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. 2018 Jan 8;9:73. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02649-z

Table 2.

Commonly used proxies for quality to evaluate the relationship between carotenoid-based feather coloration and individual quality

Category Metric Relationship with quality
Condition Body mass +
Size-adjusted body mass +
Ptilochronology +
Immune and oxidative physiology Anti-oxidant capacity +
Antibody count +
Disease survival +
Environmental pollutant
HL ratio
Pathogen challenge
Oxidative damage
PHA response +
WBC count +
Parasite Load
Resistance +
Parental and reproductive quality Clutch size +
Feeding rate +
Fledgling number +
Fledgling success +
Lay date
Nest attentiveness +

+ indicates that this measure has a positive correlation with individual quality.− indicates that this measure has a negative correlation with individual quality