title: Silver spoon effects on plumage quality in a passerine bird.
abstract: A silver spoon effect means that individuals who develop under favourable circumstances enjoy a fitness or performance advantage later in life. While there is large empirical support for silver spoon effects acting on different life-history traits in birds, such as survival and reproduction, the evidence for the carry-over effects of rearing conditions on the quality of future plumage generations is lacking. Here, we examined whether abilities of individuals to undergo extensive post-juvenile moult may depend on the quality of juvenile plumage developed during the nestling phase in a small passerine showing large individual variation in the extent of post-juvenile moult, the greenfinch (Carduelis chloris). We found that high structural quality and carotenoid chroma of juvenile feathers were positively linked to the extent of post-juvenile moult in this species, thus allowing young birds to attain more adult-like plumage. Silver spoon effects mediated by the juvenile plumage quality were also found to have other fitness-related consequences, as individuals with high-quality juvenile feathers were in better condition during their first winter. As far as we are aware, the results provide the first correlative evidence for a silver spoon effect acting on general plumage quality in birds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Teacher Training and Biodiversity Studies , University of Łódź , Banacha 1/3, 90-237 Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Minias
authors.affiliation: Department of Teacher Training and Biodiversity Studies , University of Łódź , Banacha 1/3, 90-237 Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Radosław
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Włodarczyk
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Avian Biology and Ecology , Adam Mickiewicz University , Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Surmacki
authors.affiliation: Rojna 37/21, 91-134 Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iciek
keywords: Carduelis chloris; feather quality; greenfinch; moult; plumage quality; silver spoon effect