In the past 30 years, carotenoid‐based animal signals have been an intense focus of research because they can potentially broadcast an honest reflection of individual reproductive potential. Our understanding of the underpinning physiological functions of carotenoid compounds is still emerging, however. Here, we argue that wildlife researchers and managers interested in assessing the impact of environmental quality on animal populations should be taking advantage of the signalling function of carotenoid‐based morphological traits. Using birds as a model taxonomic group, we build our argument by first reviewing the strong evidence that the expression of avian carotenoid displays provides an integrated measure of a multitude of diet‐ and health‐related parameters. We then present evidence that human‐induced rapid environmental change (HIREC) impacts the expression of carotenoid signals across different critical periods of a bird’s lifetime. Finally, we argue that variation in signal expression across individuals, populations and species could be quantified relatively easily at a global scale by incorporating such measurements into widespread bird ringing activities. Monitoring the expression of carotenoid‐based coloration could help to identify how the environmental factors linked to HIREC can affect avian populations and allow for potentially detrimental effects on biodiversity to be detected prior to demographic change.

中文翻译：

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基于类胡萝卜素的着色作为环境变化生物监测的潜在用途

在过去的30年中，基于类胡萝卜素的动物信号一直是研究的重点，因为它们有可能真实地反映出个体生殖潜力。然而，我们对类胡萝卜素化合物的基本生理功能的理解仍在不断涌现。在这里，我们认为有兴趣评估环境质量对动物种群影响的野生动植物研究人员和管理人员应利用基于类胡萝卜素的形态特征的信号传导功能。我们将鸟类作为模型分类学组，首先回顾有力的证据来证明禽类胡萝卜素的表达提供了与饮食和健康相关的众多参数的综合指标，从而建立了论点。然后，我们提供证据表明，人为引起的快速环境变化（HIREC）在鸟类生命的不同关键时期都会影响类胡萝卜素信号的表达。最后，我们认为，通过将此类测量结果纳入广泛的鸟响活动中，可以相对容易地在全球范围内量化个体，种群和物种之间信号表达的变化。监测基于类胡萝卜素的着色的表达可以帮助确定与HIREC相关的环境因素如何影响禽类种群，并允许在人口统计变化之前检测到对生物多样性的潜在有害影响。通过将此类测量结果纳入广泛的鸟类响铃活动，可以相对容易地在全球范围内量化种群和物种。监测基于类胡萝卜素的着色的表达可以帮助确定与HIREC相关的环境因素如何影响禽类种群，并允许在人口统计变化之前检测到对生物多样性的潜在有害影响。通过将此类测量结果纳入广泛的鸟类响铃活动，可以相对容易地在全球范围内量化种群和物种。监测基于类胡萝卜素的着色的表达可以帮助确定与HIREC相关的环境因素如何影响禽类种群，并允许在人口统计变化之前检测到对生物多样性的潜在有害影响。