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The avian bill is finely adjusted to foraging ecology and, as part of the vocal tract, it may also affect sexual signals such as songs. Acoustic theory predicts that larger bills lower the resonant frequency of vocal tracts, allowing larger-billed species to emphasize lower sound frequencies. Theory also predicts that identical changes in bill gape allow singing over a wider frequency bandwidth in larger-billed species. We tested these associations between bill size and sound frequencies of song, controlling for body mass, across ca. 1000 taxonomically-diverse passerines. Phylogenetically informed analyses indicated that both bill and body sizes are negatively related to the sound frequency of songs, with additive effects of similar strength. Analyses of reduced datasets, to decrease bill-body size associations, indicated that the effect of bill size remains identical and is thus not an artefact of its covariation with body size. Sound frequency bandwidth was only related to body size but not bill size, perhaps because large bills may allow greater modulation of frequency but also hinder fast bill movement. Since the bill has a major role explaining species differences in birdsong sound frequency, it can be a magic trait that promotes reproductive isolation as a consequence of ecological divergence.

Carotenoid-based colour signals can be costly to produce and maintain, and trade-offs between signalling and other fitness traits are expected. In mutually ornamented species, trade-offs with reproduction may be stronger for females than males, because females often dedicate more resources to offspring production, which may lead to plastic investment in colour signals and plastic sexual dichromatism. Oestradiol is a candidate mediator of this trade-off because it regulates reproductive physiology and may also influence the expression of coloration. We tested this hypothesis by giving female common waxbills ( Estrilda astrild ) either oestradiol (17β-oestradiol) or empty implants during the early breeding season and measured spectral reflectance of carotenoid-based bill coloration weekly for two months. Using a model of avian vision, we found that bill colour in oestradiol-implanted females became less saturated, less red in hue and brighter, compared with control females and with unimplanted males. This resulted in a change in bill sexual dichromatism from imperceptible to perceptible. Results support the hypothesis that female reproductive physiology influences investment in coloration through changes in oestradiol and show a form of female-driven plastic sexual dichromatism. Greater sensitivity of female colour to physiological and/or environmental conditions helps explain why differences in sexual dichromatism among species differing in ecology often evolve owing to changes in female rather than male phenotype.

Neste trabalho foi estudada a origem de dois tipos de defeitos que ocorriam em canecas de grés obtidas por prensagem isostática e monocozedura. Ambos os tipos de defeitos correspondiam a depressões localizadas e profundas na superfície do vidrado após a cozedura e ocorriam preferencialmente em peças produzidas com o vidrado BS. Verificou-se que a localização dos defeitos do tipo I coincidia com crateras na camada de vidrado geradas durante a etapa de vidragem. Pelo contrário, os defeitos do tipo II apenas eram visíveis após a cozedura das peças. O estudo envolveu a caracterização dos materiais utilizados no fabrico das canecas e um conjunto de ensaios que permitiram identificar a origem dos defeitos e propor ações corretivas para a sua mitigação. No caso dos defeitos do tipo I, os resultados obtidos permitiram concluir que as depressões resultavam da retenção de bolhas de ar durante a vidragem, devido a uma velocidade excessiva de formação da camada de vidrado. Por seu lado, os defeitos do tipo II estavam associados à presença de um resíduo resultante do esponjamento automático das peças. Em ambos os casos, a fusibilidade insuficiente do vidrado BS dificultava a retificação das depressões resultantes durante a etapa de cozedura. A eliminação praticamente completa dos defeitos foi conseguida através do ajuste das condições de vidragem (defeitos do tipo I) e das condições de operação do sistema de acabamento automático (defeitos do tipo II). In this work, the origin of two types of defects that occurred in stoneware mugs obtained by isostatic pressing and single firing was studied. Both types of defects corresponded to localized and deep depressions on the surface of the glaze after firing and occurred preferentially in pieces produced with the BS glaze. It was found that the location of type I defects coincided with craters in the glaze layer generated during the glazing step. By contrast, the type II defects were only visible after the pieces had been fired. The study involved the characterization of the materials used in the production of the mugs and a set of tests that made it possible to identify the origin of the defects and propose corrective actions for their mitigation. In the case of type I defects, the results obtained allowed to conclude that the depressions resulted from the air bubbles trapped during the glazing, due to an excessive speed of formation of the glaze layer. On the other hand, type II defects were associated to the presence of a residue resulting from the automatic sponging of the mugs. In both cases, the insufficient fusibility of the BS glaze made it difficult to rectify the resulting depressions during the firing step. The virtually complete elimination of defects was achieved by adjusting the glazing conditions (type I defects) and the operating conditions of the automatic finishing system (type II defects). Mestrado em Engenharia de Materiais

The dopaminergic (DAergic) system has well-known influences on behavioral and cognitive functions. Previous work with common waxbills (Estrilda astrild) reported context-specific DAergic effects that could have been due to social environment. Manipulating the dopamine D2-like receptor family (D2R) pathways had opposing effects on behavior depending on whether waxbills were tested alone or in a small cage with a mirror as a social stimulus. As waxbills are highly gregarious, it was hypothesized that being alone or perceiving that they have a companion might explain this context dependence. To test context-dependent DAergic effects, we compared behavioral effects of D2R manipulation in waxbills in the same familiar environment, but either alone or with a familiar, same-sex companion. We found that D2R agonism decreased movement and feeding, similar to previous results when testing waxbills alone. However, contrary to the hypothesis of dependence on social context, we found that the behavioral effects of the D2R agonist were unchanged when waxbills were tested with a companion. The context dependence reported earlier might thus be due to other factors, such as the stress of being in a novel environment (small cage) or with an unfamiliar social stimulus (mirror image). In tests with a companion, we also found a sex-specific social effect of D2R manipulation: D2R blocking tended to decrease aggression in males but to increase it in females. Together with past work, our results suggest that DAergic effects on behavior involve different types of context or sex dependence.