The evolution of the multicoloured face of mandrills: insights from the perceptual space of colour vision.

Multicomponent signals consist of several traits that are perceived as a whole. Although many animals rely on multicomponent signals to communicate, the selective pressures shaping these signals are still poorly understood. Previous work has mainly investigated the evolution of multicomponent signal...

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Main Authors: Julien P Renoult, H Martin Schaefer, Bettina Sallé, Marie J E Charpentier
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3244440?pdf=render
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author Julien P Renoult
H Martin Schaefer
Bettina Sallé
Marie J E Charpentier
author_facet Julien P Renoult
H Martin Schaefer
Bettina Sallé
Marie J E Charpentier
author_sort Julien P Renoult
collection DOAJ
description Multicomponent signals consist of several traits that are perceived as a whole. Although many animals rely on multicomponent signals to communicate, the selective pressures shaping these signals are still poorly understood. Previous work has mainly investigated the evolution of multicomponent signals by studying each trait individually, which may not accurately reflect the selective pressures exerted by the holistic perception of signal receivers. Here, we study the design of the multicoloured face of an Old World primate, the mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), in relation to two aspects of signalling that are expected to be selected by receivers: conspicuousness and information. Using reflectance data on the blue and red colours of the faces of 34 males and a new method of hue vectorisation in a perceptual space of colour vision, we show that the blue hue maximises contrasts to both the red hue and the foliage background colouration, thereby increasing the conspicuousness of the whole display. We further show that although blue saturation, red saturation and the contrast between blue and red colours are all correlated with dominance, dominance is most accurately indicated by the blue-red contrast. Taken together our results suggest that the evolution of blue and red facial colours in male mandrills are not independent and are likely driven by the holistic perception of conspecifics. In this view, we propose that the multicoloured face of mandrills acts as a multicomponent signal. Last, we show that information accuracy increases with the conspicuousness of the whole display, indicating that both aspects of signalling can evolve in concert.
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spelling doaj.art-fefecb4b068f4a8da26e1d40475242f42022-12-21T20:38:06ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032011-01-01612e2911710.1371/journal.pone.0029117The evolution of the multicoloured face of mandrills: insights from the perceptual space of colour vision.Julien P RenoultH Martin SchaeferBettina SalléMarie J E CharpentierMulticomponent signals consist of several traits that are perceived as a whole. Although many animals rely on multicomponent signals to communicate, the selective pressures shaping these signals are still poorly understood. Previous work has mainly investigated the evolution of multicomponent signals by studying each trait individually, which may not accurately reflect the selective pressures exerted by the holistic perception of signal receivers. Here, we study the design of the multicoloured face of an Old World primate, the mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), in relation to two aspects of signalling that are expected to be selected by receivers: conspicuousness and information. Using reflectance data on the blue and red colours of the faces of 34 males and a new method of hue vectorisation in a perceptual space of colour vision, we show that the blue hue maximises contrasts to both the red hue and the foliage background colouration, thereby increasing the conspicuousness of the whole display. We further show that although blue saturation, red saturation and the contrast between blue and red colours are all correlated with dominance, dominance is most accurately indicated by the blue-red contrast. Taken together our results suggest that the evolution of blue and red facial colours in male mandrills are not independent and are likely driven by the holistic perception of conspecifics. In this view, we propose that the multicoloured face of mandrills acts as a multicomponent signal. Last, we show that information accuracy increases with the conspicuousness of the whole display, indicating that both aspects of signalling can evolve in concert.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3244440?pdf=render
spellingShingle Julien P Renoult
H Martin Schaefer
Bettina Sallé
Marie J E Charpentier
The evolution of the multicoloured face of mandrills: insights from the perceptual space of colour vision.
PLoS ONE
title The evolution of the multicoloured face of mandrills: insights from the perceptual space of colour vision.
title_full The evolution of the multicoloured face of mandrills: insights from the perceptual space of colour vision.
title_fullStr The evolution of the multicoloured face of mandrills: insights from the perceptual space of colour vision.
title_full_unstemmed The evolution of the multicoloured face of mandrills: insights from the perceptual space of colour vision.
title_short The evolution of the multicoloured face of mandrills: insights from the perceptual space of colour vision.
title_sort evolution of the multicoloured face of mandrills insights from the perceptual space of colour vision
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3244440?pdf=render
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