A wide range of biofluorescence of birds suggests enhanced signaling for hierarchy and courtship displays

A new study by scientists from the American Museum of Natural History and the University of Nebraska Lincoln University reports for the first time a widespread occurrence of biofluorescence in avian birds. This study is based on museum specimens collected since the 1800s, and discovered biofluorescence of 37 of 45 known paradise species, with this special “brightness” being the result of the hierarchical and mating displays. It suggests that it is important between. This study was published today in the Journal Royal Society Open Science.

“The unique mating rituals and exhibitions of paradise birds fascinated scientists and promoted countless research focusing on the evolution of traits and sexual choice,” said Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln University. Rene Martin said. She did this work when she was a postdoctoral researcher at the museum. “It seems appropriate that these flashy birds are likely signaling each other in an additional flashy way.”

Biofluorescence is a phenomenon that occurs when an organism absorbs light, converts it, and releases it as a different color. In recent years, the ichthyologist John Sparks Museum and his colleagues have focused on fish in particular to identify previously unknown biological fluorescence of hundreds of species on the trees of life.

Using a special photographic setup with ultraviolet light and blue light and an ejection filter, researchers captured the biological fluorescence of animals ranging from sharks to turtles to corals. About a decade ago, Sparks worked closely with museum ornithologists to search for biofluorescence in the museum’s vast collection of collections within a subset of birds known for their courtship exhibits.

“There have been numerous studies that recorded bright feathers, elaborate mating displays and excellent vision despite more than 10,000 birds recording birds, and surprisingly, we investigated the presence of biological fluorescence. There are very few people,” Sparks said.

The Bowerbirds and Fairy Wrens were unable to shine, but among the bird birds, the sparks discovered a bright green yellow fluorescent light. Sparks’ first work was recently continued by PhDs of Martin and Emily Carr. A student at the museum’s Richard Guilder Graduate School.

The team examined the biological fluorescence of paradise birds living in eastern Australia, Indonesia and across New Guinea, and found that birds also fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light as well as blue light. This phenomenon is particularly prominent in men, focusing on the bright feathers and skin of the area highlighted during the exhibition: the mouth and bills of the head, neck, and belly. In women, biological fluorescence is usually restricted to feathers in the chest and belly.

“These birds live near the equator, where bright sunlight is abundant all year round, and in forests where light complexity is heavily affected by different canopy differences, enhancing bioflaorent signals. It could be,” Kerr said. .

A study based on closely related species found that bird eye pigments align with fluorescent peaks measured by researchers. Based on this, the author speculates that avian paradises can see these biological fluorescent patterns, strengthening the contrast with dark feathers, and perhaps plays an important role in courtship and hierarchy.