Data from: Multivariate heredity of melanin-based coloration, body mass and immunity

The genetic covariation among different traits may cause the appearance of
correlated response to selection on multivariate phenotypes. Genes
responsible for the expression of melanin-based color traits are also
involved in other important physiological functions such as immunity and
metabolism by pleiotropy, suggesting the possibility of multivariate
evolution. However, little is known about the relationship between melanin
coloration and these functions at the additive genetic level in wild
vertebrates. From a multivariate perspective, we simultaneously explored
inheritance and selection of melanin coloration, body mass and
phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-mediated immune response by using long-term data
over an 18-year period collected in a wild population of the common
kestrel Falco tinnunculus. Pedigree-based quantitative genetic analyses
showed negative genetic covariance between melanin-based coloration and
body mass in male adults and positive genetic covariance between body mass
and PHA-mediated immune response in fledglings as predicted by pleiotropic
effects of melanocortin receptor (MCR) activity. Multiple selection
analyses showed an increased fitness in male adults with intermediate
phenotypic values for melanin color and body mass. In male fledglings,
there was evidence for a disruptive selection on rump grey color but a
stabilizing selection on PHA-mediated immune response. Our results provide
an insight into the evolution of multivariate traits genetically related
with melanin-based coloration. The differences in multivariate inheritance
and selection between male and female kestrels might have resulted in
sexual dimorphism in size and color. When pleiotropic effects are present,
coloration can evolve through a complex pathway involving correlated
response to selection on multivariate traits.