1
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Goodale E, Magrath RD. Species diversity and interspecific information flow. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:999-1014. [PMID: 38279871 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
Interspecific information flow is known to affect individual fitness, population dynamics and community assembly, but there has been less study of how species diversity affects information flow and thereby ecosystem functioning and services. We address this question by first examining differences among species in the sensitivity, accuracy, transmissibility, detectability and value of the cues and signals they produce, and in how they receive, store and use information derived from heterospecifics. We then review how interspecific information flow occurs in communities, involving a diversity of species and sensory modes, and how this flow can affect ecosystem-level functions, such as decomposition, seed dispersal or algae removal on coral reefs. We highlight evidence that some keystone species are particularly critical as a source of information used by eavesdroppers, and so have a disproportionate effect on information flow. Such keystone species include community informants producing signals, particularly about predation risk, that influence other species' landscapes of fear, and aggregation initiators creating cues or signals about resources. We suggest that the presence of keystone species means that there will likely be a positive relationship in many communities between species diversity and information through a 'sampling effect', in which larger pools of species are more likely to include the keystone species by chance. We then consider whether the number and relative abundance of species, irrespective of the presence of keystone species, matter to interspecific information flow; on this issue, the theory is less developed, and the evidence scant and indirect. Higher diversity could increase the quantity or quality of information that is used by eavesdroppers because redundancy increases the reliability of information or because the species provide complementary information. Alternatively, there could be a lack of a relationship between species diversity and information if there is widespread information parasitism where users are not sources, or if information sourced from heterospecifics is of lower value than that gained personally or sourced from conspecifics. Recent research suggests that species diversity does have information-modulated community and ecosystem consequences, especially in birds, such as the diversity of species at feeders increasing resource exploitation, or the number of imitated species increasing responses to vocal mimics. A first step for future research includes comprehensive observations of information flow among different taxa and habitats. Then studies should investigate whether species diversity influences the cumulative quality or quantity of information at the community level, and consequently ecosystem-level processes. An applied objective is to conserve species in part for their value as sources of information for other species, including for humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eben Goodale
- Department of Health and Environmental Science, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Robert D Magrath
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
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2
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Mathot KJ, Arteaga-Torres JD, Besson A, Hawkshaw DM, Klappstein N, McKinnon RA, Sridharan S, Nakagawa S. A systematic review and meta-analysis of unimodal and multimodal predation risk assessment in birds. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4240. [PMID: 38762491 PMCID: PMC11102462 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48702-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite a wealth of studies documenting prey responses to perceived predation risk, researchers have only recently begun to consider how prey integrate information from multiple cues in their assessment of risk. We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that experimentally manipulated perceived predation risk in birds and evaluate support for three alternative models of cue integration: redundancy/equivalence, enhancement, and antagonism. One key insight from our analysis is that the current theory, generally applied to study cue integration in animals, is incomplete. These theories specify the effects of increasing information level on mean, but not variance, in responses. In contrast, we show that providing multiple complementary cues of predation risk simultaneously does not affect mean response. Instead, as information richness increases, populations appear to assess risk more accurately, resulting in lower among-population variance in response to manipulations of perceived predation risk. We show that this may arise via a statistical process called maximum-likelihood estimation (MLE) integration. Our meta-analysis illustrates how explicit consideration of variance in responses can yield important biological insights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberley J Mathot
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
- Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
| | | | - Anne Besson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Otago, New Zealand
| | - Deborah M Hawkshaw
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Natasha Klappstein
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Department of Statistics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Rebekah A McKinnon
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Sheeraja Sridharan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- Theoretical Sciences Visiting Program, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Onna, 904-0495, Japan
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3
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Avilés JM, Cruz-Miralles Á, Parejo D. Colour-specific diet specialization is associated with differences in owlet weight in a polymorphic owl: influence of the trophic quality variation. Oecologia 2023; 203:181-191. [PMID: 37815597 PMCID: PMC10615958 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05460-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
The niche divergence hypothesis proposes that the evolution and maintenance of colour polymorphism is based on a mechanism of disruptive selection. In a trophic context, the hypothesis predicts that individuals differing in colour vary in their trophic niche, either because they differ in foraging efficiency or feed in different habitats. A major evolutionary conundrum is how these expectations are affected by variation in trophic quality. Using an owl species with colour plumage polymorphism, the Eurasian scops owl Otus scops, we examined diet and habitat segregation during reproduction in relation to plumage colouration and trophic quality. Intensive sampling revealed that trophic quality for scops owls (i.e. abundance of grasshoppers and locusts) varied more among territories than between years, but scops owls did not segregate among territories of different quality by their colouration. However, we found that sex, plumage colouration and territory differences in trophic quality explained differences in the degree of dietary specialization. Brownish males delivered a higher diversity of prey to the nest than greyish ones in high trophic quality territories. We also found that the more diverse the diet provided by males, the heavier the owlets at fledging. Our study provides evidence for a different sensitivity to trophic quality of the colour morphs with potential fitness consequences in scops owls. We highlight the importance of studying the mechanisms leading to the persistence of colour polymorphism in patchy environments, since segregation may pass otherwise unnoticed if only habitats or years with similar conditions are considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Miguel Avilés
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, EEZA-CSIC, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain.
- Unidad Asociada (CSIC): Ecología en el Antropoceno, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain.
| | - Ángel Cruz-Miralles
- Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
| | - Deseada Parejo
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, EEZA-CSIC, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain
- Unidad Asociada (CSIC): Ecología en el Antropoceno, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
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4
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Eavesdropping on conspecific alarm calls links birds across territory borders into a population-wide information network. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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5
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Cruz-Miralles Á, Avilés JM, Chastel O, Expósito-Granados M, Parejo D. Phaeomelanin matters: Redness associates with inter-individual differences in behaviour and feather corticosterone in male scops owls (Otus scops). PLoS One 2020; 15:e0241380. [PMID: 33175892 PMCID: PMC7657523 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Individuals within populations often show consistent variation in behavioural and physiological traits which are frequently inter-correlated, potentially leading to phenotypic integration. Understanding the mechanisms behind such integration is a key task in evolutionary ecology, and melanin based colouration has been suggested to play a pivotal role. In birds, most of plumage colour variation is determined by two types of melanin, eumelanin and phaeomelanin, but the role of phaeomelanin in avian phenotype integration has been barely investigated. Here, we test for covariation between phaeomelanin-based colouration, behavioural traits (i.e. nest territoriality, aggressiveness, breath rate and parental behaviour) and corticosterone in feathers in the polymorphic scops owl Otus scops, a bird species in which more phaeomelanic individuals display reddish colourations. In males, we observed that reddish males took longer to return to their nests and showed higher levels of feather CORT than more greyish ones. Behaviour and feather CORT were not associated to plumage colour in females. The found associations between redness, behaviour and feather CORT in males, but not in females, might suggest the existence of a sex-specific integrated phaeomelanic phenotype in scops owls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ángel Cruz-Miralles
- Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, España
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, EEZA-CSIC, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, España
| | - Jesús M. Avilés
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, EEZA-CSIC, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, España
| | - Olivier Chastel
- Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS, Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Mónica Expósito-Granados
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, EEZA-CSIC, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, España
- Departamento de Economía y Empresa, Área de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Almería, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, España
| | - Deseada Parejo
- Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, España
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, EEZA-CSIC, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, España
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6
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Mariette MM. On nest-site copying, owner aggression, and mimicry: the adaptive significance of interspecific information use in a landscape of fear. Acta Ethol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-020-00357-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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7
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Tolvanen J, Morosinotto C, Forsman JT, Thomson RL. Information collected during the post-breeding season guides future breeding decisions in a migratory bird. Oecologia 2020; 192:965-977. [PMID: 32162073 PMCID: PMC7165145 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04629-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Breeding habitat choice and investment decisions are key contributors to fitness in animals. Density of individuals is a well-known cue of habitat quality used for future breeding decisions, but accuracy of density cues decreases as individuals disperse from breeding sites. Used nests remain an available information source also after breeding season, but whether such information is used for breeding decisions is less well known. We experimentally investigated whether migratory, cavity-nesting pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) prospect potential breeding sites after breeding season and use old nests as a cue for future breeding decisions. In late summer 2013, forest sites were assigned to four treatments: (1) sites including nest boxes with old nests of heterospecifics (tits), (2) sites including suitable but empty nest boxes, (3) sites with unsuitable nest boxes, or (4) sites without any nest boxes. In the following year, we investigated pied flycatcher habitat choice and reproductive investment according to these "past" cues while also controlling for additional information sources present during settlement. Flycatchers preferred sites where tits had been perceived to breed in the previous year, but only if great tits were also currently breeding in the site and had a relatively high number of eggs. Old flycatchers avoided sites previously treated with suitable but empty cavities, whereas young flycatchers preferred sites where tits had apparently bred in the previous year. Also egg mass, but not clutch size or clutch mass, was affected by the combination of past treatment information and current tit abundance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jere Tolvanen
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, 90014, Oulu, Finland. .,National Resources Institute Finland, University of Oulu, 90014, Oulu, Finland.
| | - Chiara Morosinotto
- Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland.,Bioeconomy Research Team, Novia University of Applied Sciences, Raseborgsvägen 9, 10600, Ekenäs, Finland
| | - Jukka T Forsman
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, 90014, Oulu, Finland.,National Resources Institute Finland, University of Oulu, 90014, Oulu, Finland
| | - Robert L Thomson
- Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland.,FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
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8
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Melanism influences the use of social information in a polymorphic owl. Sci Rep 2020; 10:1869. [PMID: 32024960 PMCID: PMC7002771 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-58826-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Social information use has well-known fitness benefits. However, causes underlying the apparent inter-individual variability in the propensity to use social information are poorly studied. Melanins are pigments responsible for most of intra-specific color variation in vertebrates and their variation is often associated with changes in behaviour. Here, we explored whether melanism is related to individual propensity to use social information in the color polymorphic scops owl Otus scops. We manipulated social information on predation risk at nests by broadcasting calls of the sympatric little owl Athene noctua and found that owlets of brownish females exposed to alarm calls had lower levels of natural antibodies than those of greyish females. In parallel, we found changes in parental behaviour contingent on coloration because when exposed to the risky treatment brownish females returned earlier to nests than greyish females and owlets raised by brownish females were fed with smaller prey than those raised by greyish ones. These results provide support for a previous ignored role of melanins on the propensity to use social information, which may help to explain the maintenance of melanin-based color polymorphisms wherever social environments are variable.
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9
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Avian and rodent responses to the olfactory landscape in a Mediterranean cavity community. Oecologia 2019; 191:73-81. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04487-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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10
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Camerlenghi E, Tellaroli P, Griggio M, Martínez AE. Information about Predators Varies across an Amazonian Rain Forest as a Result of Sentinel Species Distribution. Am Nat 2019; 194:E134-E139. [PMID: 31613671 DOI: 10.1086/705242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Information about predation risk is of fundamental value in biological communities. Because many prey species have shared predators, eavesdropping on other species' alarms is a widely recognized mechanism underlying the formation of mixed-species groups. However, information transfer may vary both across and within groups because some species provide higher-quality information about predators than others. We tested this phenomenon in Amazonian understory mixed-species flocks of birds in which two sentinel species-the bluish-slate antshrike (Thamnomanes schistogynus) and the dusky-throated antshrike (Thamnomanes ardesiacus)-occupy different habitats and provide alarm calls that are used by eavesdropping flock mates. In a playback experiment, two associate species responded significantly more strongly to alarm calls from the same sentinel species, reflecting the greater reliability of information about predator threats that could affect survival and habitat choice. Our work provides evidence of a repeated asymmetry across space in the available information about threats.
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11
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Dawson Pell FS, Potvin DA, Ratnayake CP, Fernández-Juricic E, Magrath RD, Radford AN. Birds orient their heads appropriately in response to functionally referential alarm calls of heterospecifics. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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12
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Parejo D, Avilés JM, Expósito-Granados M. Receivers matter: the meaning of alarm calls and competition for nest sites in a bird community. Oecologia 2018; 187:707-717. [PMID: 29637297 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-018-4139-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Animal communities may constitute information networks where individuals gain information on predation risk by eavesdropping on alarm calls of other species. However, communities include species in different trophic levels, and it is not yet known how the trophic level of the receiver influences the informative value of a call. Furthermore, no empirical study has yet tested how increased competition may influence the value of alarm calls for distinct receivers. Here, we identify the importance of alarm calls emitted by a small owl, the little owl (Athene noctua), on the structure of a cavity-nesting bird community including mesopredators and primary prey under variable levels of competition for nest holes. Competitors sharing top predators with the callers and prey of the callers interpreted alarm and non-alarm calls differently. Competitors chose preferentially alarm and non-alarm patches over control patches to breed, while prey selected alarm patches. In contrast, competition for nest sites affected habitat selection of prey species more than that of competitors of the callers. This study provides support for a changing value of alarm calls and competition for nest sites for distinct receivers related to niche overlapping among callers and eavesdroppers, therefore, calling attention to possible cascading effects by the use of information in natural communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deseada Parejo
- Department of Anatomy, Cellular Biology and Zoology, University of Extremadura, 06006, Badajoz, Spain. .,Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, EEZA-CSIC, 04120, Almería, Spain.
| | - Jesús M Avilés
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, EEZA-CSIC, 04120, Almería, Spain
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13
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Expósito-Granados M, Parejo D, Martínez JG, Precioso M, Molina-Morales M, Avilés JM. Host nest site choice depends on risk of cuckoo parasitism in magpie hosts. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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14
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Expósito-Granados M, Parejo D, Martínez JG, Sánchez-Tójar A, Precioso M, Molina-Morales M, Avilés JM. An experimental test of host's life history traits modulation in response to cuckoo parasitism risk. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0179206. [PMID: 28658287 PMCID: PMC5489146 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2017] [Accepted: 05/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Hosts can counteract parasites through defences based on resistance and/or tolerance. The mechanistic basis of tolerance, which involve defensive mechanisms minimizing parasite damage after a successful parasitic attack, remains poorly explored in the study of cuckoo-host interactions. Here, we experimentally explore the possibility that the risk of great spotted cuckoo Clamator glandarius parasitism may induce tolerance defences in magpie Pica pica hosts through plasticity in life-history traits. We predict that magpies exposed to auditory cues indicating high parasitism risk will more likely exhibit resistance and/or modify their life-history traits to minimize parasitism costs (i.e. tolerance) compared to magpies under low parasitism risk. We found that manipulating the perceived parasitism risk did not affect host resistance (i.e. rejection of parasitic eggs) nor host life-history traits. Unexpectedly, host’s egg volume increased over the season in nests exposed to auditory cues of control non-harmful hoopoes Upupa epops. Our results do not provide support for inducible defences (either based on resistance or tolerance) in response to risk of parasitism in magpie hosts. Even so, we encourage studying plastic expression of breeding strategies in response to risk of cuckoo parasitism to achieve a better understanding of the mechanistic basis of tolerance defences.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Deseada Parejo
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, EEZA-CSIC, Almería, Spain
- Department of Zoology, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
| | | | - Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar
- Department of Zoology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
- Evolutionary Biology Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Marta Precioso
- Department of Zoology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | | | - Jesús M. Avilés
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, EEZA-CSIC, Almería, Spain
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15
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Kelly JK, Schmidt KA. Fledgling calls are a source of social information for conspecific, but not heterospecific, songbird territory selection. Ecosphere 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Janice K. Kelly
- Department of Biological Sciences Texas Tech University Lubbock Texas 79409 USA
| | - Kenneth A. Schmidt
- Department of Biological Sciences Texas Tech University Lubbock Texas 79409 USA
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16
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Parejo D, Avilés JM. Social information use by competitors: Resolving the enigma of species coexistence in animals? Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Deseada Parejo
- University of Extremadura Avda. de Elvas s/n Badajoz E‐06071 Spain
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas CSIC Ctra. de Sacramento S/N La Cañada de San Urbano Almería E‐04120 Spain
| | - Jesús M. Avilés
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas CSIC Ctra. de Sacramento S/N La Cañada de San Urbano Almería E‐04120 Spain
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17
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Kershenbaum A, Blumstein DT, Roch MA, Akçay Ç, Backus G, Bee MA, Bohn K, Cao Y, Carter G, Cäsar C, Coen M, DeRuiter SL, Doyle L, Edelman S, Ferrer-i-Cancho R, Freeberg TM, Garland EC, Gustison M, Harley HE, Huetz C, Hughes M, Bruno JH, Ilany A, Jin DZ, Johnson M, Ju C, Karnowski J, Lohr B, Manser MB, McCowan B, Mercado E, Narins PM, Piel A, Rice M, Salmi R, Sasahara K, Sayigh L, Shiu Y, Taylor C, Vallejo EE, Waller S, Zamora-Gutierrez V. Acoustic sequences in non-human animals: a tutorial review and prospectus. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 91:13-52. [PMID: 25428267 PMCID: PMC4444413 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2014] [Revised: 10/02/2014] [Accepted: 10/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Animal acoustic communication often takes the form of complex sequences, made up of multiple distinct acoustic units. Apart from the well-known example of birdsong, other animals such as insects, amphibians, and mammals (including bats, rodents, primates, and cetaceans) also generate complex acoustic sequences. Occasionally, such as with birdsong, the adaptive role of these sequences seems clear (e.g. mate attraction and territorial defence). More often however, researchers have only begun to characterise - let alone understand - the significance and meaning of acoustic sequences. Hypotheses abound, but there is little agreement as to how sequences should be defined and analysed. Our review aims to outline suitable methods for testing these hypotheses, and to describe the major limitations to our current and near-future knowledge on questions of acoustic sequences. This review and prospectus is the result of a collaborative effort between 43 scientists from the fields of animal behaviour, ecology and evolution, signal processing, machine learning, quantitative linguistics, and information theory, who gathered for a 2013 workshop entitled, 'Analysing vocal sequences in animals'. Our goal is to present not just a review of the state of the art, but to propose a methodological framework that summarises what we suggest are the best practices for research in this field, across taxa and across disciplines. We also provide a tutorial-style introduction to some of the most promising algorithmic approaches for analysing sequences. We divide our review into three sections: identifying the distinct units of an acoustic sequence, describing the different ways that information can be contained within a sequence, and analysing the structure of that sequence. Each of these sections is further subdivided to address the key questions and approaches in that area. We propose a uniform, systematic, and comprehensive approach to studying sequences, with the goal of clarifying research terms used in different fields, and facilitating collaboration and comparative studies. Allowing greater interdisciplinary collaboration will facilitate the investigation of many important questions in the evolution of communication and sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arik Kershenbaum
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, 1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-3410, USA
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| | - Marie A. Roch
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
| | - Çağlar Akçay
- Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Gregory Backus
- Department of Biomathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Mark A. Bee
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Building, 1987 Upper Buford Cir, Falcon Heights, MN 55108, USA
| | - Kirsten Bohn
- Integrated Science, Florida International University, Modesto Maidique Campus, 11200 SW 8th Street, AHC-4, 351, Miami, FL 33199, USA
| | - Yan Cao
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Gerald Carter
- Biological Sciences Graduate Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Cristiane Cäsar
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St Mary’s Quad South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Michael Coen
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin, K6/446 Clinical Sciences Center, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792-4675, USA
| | - Stacy L. DeRuiter
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK
| | - Laurance Doyle
- Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Ave, Suite 100, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - Shimon Edelman
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, 211 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601, USA
| | - Ramon Ferrer-i-Cancho
- Department of Computer Science, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, (Catalonia), Calle Jordi Girona, 31, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Todd M. Freeberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Austin Peay Building, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
| | - Ellen C. Garland
- National Marine Mammal Laboratory, AFSC/NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, Washington 98115, USA
| | - Morgan Gustison
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Heidi E. Harley
- Division of Social Sciences, New College of Florida, 5800 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243, USA
| | - Chloé Huetz
- CNPS, CNRS UMR 8195, Université Paris-Sud, UMR 8195, Batiments 440-447, Rue Claude Bernard, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Melissa Hughes
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, 66 George St, Charleston, SC 29424, USA
| | - Julia Hyland Bruno
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Amiyaal Ilany
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, 1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-3410, USA
| | - Dezhe Z. Jin
- Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, 104 Davey Lab, University Park, PA 16802-6300, USA
| | - Michael Johnson
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Marquette University, 1515 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA
| | - Chenghui Ju
- Department of Biology, Queen College, The City Univ. of New York, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, New York 11367, USA
| | - Jeremy Karnowski
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0515, USA
| | - Bernard Lohr
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
| | - Marta B. Manser
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Brenda McCowan
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, 1 Peter J Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Eduardo Mercado
- Department of Psychology; Evolution, Ecology, & Behavior, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Park Hall Room 204, Buffalo, NY 14260-4110, USA
| | - Peter M. Narins
- Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology, University of California Los Angeles, 612 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7246, USA
| | - Alex Piel
- Division of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street Cambridge, CB2 3QG, UK
| | - Megan Rice
- Department of Psychology, California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., San Marcos, CA 92096-0001, USA
| | - Roberta Salmi
- Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia at Athens, 355 S Jackson St, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Kazutoshi Sasahara
- Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Laela Sayigh
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 86 Water St, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Yu Shiu
- Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Charles Taylor
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| | - Edgar E. Vallejo
- Department of Computer Science, Monterrey Institute of Technology, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur Col. Tecnológico C.P. 64849, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
| | - Sara Waller
- Department of Philosophy, Montana State University, 2-155 Wilson Hall, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - Veronica Zamora-Gutierrez
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, University College London, London WC1H 0AG, UK
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Expósito-Granados M, Parejo D, Avilés JM. Sex-Specific Parental Care in Response to Predation Risk in the European Roller,Coracias garrulus. Ethology 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Expósito-Granados
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva; Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC); Almería Spain
| | - Deseada Parejo
- Departamento de Anatomía; Biología Celular y Zoología; Facultad de Ciencias; Universidad de Extremadura; Badajoz Spain
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva; Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC); Almería Spain
| | - Jesús M. Avilés
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva; Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC); Almería Spain
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Magrath RD, Haff TM, Fallow PM, Radford AN. Eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls: from mechanisms to consequences. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 90:560-86. [PMID: 24917385 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 211] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2013] [Revised: 05/05/2014] [Accepted: 05/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Animals often gather information from other species by eavesdropping on signals intended for others. We review the extent, benefits, mechanisms, and ecological and evolutionary consequences of eavesdropping on other species' alarm calls. Eavesdropping has been shown experimentally in about 70 vertebrate species, and can entail closely or distantly related species. The benefits of eavesdropping include prompting immediate anti-predator responses, indirect enhancement of foraging or changed habitat use, and learning about predators. Eavesdropping on heterospecifics can provide more eyes looking for danger, complementary information to that from conspecifics, and potentially information at reduced cost. The response to heterospecific calls can be unlearned or learned. Unlearned responses occur when heterospecific calls have acoustic features similar to that used to recognize conspecific calls, or acoustic properties such as harsh sounds that prompt attention and may allow recognition or facilitate learning. Learning to recognize heterospecific alarm calls is probably essential to allow recognition of the diversity of alarm calls, but the evidence is largely indirect. The value of eavesdropping on different species is affected by problems of signal interception and the relevance of heterospecific alarm calls to the listener. These constraints on eavesdropping will affect how information flows among species and thus affect community function. Some species are 'keystone' information producers, while others largely seek information, and these differences probably affect the formation and function of mixed-species groups. Eavesdroppers might also integrate alarm calls from multiple species to extract relevant and reliable information. Eavesdropping appears to set the stage for the evolution of interspecific deception and communication, and potentially affects communication within species. Overall, we now know that eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls is an important source of information for many species across the globe, and there are ample opportunities for research on mechanisms, fitness consequences and implications for community function and signalling evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert D Magrath
- Division of Evolution, Ecology & Genetics, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia
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Avilés JM, Bootello EM, Molina-Morales M, Martínez JG. The multidimensionality of behavioural defences against brood parasites: evidence for a behavioural syndrome in magpies? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1739-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Pasch B, Bolker BM, Phelps SM. Interspecific dominance via vocal interactions mediates altitudinal zonation in neotropical singing mice. Am Nat 2013; 182:E161-73. [PMID: 24107377 DOI: 10.1086/673263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Interspecific aggression between ecologically similar species may influence geographic limits by mediating competitive exclusion at the range edge. Advertisement signals that mediate competitive interactions within species may also provide social information that contributes to behavioral dominance and spatial segregation among species. We studied the mechanisms underlying altitudinal range limits in Neotropical singing mice (Scotinomys), a genus of muroid rodent in which males vocalize to repel rivals and attract mates. We first delineated replacement zones and described temperature regimes on three mountains in Costa Rica and Panama where Chiriquí singing mice (S. xerampelinus) abruptly replace Alston's singing mice (S. teguina). Next, we conducted interspecific behavioral trials and reciprocal removal experiments to examine if interspecific aggression mediated species replacement. Finally, we performed reciprocal playback experiments to investigate whether response to song matched competitive interactions. Behavioral trials and removal experiments suggest that S. xerampelinus is behaviorally dominant and excludes S. teguina from higher, cooler altitudes. Playback experiments indicate that subordinate S. teguina is silenced and repelled by heterospecific song, whereas S. xerampelinus responded to heterospecifics with approach and song rates comparable to responses to conspecifics. Thus, interspecific communication reflects underlying dominance and suggests that acoustic signaling contributes to altitudinal zonation of ecologically similar congeners. Our findings implicate the use of social information in structuring spatial distributions of animal communities across landscapes and provide insight into how large-scale patterns are generated by individual interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bret Pasch
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda R. Ridley
- Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology; University of Cape Town; Rondebosch 7701 South Africa
- School of Animal Biology; University of Western Australia; Perth 6009 Western Australia Australia
| | - Elizabeth M. Wiley
- Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology; University of Cape Town; Rondebosch 7701 South Africa
- School of Animal Biology; University of Western Australia; Perth 6009 Western Australia Australia
| | - Alex M. Thompson
- Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology; University of Cape Town; Rondebosch 7701 South Africa
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