male secondary sexual traits poses that
female preferences for such traits are driven by indirect genetic benefits. However, support …

Dear Sir, Vertebrate animals produce two chemically distinct melanin pigments, eumelanin
and pheomelanin, often simultaneously in the same cells but one usually prevailing on the …

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 …

Trade-offs between the benefits of current reproduction and the costs to future reproduction
and survival are widely recognized. However, such trade-offs might only be detected when …

A general mechanism to account for the maintenance of sexually selected traits is the
armament–ornament model, which predicts that females exploit signals used in male–male …