- Letter
- Published:
Aerodynamics and the evolution of long tails in birds
Naturevolume 361, pages628–631 (1993)Cite this article
1210Accesses
8Altmetric
Abstract
Two problems limit the interpretation of recent experiments1–3 supporting Darwin's4 suggestion that female choice for ornate males may account for the evolution of long tails in birds. First, in some species tail elongation may have been favoured by natural rather than sexual selection. Second, it is unclear how female preferences for elaborate males have evolved, because current tests of competing models are often inconclusive5–7. We have integrated aerodynamics theory with comparative data on sexual dimorphism in tail length to evaluate the flight costs of different forms of tail elongation. We report here that long tails with shallow forks are aerodynamically optimal, exhibit correspondingly low sexual dimorphism and may therefore have evolved under natural selection. Other long-tail types impair flight and show greater sexual dimorphism, but variation in their initial evolutionary cost suggests differences in how female preferences for them may have evolved.
This is a preview of subscription content,access via your institution
Access options
Subscription info for Japanese customers
We have a dedicated website for our Japanese customers. Please go tonatureasia.com to subscribe to this journal.
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersson, M.Nature299, 818–820 (1982).
Møler, A. P.Nature332, 640–642 (1988).
Andersson, S.Anim. Behav.43, 379–388 (1992).
Darwin, C.The Descent of Man. and Selection in Relation to Sex (Murray, London, 1871).
Kirkpatrick, M. & Ryan, M. J.Nature350, 33–38 (1991).
Balmford, A. & Read, A. F.Trends Ecol. Evol.6, 274–276 (1991).
Jones, I. L.Auk109, 197–199 (1992).
Møller, A. P.Nature339, 132–135 (1989).
Evans, M. R. & Hatchwell, B. J.Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.29, 421–427 (1992).
Evans, M. R. & Thomas, A. L. R.Anim. Behav.43, 337–347 (1992).
Maynard Smith, J.Evolution6, 127–129 (1952).
Heisler, L. inSexual Selection: Testing the Alternatives (eds Bradbury, J. W. & Andersson, M.) 96–118 (Wiley, Chichester, 1987).
Lande, R.Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.78, 3721–3725 (1981).
Thomas, A. L. R.Phil. Trans. R. Soc. (in the press).
Jones, R. T. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Technical Report835, (1946).
Jones, R. T.Wing Theory (Princeton Univ. Press. Princeton, 1990).
Guermond, J. L.J. Fluid Mech.211, 497–513 (1990).
Cheng, H. K. & Murillo, L. E.J. Fluid Mech.143, 327–350 (1984).
van Dam, C. P.Nature325, 435–437 (1987).
Felsenstein, J.Am. Nat.125, 1–15 (1985).
Sibley, C. G., Alhquist, J. E. & Monroe, B. L. JrAuk105, 409–423 (1988).
Howard, R. & Moore, A.A Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World 2nd edn (Academic, London, 1991).
Rayner, J. M. V., Jones, G. & Thomas, A. L. R.Nature321, 162–164 (1986).
Spedding, G. R.J. exp. Biol127, 59–78 (1987).
Spedding, G. R.J. exp. Biol.127, 45–57 (1987).
Author information
Andrew Balmford
Present address: Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, NWI 4RY, UK
Ian L. Jones
Present address: Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 2A9, Canada
Authors and Affiliations
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
Andrew Balmford, Adrian L. R. Thomas & Ian L. Jones
- Andrew Balmford
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
- Adrian L. R. Thomas
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
- Ian L. Jones
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Balmford, A., Thomas, A. & Jones, I. Aerodynamics and the evolution of long tails in birds.Nature361, 628–631 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/361628a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
Share this article
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
