PLUMAGE AND SONG DIFFERENCES MEDIATE SPECIES RECOGNITION BETWEEN INCIPIENT FLYCATCHER SPECIES OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

Differential rates of phenotypic introgression are associated with male behavioral responses to multiple signals

Sexual selection on multiple signals may lead to differential rates of signal introgression across hybrid zones if some signals contribute to reproductive isolation but others facilitate gene flow. Competition among males is one powerful form of sexual selection, but male behavioral responses to multiple traits have not been considered in a system where traits have introgressed differentially. Using playbacks, mounts, and a reciprocal experimental design, we tested the hypothesis that male responses to song and plumage in two subspecies of red-backed fairy-wren (Malurus melanocephalus) explain patterns of differential signal introgression (song has not introgressed, whereas plumage color has introgressed asymmetrically). We found that males of both subspecies discriminated symmetrically between subspecies' songs at a long range, but at a close range, we found that aggression was equal for both subspecies' plumage and songs. Taken together, our results suggest that male behavioral responses hinder the introgression of song, but allow for the observed asymmetrical introgression of plumage. Our results highlight how behavioral responses are a key component of signal evolution when recently divergent taxa come together, and how differential responses to multiple signals may lead to differential signal introgression and novel trait combinations.

Rapid diversification and secondary sympatry in Australo-Pacific kingfishers (Aves: Alcedinidae: Todiramphus)

Todiramphus chloris is the most widely distributed of the Pacific's 'great speciators'. Its 50 subspecies constitute a species complex that is distributed over 16 000 km from the Red Sea to Polynesia. We present, to our knowledge, the first comprehensive molecular phylogeny of this enigmatic radiation of kingfishers. Ten Pacific Todiramphus species are embedded within the T. chloris complex, rendering it paraphyletic. Among these is a radiation of five species from the remote islands of Eastern Polynesian, as well as the widespread migratory taxon, Todiramphus sanctus. Our results offer strong support that Pacific Todiramphus, including T. chloris, underwent an extensive range expansion and diversification less than 1 Ma. Multiple instances of secondary sympatry have accumulated in this group, despite its recent origin, including on Australia and oceanic islands in Palau, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Significant ecomorphological and behavioural differences exist between secondarily sympatric lineages, which suggest that pre-mating isolating mechanisms were achieved rapidly during diversification. We found evidence for complex biogeographic patterns, including a novel phylogeographic break in the eastern Solomon Islands that separates a Northern Melanesian clade from Polynesian taxa. In light of our results, we discuss systematic relationships of Todiramphus and propose an updated taxonomy. This paper contributes to our understanding of avian diversification and assembly on islands, and to the systematics of a classically polytypic species complex.

Behavioural response of a migratory songbird to geographic variation in song and morphology

Introduction

Sexually selected traits contribute substantially to evolutionary diversification, for example by promoting assortative mating. The contributing traits and their relevance for reproductive isolation differ between species. In birds, sexually selected acoustic and visual signals often undergo geographic divergence. Clines in these phenotypes may be used by both sexes in the context of sexual selection and territoriality. The ways conspecifics respond to geographic variation in phenotypes can give insights to possible behavioural barriers, but these may depend on migratory behaviour. We studied a migratory songbird, the Stonechat, and tested its responsiveness to geographic variation in male song and morphology. The traits are acquired differently, with possible implications for population divergence. Song can evolve quickly through cultural transmission, and thus may contribute more to the establishment of geographic variation than inherited morphological traits. We first quantified the diversity of song traits from different populations. We then tested the responses of free-living Stonechats of both sexes to male phenotype with playbacks and decoys, representing local and foreign stimuli derived from a range of distances from the local population.

Results

Both sexes discriminated consistently between stimuli from different populations, responding more strongly to acoustic and morphological traits of local than foreign stimuli. Time to approach increased, and time spent close to the stimuli and number of tail flips decreased consistently with geographic distance of the stimulus from the local population. Discriminatory response behaviour was more consistent for acoustic than for morphological traits. Song traits of the local population differed significantly from those of other populations.

Conclusions

Evaluating an individual’s perception of geographic variation in sexually selected traits is a crucial first step for understanding reproductive isolation mechanisms. We have demonstrated that in both sexes of Stonechats the responsiveness to acoustic and visual signals decreased with increasing geographic distance of stimulus origin. These findings confirm consistent, fine discrimination for both learned song and inherited morphological traits in these migratory birds. Maintenance or further divergence in phenotypic traits could lead to assortative mating, reproductive isolation, and potentially speciation.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12983-014-0085-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Phylogeny of the monarch flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly and novel relationships within a major Australo-Pacific radiation

Monarch flycatchers are a major component of Australo-Pacific and Wallacean avifaunas. To date, the family has received incomplete attention by molecular systematists who focused on subclades with minimal character and/or taxon sampling. As a result, Monarchidae taxonomy is still out-of-date, and biogeographic reconstructions have been based on poorly-resolved phylogenies, limiting their interpretation. Here, we produced a comprehensive, molecular phylogeny of the Monarchidae inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear loci using both concatenated and multilocus coalescent frameworks. We sampled 92% of the 99 recognized monarchid biological species and included deeper sampling within several phylogenetic species complexes, including Monarcha castaneiventris, Symposiachrus barbatus, and Terpsiphone rufiventer. Melampitta is identified as sister to the monarch flycatchers, which themselves comprise four major lineages. The first lineage comprises Terpsiphone and allies, the second lineage is Grallina, the third is Arses and Myiagra, and the fourth lineage comprises a diverse assemblage of genera including the "core monarchs" and the most geographically isolated groups like Chasiempis (Hawaii) and Pomarea (eastern Polynesia). Gene tree discordance was evident in Myiagra, which has implications for basal lineages in the genus (e.g., M. azureocapilla, M. hebetior, and M. alecto). Numerous genera within the core monarchs are paraphyletic, including Mayrornis and Pomarea, whereas the validity of others such as Metabolus are questionable. We recognize polytypic taxa as multiple species, including Lamprolia victoriae and Myiagra azureocapilla. In general, the topology of species complexes included short internodes that were not well resolved, owing to their rapid diversification across island archipelagos. Terpsiphone rufiventer comprises multiple lineages, including a heretofore-unappreciated West African lineage, but relationships within these rapid radiations will require extensive genomic sampling for further resolution. This study establishes a new benchmark for Monarchidae systematics and it provides an excellent framework for future work on biogeography and character evolution in a diverse Australo-Papuan radiation.

Signaling in multiple modalities in male rhesus macaques: sex skin coloration and barks in relation to androgen levels, social status, and mating behavior

The past decade has seen an increasing shift in animal communication towards more studies that incorporate aspects of signaling in multiple modalities. Although nonhuman primates are an excellent group for studying the extent to which different aspects of condition may be signaled in different modalities, and how such information may be integrated during mate choice, very few studies of primate species have incorporated such analyses. Here, we present data from free-ranging male rhesus macaques on sex skin coloration (modeled to receiver perception), bark vocal signals, androgen levels, morphometric variables, dominance status, and female mate choice. We show that, consistent with data on females, most intra- and interindividual variation in sex skin appearance occurs in luminance rather than color. Sex skin luminance was significantly correlated across different skin regions. Sex skin luminance did not correlate with the majority of bark parameters, suggesting the potential for the two signals to convey different information. Sex skin appearance was not related to androgen levels although we found some evidence for links between androgen levels and bark parameters, several of which were also related to morphometric variables. We found no evidence that either signal was related to male dominance rank or used in female mate choice, though more direct measures of female proceptive behavior are needed. Overall, the function of male sex skin coloration in this species remains unclear. Our study is among the first nonhuman primate studies to incorporate measurements of multiple signals in multiple modalities, and we encourage other authors to incorporate such analyses into their work.

An extensive candidate gene approach to speciation: diversity, divergence and linkage disequilibrium in candidate pigmentation genes across the European crow hybrid zone

Colouration patterns have an important role in adaptation and speciation. The European crow system, in which all-black carrion crows and grey-coated hooded crows meet in a narrow hybrid zone, is a prominent example. The marked phenotypic difference is maintained by assortative mating in the absence of neutral genetic divergence, suggesting the presence of few pigmentation genes of major effect. We made use of the rich phenotypic and genetic resources in mammals and identified a comprehensive panel of 95 candidate pigmentation genes for birds. Based on functional annotation, we chose a subset of the most promising 37 candidates, for which we developed a marker system that demonstrably works across the avian phylogeny. In total, we sequenced 107 amplicons (∼3 loci per gene, totalling 60 kb) in population samples of crows (n=23 for each taxon). Tajima's D, Fu's FS, DHEW and HKA (Hudson-Kreitman-Aguade) statistics revealed several amplicons that deviated from neutrality; however, none of these showed significantly elevated differentiation between the two taxa. Hence, colour divergence in this system may be mediated by uncharacterized pigmentation genes or regulatory regions outside genes. Alternatively, the observed high population recombination rate (4Ner∼0.03), with overall linkage disequilibrium dropping rapidly within the order of few 100 bp, may compromise the power to detect causal loci with nearby markers. Our results add to the debate as to the utility of candidate gene approaches in relation to genomic features and the genetic architecture of the phenotypic trait in question.

Ten unanswered questions in multimodal communication

The study of multimodal communication has become an active and vibrant field. This special issue of Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology brings together new developments in this rapidly expanding area. In this final contribution to the special issue, I look to the future and discuss ten questions in need of further work, touching on issues ranging from theoretical modeling and the evolution of behavior to molecular mechanisms and the development of behavior. In particular, I emphasize that the use of multimodal communication allows animals to switch between sensory channels when one channel becomes too noisy, and suggest that a better understanding of this process may help us both to understand the evolution of multisensory signaling and to predict the success of species facing environmental changes that affect signaling channels, such as urbanization and climate change. An expanded section is included on the effects of climate change on animal communication across sensory channels, urging researchers to pursue this topic due to the rapidity with which the environment is currently transforming.

Predicting bird song from space

Environmentally imposed selection pressures are well known to shape animal signals. Changes in these signals can result in recognition mismatches between individuals living in different habitats, leading to reproductive divergence and speciation. For example, numerous studies have shown that differences in avian song may be a potent prezygotic isolating mechanism. Typically, however, detailed studies of environmental pressures on variation in animal behavior have been conducted only at small spatial scales. Here, we use remote-sensing data to predict animal behavior, in this case, bird song, across vast spatial scales. We use remotely sensed data to predict the song characteristics of the little greenbul (Andropadus virens), a widely distributed African passerine, found across secondary and mature rainforest habitats and the rainforest-savanna ecotone. Satellite data that captured ecosystem structure and function explained up to 66% of the variation in song characteristics. Song differences observed across habitats, including those between human-altered and mature rainforest, have the potential to lead to reproductive divergence, and highlight the impacts that both natural and anthropogenic change may have on natural populations. Our approach offers a novel means to examine the ecological correlates of animal behavior across large geographic areas with potential applications to both evolutionary and conservation biology.

The recognition signal hypothesis for the adaptive evolution of religion : a phylogenetic test with Christian denominations

Recent research on the evolution of religion has focused on whether religion is an unselected by-product of evolutionary processes or if it is instead an adaptation by natural selection. Adaptive hypotheses for religion include direct fitness benefits from improved health and indirect fitness benefits mediated by costly signals and/or cultural group selection. Herein, I propose that religious denominations achieve indirect fitness gains for members through the use of ecologically arbitrary beliefs, rituals, and moral rules that function as recognition markers of cultural inheritance analogous to kin and species recognition of genetic inheritance in biology. This recognition signal hypotheses could act in concert with either costly signaling or cultural group selection to produce evolutionarily altruistic behaviors within denominations. Using a cultural phylogenetic analysis, I show that a large set of religious behaviors among extant Christian denominations supports the prediction of the recognition signal hypothesis that characters change more frequently near historical schisms. By incorporating demographic data into the model, I show that more-distinctive denominations, as measured through dissimilar characteristics, appear to be protected from intrusion by nonmembers in mixed-denomination households, and that they may be experiencing greater biological growth of their populations even in the present day.

Phylogeography of the prehensile-tailed skink Corucia zebrata on the Solomon Archipelago

The biogeography of islands is often strongly influenced by prior geological events. Corucia zebrata (Squamata: Scincidae) is endemic to the geologically complex Solomon Archipelago in Northern Melanesia. We examined the level of divergence for different island populations of C. zebrata and discussed these patterns in light of Pleistocene land bridges, island isolation, and island age. Corucia zebrata was sampled from 14 locations across the Solomon Archipelago and sequenced at two mitochondrial genes (ND2 and ND4; 1697 bp in total) and four nuclear loci (rhodopsin, an unknown intron, AKAP9, and PTPN12). Measures of genetic divergence, analyses of genetic variation, and Bayesian phylogenetic inference were used and the data assessed in light of geological information. Populations of C. zebrata on separate islands were found to be genetically different from each other, with reciprocal monophyly on mitochondrial DNA. Populations on islands previously connected by Pleistocene land bridges were marginally less divergent from each other than from populations on other nearby but isolated islands. There are indications that C. zebrata has radiated across the eastern islands of the archipelago within the last 1–4 million years. Nuclear loci were not sufficiently informative to yield further information about the phylogeography of C. zebrata on the Solomon Archipelago. Analyses of the mitochondrial data suggest that dispersal between islands has been very limited and that there are barriers to gene flow within the major islands. Islands that have been isolated during the Pleistocene glacial cycles are somewhat divergent in their mitochondrial genotypes, however, isolation by distance (IBD) and recent colonization of isolated but geologically younger islands appear to have had stronger effects on the phylogeography of C. zebrata than the Pleistocene glacial cycles. This contrasts with patterns reported for avian taxa, and highlights the fact that biogeographic regions for island species cannot be directly extrapolated among taxa of differing dispersal ability.

The genetic basis of behavioral isolation between Drosophila mauritiana and D. sechellia

Understanding how species form is a fundamental question in evolutionary biology. Identifying the genetic bases of barriers that prevent gene flow between species provides insight into how speciation occurs. Here, I analyze a poorly understood reproductive isolating barrier, prezygotic reproductive isolation. I perform a genetic analysis of prezygotic isolation between two closely related species of Drosophila, D. mauritiana and D. sechellia. I first confirm the existence of strong behavioral isolation between D. mauritiana females and D. sechellia males. Next, I examine the genetic basis of behavioral isolation by (1) scanning an existing set of introgression lines for chromosomal regions that have a large effect on isolation; and (2) mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) that underlie behavioral isolation via backcross analysis. In particular, I map QTL that determine whether a hybrid backcross female and a D. sechellia male will mate. I identify a single significant QTL, on the X chromosome, suggesting that few major-effect loci contribute to behavioral isolation between these species. In further work, I refine the map position of the QTL to a small region of the X chromosome.

Coevolution of male mating signal and female preference during early lineage divergence of the Hawaiian cricket, Laupala cerasina

Sexual selection is a powerful evolutionary force shaping mate choice phenotypes, initiating phenotypic shifts resulting in (or reinforcing) population divergence and speciation when such shifts reduce mating probabilities among divergent populations. In the Hawaiian cricket genus Laupala, pulse rate of male calling song, a conspicuous mating signal, differs among species, potentially behaving as a speciation phenotype. Populations of the widespread species Laupala cerasina show variation in pulse rate. We document the degree of population differentiation in three features of calling song: pulse rate, pulse duration, and carrier frequency. All show significant population differentiation, with pulse rate showing the greatest heterogeneity. A Mantel test found no relationship between geographic distance and pulse rate divergence, indicating that a simple model of greater divergence with increasing distance cannot explain the observed pattern of differentiation. We demonstrate that female preference functions for pulse rate are unimodal, and that preference means show significant differentiation among populations. Furthermore, estimates of pulse rate preference correlate significantly with mean pulse rates across populations, indicating song and preference coevolve in a stepwise manner. This correlated divergence between signal and preference suggests that sexual selection facilitates the establishment of sexual isolation, reduced gene flow, and population differentiation, prerequisites for speciation.

Asymmetric response patterns to subspecies-specific song differences in allopatry and parapatry in the gray-breasted wood-wren

Song divergence between closely related taxa may play a critical role in the evolutionary processes of speciation and hybridization. We explored song variation between two Ecuadorian subspecies of the gray-breasted wood-wren (Henicorhina leucophrys) and tested the impact of song divergence on response behaviors. Songs were significantly different between the two subspecies, even between two parapatric populations 10 km apart. Playback experiments revealed an asymmetric response pattern to these divergent subspecies specific songs; one subspecies responded more to songs of its own subspecies than to the other subspecies' songs, whereas the second responded equally strongly to songs of both subspecies. While song parameters revealed a mixed pattern of divergence between allopatric and parapatric populations, the majority of spectral characteristics showed increased divergence in parapatry, suggestive of character displacement. This increased song divergence in parapatry appeared to affect behavioral responses to playback as discriminating responses were most prominent in parapatry and against parapatric songs. The clear behavioral impact of subspecies-specific song differences supports a potential role for song as an acoustic barrier to gene flow. The asymmetric nature of the responses suggests that song divergence could affect the direction of gene flow and the position of the subspecies-specific transition.

Character displacement from the receiver's perspective: species and mate recognition despite convergent signals in suboscine birds

Many social animals use long-distance signals to attract mates and defend territories. They face the twin challenges of discriminating between species to identify conspecific mates, and between individuals to recognize collaborators and competitors. It is therefore often assumed that long-distance signals are under strong selection for species-specificity and individual distinctiveness, and that this will drive character displacement when closely related species meet, particularly in noisy environments. However, the occurrence of signal stereotypy and convergence in rainforest species seems to contradict these ideas, and raises the question of whether receivers in these systems can recognize species or individuals by long-distance signals alone. Here, we test for acoustically mediated recognition in two sympatric antbird species that are known to have convergent songs. We show that male songs are stereotyped yet individually distinctive, and we use playback experiments to demonstrate that females can discriminate not only between conspecific and heterospecific males, but between mates and strangers. These findings provide clear evidence that stereotypy and convergence in male signals can be accommodated by fine tuning of perceptual abilities in female receivers, suggesting that the evolutionary forces driving divergent character displacement in animal signals are weaker than is typically assumed.