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Odors And Ornaments In Crested Auklets (Aethia Cristatella): Signals Of Mate Quality? Item Type Thesis Authors Douglas, Hector D., Iii Download date 24/09/2021 03:31:59 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/8905 NOTE TO USERS Page(s) missing in number only; text follows. Page(s) were scanned as received. 61 , 62 , 201 This reproduction is the best copy available. ® UMI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ODORS AND ORNAMENTS IN CRESTED AUKLETS (AETHIA CRISTATELLA): SIGNALS OF MATE QUALITY ? A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Hector D. Douglas III, B.A., B.S., M.S., M.F.A. Fairbanks, Alaska August 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3240323 Copyright 2007 by Douglas, Hector D., Ill All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3240323 Copyright 2007 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ODORS AND ORNAMENTS IN CRESTED AUKLETS (AETHIA CRISTATELLA ): SIGNALS OF MATE QUALITY ? By Hector D. Douglas III . RECOMMENDED: S n u fT fx >"V ( 2 / c ^ ~ tT■ ) Advisory Committee (Ihjnr <_]/ Chair, Program intparine Science and Limnology APPROVED: Dean Sciences Dean of the Graduate School /h% Lts+- )Z 0 G C Date U Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Crested auklets (Aethia cristatella) are small colonial seabirds that display an ornamental feather crest and emit a citrus-like odorant during the breeding season. In this study odors and ornaments were investigated as possible signals of mate quality. Crest size was negatively correlated with the stress hormone corticosterone in males, but this was not the case in females. Body condition was negatively correlated with corticosterone in females, but this was not the case in males. Corticosterone levels were interpreted as an index of physiological condition, and it was concluded that males with longer crests were more competent at meeting the social and energetic costs of reproduction. I hypothesized that the crested auklet odorant: 1) functions as a chemical defense against ectoparasites, 2) is assessed as a basis for mate selection, 3) is facilitated by steroid sex hormones. Laboratory and field experiments showed that synthetic replicas of the crested auklet odorant repelled, impaired, and killed ectoparasites in a dose-dependent fashion. Chemical concentrations in plumage were at least sufficient to repel and impair ectoparasites. Chemical emissions from breeding adult crested auklets peaked at the time of egg hatching when young are most vulnerable to tick parasitism. In males, chemical emissions were correlated with crest size, a basis for mate selection. Presentation of synthetic aldehydes elicited behaviors similar to those that occur during courtship. Captive crested auklets responded preferentially to synthetic replicas of their odor, and the highest frequency of response occurred during early courtship. These results show that the chemical odor could be a basis for mutual mate selection. Production of the chemical odorant may be facilitated by steroid sex hormones since octanal emission rates Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. were correlated with progesterone in males. Finally it was determined that the chemical composition of odorants in crested auklets and whiskered auklets (A. pygmaea) differed in three key respects. This suggests that an evolutionary divergence occurred in the odorants of the two species similar to what has been suggested for ornamental traits. In conclusion, crested auklets appear to communicate with odors and ornaments, and these signals may convey multiple messages regarding condition, quality, and resistance to parasites. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V Table of Contents Page Signature Page...........................................................................................................................i Title Page.................................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................v List of Figures........................................................................................................................viii List of Tables ...........................................................................................................................ix Preface...................................................................................................................................... x Introduction............................................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 1: Heteropteran chemical repellents identified in the citrus odor of a seabird (crested auklet: Aethia cristatella): evolutionary convergence in chemical ecology 23 Introduction............................................................................................................... 24 Methods and Results.................................................................................................25 Discussion..................................................................................................................26 References..................................................................................................................31 Chapter 2: Interspecific differences inAethia auklet odorants and evidence for chemical defense against ectoparasites.................................................................................................35 Introduction.................................................................................................................36 Methods and Materials...............................................................................................38 Results.........................................................................................................................45 Discussion...................................................................................................................54 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. References...................................................................................................................58 Chapter 3: Is the citrus-like plumage odorant of crested auklets {Aethia cristatella) a defense against lice?............................................................................................................. 63 Introduction.................................................................................................................64 Methods.......................................................................................................................66 Results.........................................................................................................................69 Discussion...................................................................................................................71 References...................................................................................................................73 Chapter 4: Chemical odorant of colonial seabird repels mosquitoes.................................. 77 Introduction.................................................................................................................77 Materials and Methods...............................................................................................80 Results.........................................................................................................................82 Discussion...................................................................................................................85 References Cited........................................................................................................ 88 Chapter 5: Measuring chemical emissions in crested auklets {Aethia cristatella) 93 Introduction.................................................................................................................94