{"id":{"repo_id":"vcu","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1027"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vcu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1027","repository":{"repo_id":"vcu","name":"Virginia Commonwealth University","base_url":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) Plumage as an Indicator for Infection: the Relationship between Haemosporidia Infection and Breast Feather Reflectance in a Neotropical Migrant Passerine","abstract":"Yellow avian plumage is a direct result of carotenoid pigments obtained in a bird’s diet and may act as an indicator for individual health, parasite resistance, and status. This study describes breast feather reflectance of adult Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) (n=169), insectivorous Neotropical migrant passerines, throughout the Ultraviolet (UV) and human visible light spectra and examines the relationship between Haemosporidia (pathogen causing Avian Malaria) infection and feather reflectance (n=41). Reflectance was characterized using a Principle Component Analysis evaluating Intensity, Brightness, Hue, UV Intensity, UV Brightness, and UV Chroma. UV and visible light reflectance was higher in birds sampled earlier in the field season (early clutch) (p=0.0017 and p=0.0743 respectively). There was no relationship between infection and either visible light or hue. However, UV reflectance was lower in infected birds (p=0.0843). This study suggests that UV reflectance is an important indicator for the infection status of a Neotropical migrant passerine.","abstract_html":"Yellow avian plumage is a direct result of carotenoid pigments obtained in a bird’s diet and may act as an indicator for individual health, parasite resistance, and status. This study describes breast feather reflectance of adult Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) (n=169), insectivorous Neotropical migrant passerines, throughout the Ultraviolet (UV) and human visible light spectra and examines the relationship between Haemosporidia (pathogen causing Avian Malaria) infection and feather reflectance (n=41). Reflectance was characterized using a Principle Component Analysis evaluating Intensity, Brightness, Hue, UV Intensity, UV Brightness, and UV Chroma. UV and visible light reflectance was higher in birds sampled earlier in the field season (early clutch) (p=0.0017 and p=0.0743 respectively). There was no relationship between infection and either visible light or hue. However, UV reflectance was lower in infected birds (p=0.0843). This study suggests that UV reflectance is an important indicator for the infection status of a Neotropical migrant passerine.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fithian, Robert"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ghislaine Mayer"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2009,"date_issued":"2009-11-30T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2009-11-30T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:53:18Z","subjects":["Haemosporidia infection","plumage reflectance","Biology","Life Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":["© The Author"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/28"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/28","href":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/28","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.25772/0707-TJ71","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Ghislaine Mayer"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fithian, Robert"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-12-11T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Haemosporidia infection","plumage reflectance","Biology","Life Sciences"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© The Author"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.25772/0707-TJ71","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/28"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Yellow avian plumage is a direct result of carotenoid pigments obtained in a bird’s diet and may act as an indicator for individual health, parasite resistance, and status. This study describes breast feather reflectance of adult Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) (n=169), insectivorous Neotropical migrant passerines, throughout the Ultraviolet (UV) and human visible light spectra and examines the relationship between Haemosporidia (pathogen causing Avian Malaria) infection and feather reflectance (n=41). Reflectance was characterized using a Principle Component Analysis evaluating Intensity, Brightness, Hue, UV Intensity, UV Brightness, and UV Chroma. UV and visible light reflectance was higher in birds sampled earlier in the field season (early clutch) (p=0.0017 and p=0.0743 respectively). There was no relationship between infection and either visible light or hue. However, UV reflectance was lower in infected birds (p=0.0843). This study suggests that UV reflectance is an important indicator for the infection status of a Neotropical migrant passerine."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) Plumage as an Indicator for Infection: the Relationship between Haemosporidia Infection and Breast Feather Reflectance in a Neotropical Migrant Passerine"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Ghislaine Mayer"],"dc:creator":["Fithian, Robert"],"dc:date.available":["2014-12-11T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Yellow avian plumage is a direct result of carotenoid pigments obtained in a bird’s diet and may act as an indicator for individual health, parasite resistance, and status. This study describes breast feather reflectance of adult Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) (n=169), insectivorous Neotropical migrant passerines, throughout the Ultraviolet (UV) and human visible light spectra and examines the relationship between Haemosporidia (pathogen causing Avian Malaria) infection and feather reflectance (n=41). Reflectance was characterized using a Principle Component Analysis evaluating Intensity, Brightness, Hue, UV Intensity, UV Brightness, and UV Chroma. UV and visible light reflectance was higher in birds sampled earlier in the field season (early clutch) (p=0.0017 and p=0.0743 respectively). There was no relationship between infection and either visible light or hue. However, UV reflectance was lower in infected birds (p=0.0843). This study suggests that UV reflectance is an important indicator for the infection status of a Neotropical migrant passerine."],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.25772/0707-TJ71","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/28"],"dc:rights":["© The Author"],"dc:subject":["Haemosporidia infection","plumage reflectance","Biology","Life Sciences"],"dc:title":["Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) Plumage as an Indicator for Infection: the Relationship between Haemosporidia Infection and Breast Feather Reflectance in a Neotropical Migrant Passerine"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:53:18Z"}