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Luo AR, Lipshutz S, Phillips J, Brumfield RT, Derryberry EP. Song and genetic divergence within a subspecies of white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli). PLoS One 2024; 19:e0304348. [PMID: 38809922 PMCID: PMC11135742 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Animal culture evolves alongside genomes, and the two modes of inheritance-culture and genes-interact in myriad ways. For example, stable geographic variation in culture can act as a reproductive barrier, thereby facilitating genetic divergence between "cultural populations." White-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) are a well-established model species for bird song learning and cultural evolution, as they have distinct, geographically discrete, and culturally transmitted song types (i.e., song dialects). In this study, we tested the hypothesis that divergence between culturally transmitted songs drives genetic divergence within Nuttall's white-crowned sparrows (Z. l. nuttalli). In accordance with sexual selection theory, we hypothesized that cultural divergence between mating signals both preceded and generated genetic divergence. We characterized the population structure and song variation in the subspecies and found two genetically differentiated populations whose boundary coincides with a major song boundary at Monterey Bay, California. We then conducted a song playback experiment that demonstrated males discriminate between songs based on their degree of divergence from their local dialect. These results support the idea that discrimination against non-local songs is driving genetic divergence between the northern and southern populations. Altogether, this study provides evidence that culturally transmitted bird songs can act as the foundation for speciation by sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Rongyan Luo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of America
| | - Sara Lipshutz
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Jennifer Phillips
- School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States of America
| | - Robb T. Brumfield
- Museum of Natural Science and Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States of America
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2
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Nöbel S, Jacquet A, Isabel G, Pocheville A, Seabright P, Danchin E. Conformity in mate choice, the overlooked social component of animal and human culture. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:132-149. [PMID: 36173001 PMCID: PMC10087591 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Although conformity as a major driver for human cultural evolution is a well-accepted and intensely studied phenomenon, its importance for non-human animal culture has been largely overlooked until recently. This limited for decades the possibility of studying the roots of human culture. Here, we provide a historical review of the study of conformity in both humans and non-human animals. We identify gaps in knowledge and propose an evolutionary route towards the sophisticated cultural processes that characterize humanity. A landmark in the study of conformity is Solomon Asch's famous experiment on humans in 1955. By contrast, interest in conformity among evolutionary biologists has only become salient since the turn of the new millennium. A striking result of our review is that, although studies of conformity have examined many biological contexts, only one looked at mate choice. This is surprising because mate choice is probably the only context in which conformity has self-reinforcing advantages across generations. Within a metapopulation, i.e. a group of subpopulations connected by dispersing individuals, dispersers able to conform to the local preference for a given type of mate have a strong and multigenerational fitness advantage. This is because once females within one subpopulation locally show a bias for one type of males, immigrant females who do not conform to the local trend have sons, grandsons, etc. of the non-preferred phenotype, which negatively and cumulatively affects fitness over generations in a process reminiscent of the Fisher runaway process. This led us to suggest a sex-driven origin of conformity, indicating a possible evolutionary route towards animal and human culture that is rooted in the basic, and thus ancient, social constraints acting on mating preferences within a metapopulation. In a generic model, we show that dispersal among subpopulations within a metapopulation can effectively maintain independent Fisher runaway processes within subpopulations, while favouring the evolution of social learning and conformity at the metapopulation scale; both being essential for the evolution of long-lasting local traditions. The proposed evolutionary route to social learning and conformity casts surprising light on one of the major processes that much later participated in making us human. We further highlight several research avenues to define the spectrum of conformity better, and to account for its complexity. Future studies of conformity should incorporate experimental manipulation of group majority. We also encourage the study of potential links between conformity and mate copying, animal aggregations, and collective actions. Moreover, validation of the sex-driven origin of conformity will rest on the capacity of human and evolutionary sciences to investigate jointly the origin of social learning and conformity. This constitutes a stimulating common agenda and militates for a rapprochement between these two currently largely independent research areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Nöbel
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France.,Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Antoine Jacquet
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France.,Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France
| | - Guillaume Isabel
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Arnaud Pocheville
- Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Paul Seabright
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France.,Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France
| | - Etienne Danchin
- Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 9, France
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3
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Akçay Ç, Campbell SE, Darling S, Beecher MD. Territory establishment, song learning strategies and survival in song sparrows. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Çağlar Akçay
- Department of Psychology Koç University Istanbul Turkey
- Department of Biological Sciences Virginia Tech Blacksburg VA USA
| | | | - Saethra Darling
- Department of Psychology University of Washington Seattle WA USA
| | - Michael D. Beecher
- Department of Psychology University of Washington Seattle WA USA
- Department of Biology University of Washington Seattle WA USA
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Graham BA, Heath DD, Walter RP, Mennill DJ. Immigrant song: males and females learn songs after dispersal in a tropical bird. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Brendan A Graham
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Biology Building, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel D Heath
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Biology Building, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ryan P Walter
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biological Science, California State University Fullerton, State College Boulevard, Fullerton CA, USA, USA
| | - Daniel J Mennill
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Biology Building, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
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Graham BA, Heath DD, Mennill DJ. Dispersal influences genetic and acoustic spatial structure for both males and females in a tropical songbird. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:10089-10102. [PMID: 29238539 PMCID: PMC5723598 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2017] [Revised: 08/07/2017] [Accepted: 08/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals exhibit diverse dispersal strategies, including sex‐biased dispersal, a phenomenon common in vertebrates. Dispersal influences the genetic structure of populations as well as geographic variation in phenotypic traits. Patterns of spatial genetic structure and geographic variation may vary between the sexes whenever males and females exhibit different dispersal behaviors. Here, we examine dispersal, spatial genetic structure, and spatial acoustic structure in Rufous‐and‐white Wrens, a year‐round resident tropical bird. Both sexes sing in this species, allowing us to compare acoustic variation between males and females and examine the relationship between dispersal and song sharing for both sexes. Using a long‐term dataset collected over an 11‐year period, we used banding data and molecular genetic analyses to quantify natal and breeding dispersal distance in Rufous‐and‐white Wrens. We quantified song sharing and examined whether sharing varied with dispersal distance, for both males and females. Observational data and molecular genetic analyses indicate that dispersal is female‐biased. Females dispersed farther from natal territories than males, and more often between breeding territories than males. Furthermore, females showed no significant spatial genetic structure, consistent with expectations, whereas males showed significant spatial genetic structure. Overall, natal dispersal appears to have more influence than breeding dispersal on spatial genetic structure and spatial acoustic structure, given that the majority of breeding dispersal events resulted in individuals moving only short distances. Song sharing between pairs of same‐sex animals decreases with the distance between their territories for both males and females, although males exhibited significantly greater song sharing than females. Lastly, we measured the relationship between natal dispersal distance and song sharing. We found that sons shared fewer songs with their fathers the farther they dispersed from their natal territories, but that song sharing between daughters and mothers was not significantly correlated with natal dispersal distance. Our results reveal cultural differences between the sexes, suggesting a relationship between culture and sex‐biased dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brendan A Graham
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada
| | - Daniel D Heath
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada.,Great Lakes Institute of Environmental Research University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada
| | - Daniel J Mennill
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada
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Poesel A, Fries AC, Miller L, Gibbs HL, Soha JA, Nelson DA. High levels of gene flow among song dialect populations of the Puget Sound white‐crowned sparrow. Ethology 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Angelika Poesel
- Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
| | - Anthony C. Fries
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
| | - Lisa Miller
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
| | - H. Lisle Gibbs
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
| | - Jill A. Soha
- Department of Biology Duke University Durham NC USA
| | - Douglas A. Nelson
- Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
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Nelson DA, Nickley BM, Poesel A, Gibbs HL, Olesik JW. Inter-dialect dispersal is common in the Puget Sound white-crowned sparrow. BEHAVIOUR 2017. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Dispersal in birds can have an important influence on the genetic structure of populations by affecting gene flow. In birds that learn their songs, dispersal can affect the ability of male birds to share songs in song dialects and may influence mate attraction. We used Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) trace element analysis on the body feathers of birds to assess dispersal among four song dialects. We found that (1) most males had a feather element profile typical of only one dialect location; (2) males singing non-local (‘foreign’) dialects in a focal population often learned their foreign songs outside the dialect; and (3) females often dispersed among dialects. We estimated 5% dispersal per year by yearling males between the site of moulting and breeding. Our estimate is consistent with genetic estimates of widespread gene flow between dialects in this subspecies of the white-crowned sparrow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas A. Nelson
- aBorror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Ben M. Nickley
- aBorror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Angelika Poesel
- aBorror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - H. Lisle Gibbs
- aBorror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - John W. Olesik
- bSchool of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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Poesel A, Nelson DA. Changes in Performance of Shared and Unshared Songs Within and Between Years in the White-crowned Sparrow. Ethology 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Angelika Poesel
- Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics; Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology; The Ohio State University; Columbus OH USA
| | - Douglas A. Nelson
- Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics; Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology; The Ohio State University; Columbus OH USA
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