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Echeverri SA, Miller AE, Chen J, McQueen EW, Plakke M, Spicer M, Hoke KL, Stoddard MC, Morehouse NI. How signaling geometry shapes the efficacy and evolution of animal communication systems. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:787-813. [PMID: 34021338 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal communication is inherently spatial. Both signal transmission and signal reception have spatial biases-involving direction, distance and position-that interact to determine signaling efficacy. Signals, be they visual, acoustic, or chemical, are often highly directional. Likewise, receivers may only be able to detect signals if they arrive from certain directions. Alignment between these directional biases is therefore critical for effective communication, with even slight misalignments disrupting perception of signaled information. In addition, signals often degrade as they travel from signaler to receiver, and environmental conditions that impact transmission can vary over even small spatiotemporal scales. Thus, how animals position themselves during communication is likely to be under strong selection. Despite this, our knowledge regarding the spatial arrangements of signalers and receivers during communication remains surprisingly coarse for most systems. We know even less about how signaler and receiver behaviors contribute to effective signaling alignment over time, or how signals themselves may have evolved to influence and/or respond to these aspects of animal communication. Here, we first describe why researchers should adopt a more explicitly geometric view of animal signaling, including issues of location, direction, and distance. We then describe how environmental and social influences introduce further complexities to the geometry of signaling. We discuss how multimodality offers new challenges and opportunities for signalers and receivers. We conclude with recommendations and future directions made visible by attention to the geometry of signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Audrey E Miller
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
| | - Jason Chen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.,Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
| | - Eden W McQueen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Melissa Plakke
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
| | - Michelle Spicer
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.,Biology Department, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
| | - Kim L Hoke
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | | | - Nathan I Morehouse
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
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Casey C, Charrier I, Mathevon N, Nasr C, Forman P, Reichmuth C. The genesis of giants: behavioural ontogeny of male northern elephant seals. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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3
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Southall BL, Casey C, Holt M, Insley S, Reichmuth C. High-amplitude vocalizations of male northern elephant seals and associated ambient noise on a breeding rookery. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2019; 146:4514. [PMID: 31893763 DOI: 10.1121/1.5139422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) are massive, land-breeding marine mammals that produce loud, stereotyped calls during annual breeding seasons. To determine vocalization source levels emitted by competing males on a mainland breeding rookery, aerial calls were measured on-axis at 1 m from adult males using three different sound pressure level metrics. Time-averaged (1 min) ambient noise was also measured under variable environmental and social conditions. Results indicate that male northern elephant seals emit high amplitude airborne calls with little variation in call amplitude. Mean source levels ranged from 98 to 114 dB re: 20 μPa [root-mean-square (rms) -fast], 102-116 dB re: 20 μPa (rms-impulse), and 120-131 dB re: 20 μPa (peak) and average standard deviations for all metrics were <2.3 dB. Further, these seal rookeries exhibit high variability in ambient noise (in terms of both spectrum and amplitude) from biotic and environmental sources. Finally, males sampled did not adjust call amplitude to compensate for higher background noise levels and thus did not exhibit a Lombard effect. These findings reinforce the view that the remarkable vocalizations of male northern elephant seals serve as rigid and powerful signals that convey individual identity within noisy breeding colonies rather than as honest indicators of size, status, or motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon L Southall
- Long Marine Laboratory, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, 115 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, California 95060, USA
| | - Caroline Casey
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95060, USA
| | - Marla Holt
- Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington 98115, USA
| | - Stephen Insley
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Whitehorse YT Y1A 0E9, Canada
| | - Colleen Reichmuth
- Long Marine Laboratory, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, 115 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, California 95060, USA
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Echeverri SA, Morehouse NI, Zurek DB. Control of signaling alignment during the dynamic courtship display of a jumping spider. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian A Echeverri
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 5th Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Nathan I Morehouse
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 5th Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 7148 Edwards One, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
| | - Daniel B Zurek
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 5th Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 7148 Edwards One, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
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Southall BL, Nowacek DP, Miller PJO, Tyack PL. Experimental field studies to measure behavioral responses of cetaceans to sonar. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2016. [DOI: 10.3354/esr00764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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Casey C, Charrier I, Mathevon N, Reichmuth C. Rival assessment among northern elephant seals: evidence of associative learning during male-male contests. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2015; 2:150228. [PMID: 26361553 PMCID: PMC4555858 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2015] [Accepted: 07/14/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Specialized signals emitted by competing males often convey honest information about fighting ability. It is generally believed that receivers use these signals to directly assess their opponents. Here, we demonstrate an alternative communication strategy used by males in a breeding system where the costs of conflict are extreme. We evaluated the acoustic displays of breeding male northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), and found that social knowledge gained through prior experience with signallers was sufficient to maintain structured dominance relationships. Using sound analysis and playback experiments with both natural and modified signals, we determined that males do not rely on encoded information about size or dominance status, but rather learn to recognize individual acoustic signatures produced by their rivals. Further, we show that behavioural responses to competitors' calls are modulated by relative position in the hierarchy: the highest ranking (alpha) males defend their harems from all opponents, whereas mid-ranking (beta) males respond differentially to familiar challengers based on the outcome of previous competitive interactions. Our findings demonstrate that social knowledge of rivals alone can regulate dominance relationships among competing males within large, spatially dynamic social groups, and illustrate the importance of combining descriptive and experimental methods when deciphering the biological relevance of animal signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Casey
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
| | - Isabelle Charrier
- Equipe Communications Acoustiques, Neuro-PSI, CNRS UMR 9197, Université Paris Sud, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Nicolas Mathevon
- Equipe Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/Neuro-PSI, CNRS UMR 9197, Université de Lyon/Saint-Etienne, 23 rue Michelon, 42023 Saint-Etienne cedex 2, France
| | - Colleen Reichmuth
- Institute of Marine Sciences, Long Marine Laboratory, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
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Lemasson A, Mikus MA, Blois-Heulin C, Lodé T. Vocal repertoire, individual acoustic distinctiveness, and social networks in a group of captive Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinerea). J Mammal 2014. [DOI: 10.1644/12-mamm-a-313.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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Preininger D, Boeckle M, Sztatecsny M, Hödl W. Divergent receiver responses to components of multimodal signals in two foot-flagging frog species. PLoS One 2013; 8:e55367. [PMID: 23383168 PMCID: PMC3558420 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2012] [Accepted: 12/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Multimodal communication of acoustic and visual signals serves a vital role in the mating system of anuran amphibians. To understand signal evolution and function in multimodal signal design it is critical to test receiver responses to unimodal signal components versus multimodal composite signals. We investigated two anuran species displaying a conspicuous foot-flagging behavior in addition to or in combination with advertisement calls while announcing their signaling sites to conspecifics. To investigate the conspicuousness of the foot-flagging signals, we measured and compared spectral reflectance of foot webbings of Micrixalus saxicola and Staurois parvus using a spectrophotometer. We performed behavioral field experiments using a model frog including an extendable leg combined with acoustic playbacks to test receiver responses to acoustic, visual and combined audio-visual stimuli. Our results indicated that the foot webbings of S. parvus achieved a 13 times higher contrast against their visual background than feet of M. saxicola. The main response to all experimental stimuli in S. parvus was foot flagging, whereas M. saxicola responded primarily with calls but never foot flagged. Together these across-species differences suggest that in S. parvus foot-flagging behavior is applied as a salient and frequently used communicative signal during agonistic behavior, whereas we propose it constitutes an evolutionary nascent state in ritualization of the current fighting behavior in M. saxicola.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doris Preininger
- Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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Insley SJ, Holt MM. Do male northern elephant seals recognize individuals or merely relative dominance rank? THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2012; 131:EL35-EL41. [PMID: 22280727 DOI: 10.1121/1.3665259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Vocal recognition was tested in a socially dynamic context where many individuals interact: the female defense polygyny practiced by male northern elephant seals. The goal was to tease apart whether animals recognize other individuals or instead use a simple rule-based category (i.e., relative dominance rank). A total of 67 playback experiments conducted with 18 males at Año Nuevo State Reserve, California, tested three aspects of recognition: (1) recognition of relative rank; (2) whether such recognition was continuous or categorical; and (3) recognition of familiarity. Results indicate that males recognize familiar individuals although responses are primarily based on relative dominance rank.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen J Insley
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, PO Box 3020, Station CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 3N5, Canada.
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Brumm H, Robertson KA, Nemeth E. Singing direction as a tool to investigate the function of birdsong: an experiment on sedge warblers. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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