Plumage redness signals mitochondrial function in the House Finch
G. E. Hill, W. R. Hood, Z. Ge, R. Grinter, C. Greening, J. D. Johnson, N. Park, H. Taylor, V. Andreasen, M. Powers, N. Justyn, H. Parry, A. Kavazis, Y. Zhang
The paper links carotenoid oxidation and feather redness to mitochondrial function in house finches, showing a direct relationship between mitochondrial performance and feather coloration.
bioRxiv · Aug 8, 2019Evolutionary Biology