Morph-specific selection drives phenotypic divergence in color polymorphic tawny owls (Strix aluco) in Northern Europe
Arianna Passarotto, Moritz David Lürig, Esa Aaltonen, Patrik Karell · 2025
Read Morph-specific selection drives phenotypic divergence in color polymorphic tawny owls (Strix aluco) in Northern Europe by Arianna Passarotto, Moritz David Lürig, Esa Aaltonen, Patrik Karell (2025) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-12827955.txt.
Description
Arianna Passarotto and co-authors show how selection splits the two color forms of the tawny owl apart, in a 2025 paper. Tawny owls come in gray and brown morphs, a classic case for studying evolution in the wild. Using forty-three years of plumage records from a Finnish population, the team looked inside each morph, not just between them.
Both morphs varied widely within themselves, and the variation drifted over time: brown owls grew more pigmented, while gray owls shifted suddenly lighter. Harsh winters seem to have thinned the gray morph's genetic stock, limiting its options. In brown owls, color interacted with breeding success and timing, plus warmth before fledging. Inner variation, the authors argue, steers each morph's reply to selection.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Arianna Passarotto, Moritz David Lürig, Esa Aaltonen, Patrik Karell |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2025 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 56 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |