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Related Concept Videos

Mate Choice01:20

Mate Choice

Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
Complementation Tests00:49

Complementation Tests

A complementation test is a simple cross to identify whether the two mutations are located on the same gene or different genes. It was first performed by Edward Lewis in the 1940s while working on fruit flies. He developed the test to identify the location and arrangement of different mutations on chromosomes.
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Epistasis01:39

Epistasis

In addition to multiple alleles at the same locus influencing traits, numerous genes or alleles at different locations may interact and influence phenotypes in a phenomenon called epistasis. For example, rabbit fur can be black or brown depending on whether the animal is homozygous dominant or heterozygous at a TYRP1 locus. However, if the rabbit is also homozygous recessive at a locus on the tyrosinase gene (TYR), it will have an unshaded coat that appears white, regardless of its TYRP1...
Background and Environment Affect Phenotype02:27

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype

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Testing a Claim about Mean: Unknown Population SD01:21

Testing a Claim about Mean: Unknown Population SD

A complete procedure of testing a hypothesis about a population mean when the population standard deviation is unknown is explained here.
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Genetic Variation

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients
07:34

Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients

Published on: August 22, 2018

Variability in avian eggshell colour: a comparative study of museum eggshells.

Phillip Cassey1, Steven J Portugal, Golo Maurer

  • 1Centre for Ornithology, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom. p.cassey@bham.ac.uk

Plos One
|August 17, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Bird eggshell color diversity is widespread, with significant variation occurring even between closely related species. This variation, primarily in the blue-green light spectrum, is linked to pigment differences and evolutionary drivers.

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Processing Embryo, Eggshell, and Fungal Culture for Scanning Electron Microscopy

Published on: August 16, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Ornithology
  • Animal Coloration

Background:

  • Avian eggshell coloration exhibits remarkable diversity, prompting numerous adaptive hypotheses for its evolution.
  • Understanding this variability is hindered by challenges in quantifying color, assessing avian perception, and relating it to phylogeny.
  • This study investigates eggshell color diversity across avian phylogeny using museum collections.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify avian eggshell coloration using spectrophotometric data.
  • To determine the phylogenetic level at which eggshell color variation occurs.
  • To model eggshell color reflectance for the avian visual system.

Main Methods:

  • Collected spectrophotometric data from 251 bird species.
  • Analyzed reflectance spectra across wavelengths.
  • Modeled coloration for avian visual perception.

Main Results:

  • Most species share similar background eggshell colors.
  • Significant color differences can occur between closely related species (congeners) and among different families.
  • Greatest color variability among related species is in the medium-wavelength (around 500 nm) region.

Conclusions:

  • Eggshell color variation is linked to the presence and concentration of tetrapyrrole pigments, influencing a red-brown to blue spectrum.
  • Temporal changes in museum collections can affect color studies.
  • Future research should focus on pigment composition, phylogenetic associations, and evolutionary drivers of eggshell color.