Welcome to the American Ornithological Society 2018 Annual Conference. We are pleased to have you join us at the lovely Hilton El Conquistador Resort in Tucson, AZ.
An organism's social environment often plays an important role in the expression of sexually-selected signals that influence reproductive success. To date, most research on the role social environment has on sexual signaling in birds has focused on social interactions during the breeding season. However, most birds with seasonally-expressed sexual signals develop these ornaments prior to the breeding season. The few studies that have addressed the non-breeding social environment's influence on the development and expression of sexual ornaments have focused on migratory species on their wintering grounds, meaning the same individuals cannot be followed into the breeding season to monitor reproductive success. The Red-backed Fairy-wren (Malurus melanocephalus) is a non-migratory, tropical songbird that exhibits a distinct non-breeding plumage and a sexually-selected ornamental breeding plumage which is known to influence reproductive success. Here we present results from both observational studies and experimental manipulations of social environment to show that social environment has a pronounced influence on the development of ornamental red-black breeding plumage, and that the timing of the acquisition of this plumage in turn may impact an individual's reproductive success. Combined, these results show the importance of tracking individuals across both the non-breeding and breeding season when asking questions about the role of social environment in sexual selection.
