Meta-analysis challenges a textbook example of status signalling and demonstrates publication bias

The status signalling hypothesis aims to explain within-species variation in ornamentation by suggesting that some ornaments signal dominance status. Here, we use multilevel meta-analytic models to challenge the textbook example of this hypothesis, the black bib of male house sparrows ( ). We conduc...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:eLife 2018-11, Vol.7
Main Authors: Sánchez-Tójar, Alfredo, Nakagawa, Shinichi, Sánchez-Fortún, Moisès, Martin, Dominic A, Ramani, Sukanya, Girndt, Antje, Bókony, Veronika, Kempenaers, Bart, Liker, András, Westneat, David F, Burke, Terry, Schroeder, Julia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animal behavior
Animals
badge of status
Bias
Birds
Book publishing
Dominance
Ecology
Evolutionary biology
Feathers - anatomy & histology
Hierarchy, Social
Hypotheses
Male
Meta-analysis
Multilevel Analysis
ornament
Ornithology
Passer domesticus
Prejudice
Publication Bias
Rankings
Scientists
Sparrows - anatomy & histology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The status signalling hypothesis aims to explain within-species variation in ornamentation by suggesting that some ornaments signal dominance status. Here, we use multilevel meta-analytic models to challenge the textbook example of this hypothesis, the black bib of male house sparrows ( ). We conducted a systematic review, and obtained primary data from published and unpublished studies to test whether dominance rank is positively associated with bib size across studies. Contrary to previous studies, the overall effect size (i.e. meta-analytic mean) was small and uncertain. Furthermore, we found several biases in the literature that further question the support available for the status signalling hypothesis. We discuss several explanations including pleiotropic, population- and context-dependent effects. Our findings call for reconsidering this established textbook example in evolutionary and behavioural ecology, and should stimulate renewed interest in understanding within-species variation in ornamental traits.
ISSN:2050-084X
2050-084X
DOI:10.7554/eLife.37385