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Bliard L, Dufour P, Griesser M, Covas R. Family living and cooperative breeding in birds are associated with the number of avian predators. Evolution 2024; 78:1317-1324. [PMID: 38650425 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpae058] [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: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Cooperative breeding occurs when individuals contribute parental care to offspring that are not their own. Numerous intra- and interspecific studies have aimed to explain the evolution of this behavior. Recent comparative work suggests that family living (i.e., when offspring remain with their parents beyond independence) is a critical stepping stone in the evolution of cooperative breeding. Thus, it is key to understand the factors that facilitate the evolution of family living. Within-species studies suggest that protection from predators is a critical function of group living, through both passive benefits such as dilution effects and active benefits such as prosocial antipredator behaviors in family groups. However, the association between predation risk and the formation and prevalence of family groups and cooperative breeding remains untested globally. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative analyses including 2,984 bird species to show that family living and cooperative breeding are associated with increased occurrence of avian predators. These cross-species findings lend support to previous suggestions based on intraspecific studies that social benefits of family living, such as protection against predation, could favor the evolution of delayed dispersal and cooperative breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis Bliard
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, Zurich University, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Paul Dufour
- Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Michael Griesser
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Rita Covas
- CIBIO-InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado, University of Porto, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, Portugal
- Fitzpatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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2
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Schruth DM, Templeton CN, Holman DJ, Smith EA. The origins of musicality in the motion of primates. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 184:e24891. [PMID: 38180286 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Animals communicate acoustically to report location, identity, and emotive state to conspecifics. Acoustic signals can also function as displays to potential mates and as territorial advertisement. Music and song are terms often reserved only for humans and birds, but elements of both forms of acoustic display are also found in non-human primates. While culture, bonding, and side-effects all factor into the emergence of musicality, biophysical insights into what might be signaled by specific acoustic features are less well understood. OBJECTIVES Here we probe the origins of musicality by evaluating the links between musical features (structural complexity, rhythm, interval, and tone) and a variety of potential ecological drivers of its evolution across primate species. Alongside other hypothesized causes (e.g. territoriality, sexual selection), we evaluated the hypothesis that perilous arboreal locomotion might favor musical calling in primates as a signal of capacities underlying spatio-temporal precision in motor tasks. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used musical features found in spectrographs of vocalizations of 58 primate species and corresponding measures of locomotion, diet, ranging, and mating. Leveraging phylogenetic information helped us impute missing data and control for relatedness of species while selecting among candidate multivariate regression models. RESULTS Results indicated that rapid inter-substrate arboreal locomotion is highly correlated with several metrics of music-like signaling. Diet, alongside mate-choice and range size, emerged as factors that also correlated with complex calling patterns. DISCUSSION These results support the hypothesis that musical calling may function as a signal, to neighbors or potential mates, of accuracy in landing on relatively narrow targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Schruth
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | | | - Darryl J Holman
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Eric A Smith
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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3
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Hay EM, McGee MD, White CR, Chown SL. Body size shapes song in honeyeaters. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240339. [PMID: 38654649 PMCID: PMC11040244 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0339] [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: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Birdsongs are among the most distinctive animal signals. Their evolution is thought to be shaped simultaneously by habitat structure and by the constraints of morphology. Habitat structure affects song transmission and detectability, thus influencing song (the acoustic adaptation hypothesis), while body size and beak size and shape necessarily constrain song characteristics (the morphological constraint hypothesis). Yet, support for the acoustic adaptation and morphological constraint hypotheses remains equivocal, and their simultaneous examination is infrequent. Using a phenotypically diverse Australasian bird clade, the honeyeaters (Aves: Meliphagidae), we compile a dataset consisting of song, environmental, and morphological variables for 163 species and jointly examine predictions of these two hypotheses. Overall, we find that body size constrains song frequency and pace in honeyeaters. Although habitat type and environmental temperature influence aspects of song, that influence is indirect, likely via effects of environmental variation on body size, with some evidence that elevation constrains the evolution of song peak frequency. Our results demonstrate that morphology has an overwhelming influence on birdsong, in support of the morphological constraint hypothesis, with the environment playing a secondary role generally via body size rather than habitat structure. These results suggest that changing body size (a consequence of both global effects such as climate change and local effects such as habitat transformation) will substantially influence the nature of birdsong.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor M. Hay
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Matthew D. McGee
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Craig R. White
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Steven L. Chown
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia
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4
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Sebastianelli M, Lukhele SM, Secomandi S, de Souza SG, Haase B, Moysi M, Nikiforou C, Hutfluss A, Mountcastle J, Balacco J, Pelan S, Chow W, Fedrigo O, Downs CT, Monadjem A, Dingemanse NJ, Jarvis ED, Brelsford A, vonHoldt BM, Kirschel ANG. A genomic basis of vocal rhythm in birds. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3095. [PMID: 38653976 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47305-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Vocal rhythm plays a fundamental role in sexual selection and species recognition in birds, but little is known of its genetic basis due to the confounding effect of vocal learning in model systems. Uncovering its genetic basis could facilitate identifying genes potentially important in speciation. Here we investigate the genomic underpinnings of rhythm in vocal non-learning Pogoniulus tinkerbirds using 135 individual whole genomes distributed across a southern African hybrid zone. We find rhythm speed is associated with two genes that are also known to affect human speech, Neurexin-1 and Coenzyme Q8A. Models leveraging ancestry reveal these candidate loci also impact rhythmic stability, a trait linked with motor performance which is an indicator of quality. Character displacement in rhythmic stability suggests possible reinforcement against hybridization, supported by evidence of asymmetric assortative mating in the species producing faster, more stable rhythms. Because rhythm is omnipresent in animal communication, candidate genes identified here may shape vocal rhythm across birds and other vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Sebastianelli
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, PO Box 20537, Nicosia, 1678, Cyprus.
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Box 582, 751 23, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Sifiso M Lukhele
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, PO Box 20537, Nicosia, 1678, Cyprus
| | - Simona Secomandi
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, PO Box 20537, Nicosia, 1678, Cyprus
| | - Stacey G de Souza
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, PO Box 20537, Nicosia, 1678, Cyprus
| | - Bettina Haase
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michaella Moysi
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, PO Box 20537, Nicosia, 1678, Cyprus
| | - Christos Nikiforou
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, PO Box 20537, Nicosia, 1678, Cyprus
| | - Alexander Hutfluss
- Behavioural Ecology, Faculty of Biology, LMU Munich (LMU), 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | | | - Jennifer Balacco
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Olivier Fedrigo
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Colleen T Downs
- Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 3209, South Africa
| | - Ara Monadjem
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Eswatini, Kwaluseni, Eswatini
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag 20, Hatfield, 0028, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Faculty of Biology, LMU Munich (LMU), 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - Alan Brelsford
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Bridgett M vonHoldt
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Alexander N G Kirschel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, PO Box 20537, Nicosia, 1678, Cyprus.
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5
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Shen T, Liu J, Tang X, Peng C, Li S, Feng C, Mu L, Su H. Acoustic difference in advertisement calls among two sympatric Boulenophrys species: A confirmatory case to acoustic niche hypothesis and morphological constraint hypothesis. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11318. [PMID: 38654713 PMCID: PMC11036132 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
In anurans, acoustic communication is the most important form of communication at the interspecific and intraspecific levels. Acoustic diagnostic features may be a potential alternative to morphometric and molecular diagnostics. Here, we assessed the variations in advertisement calls between two sympatric species, Boulenophrys leishanensis and Boulenophrys spinata, that share their breeding season and breeding sites. In addition, we investigated any potential relationships between call parameters and body size. We found that the advertisement calls of both species are simple calls. The two species exhibited significant differences in all call parameters. Both B. leishanensis and B. spinata showed a significant negative correlation with their body size on dominant frequency. These differences in call parameters may play an important role in interspecific recognition. Additionally, because intraspecific acoustic variation reflects body size, calls may be relevant for sexual selection. Our study supports the acoustic niche hypothesis and the morphological constraint hypothesis and calls are a valid tool for distinguishing between the two species of Boulenophrys in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuo Shen
- College of ForestryGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
- Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Research CenterGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Jing Liu
- College of ForestryGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
- Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Research CenterGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
- Department of Resources and EnvironmentMoutai InstituteRenhuaiChina
| | - Xiujun Tang
- Leigongshan National Nature Reserve Administration Bureau of GuizhouLeishanChina
| | - Caichun Peng
- Leigongshan National Nature Reserve Administration Bureau of GuizhouLeishanChina
| | - Shize Li
- Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Research CenterGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
- College of Life SciencesGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Chaobo Feng
- College of ForestryGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
- Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Research CenterGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Lang Mu
- College of ForestryGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
- Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Research CenterGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Haijun Su
- College of ForestryGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
- Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Research CenterGuizhou UniversityGuiyangChina
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6
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Crino OL, Head ML, Jennions MD, Noble DWA. Mitochondrial function and sexual selection: can physiology resolve the 'lek paradox'? J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb245569. [PMID: 38206324 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.245569] [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] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Across many taxa, males use elaborate ornaments or complex displays to attract potential mates. Such sexually selected traits are thought to signal important aspects of male 'quality'. Female mating preferences based on sexual traits are thought to have evolved because choosy females gain direct benefits that enhance their lifetime reproductive success (e.g. greater access to food) and/or indirect benefits because high-quality males contribute genes that increase offspring fitness. However, it is difficult to explain the persistence of female preferences when males only provide genetic benefits, because female preferences should erode the heritable genetic variation in fitness that sexually selected traits signal. This 'paradox of the lek' has puzzled evolutionary biologists for decades, and inspired many hypotheses to explain how heritable variation in sexually selected traits is maintained. Here, we discuss how factors that affect mitochondrial function can maintain variation in sexually selected traits despite strong female preferences. We discuss how mitochondrial function can influence the expression of sexually selected traits, and we describe empirical studies that link the expression of sexually selected traits to mitochondrial function. We explain how mothers can affect mitochondrial function in their offspring by (a) influencing their developmental environment through maternal effects and (b) choosing a mate to increase the compatibility of mitochondrial and nuclear genes (i.e. the 'mitonuclear compatibility model of sexual selection'). Finally, we discuss how incorporating mitochondrial function into models of sexual selection might help to resolve the paradox of the lek, and we suggest avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondi L Crino
- School of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
| | - Megan L Head
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
| | - Michael D Jennions
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
- Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), Wallenberg Centre, 10 Marais Street, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa
| | - Daniel W A Noble
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
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7
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Winiarska D, Szymański P, Osiejuk TS. Detection ranges of forest bird vocalisations: guidelines for passive acoustic monitoring. Sci Rep 2024; 14:894. [PMID: 38195687 PMCID: PMC10776575 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51297-z] [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] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Passive acoustic monitoring has proven to have many advantages for monitoring efforts and research activities. However, there are considerations to be taken into account regarding the placement of autonomous sound recorders. Detection ranges differ among species and in response to variable conditions such as weather or the location of vocalising animals. It is thus important to the success of a research project to understand, with a certain degree of confidence, the distances at which birds might be detected. In two types of forests in Poland, we played back the vocalisations of 31 species of European forest birds exemplifying different singing characteristics. Based on recordings obtained along a 500-m transect, we estimated the probability of detection and maximum detection distance of each vocalisation. We broadcasted the recording at three heights of singing and repeated playbacks three times during the breeding season to evaluate the effect of vegetation growth. Our results revealed that environmental and meteorological factors had a significant influence on both detection probability and maximum detection distances. This work provides comprehensive measurements of detection distance for 31 bird species and can be used to plan passive acoustic monitoring research in Europe, taking into account species traits and individual characteristics of the study area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominika Winiarska
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.
| | - Paweł Szymański
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Tomasz S Osiejuk
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
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8
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Díaz S, Labra A. Exploring Sound Emission of the Lizard Pristidactylus valeriae. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3813. [PMID: 38136850 PMCID: PMC10740820 DOI: 10.3390/ani13243813] [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: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Lizards, except geckos, are generally considered voiceless organisms, although some species emit oral sounds. For most of these "vocal lizards", however, there is almost no information on the characteristics of the sounds, precluding exploration of the functionality and evolution of the sounds. Pristidactylus are known as "grunter lizards" since individuals emit oral sounds under predation risk. We explored the characteristics of the sounds emitted by P. valeriae, recording 17 adults and 1 juvenile when they were threatened and captured by a predator. Only adults emitted sounds with open mouths and displayed aggressive postures, e.g., biting attempts. These sounds correspond to hisses, which lack amplitude or frequency modulation. The lizards emitted longer hisses when threatened than when captured by the predator, which may provide honest information on individuals' ability to escape. In addition, males may experience higher distress during threats since their hisses had higher aggregate entropy than those of the females. Finally, hissing has been documented in four of the five Leiosauridae genera, the family to which Pristidactylus belongs, suggesting that sound emission is ancestral to the family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastián Díaz
- Laboratorio de Ecología Geográfica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 7800003, Chile;
| | - Antonieta Labra
- Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway
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9
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Li Z, Chen S, Wei S, Komdeur J, Lu X. Should sons breed independently or help? Local relatedness matters. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:2189-2200. [PMID: 37766488 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14005] [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] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
In cooperatively breeding birds, why do some individuals breed independently but others have to help at home? This question has been rarely addressed despite its fundamental importance for understanding the evolution of social cooperation. We address it using 15 years of data from Tibetan ground tits Pseudopodoces humilis where helpers consist of younger males. Since whether younger males successfully breed depends critically on their chances to occupy territories nearby home, our analytic strategy is to identify the determinants of individual differences in gaining territory ownership among these ready-to-breed males. Across widowed, last-year helper and yearling males, an age advantage was evident in inheriting resident territories, occupying adjacent vacancies and budding off part of adjacent territories, which left some last-year helpers and most yearling males to take the latter two routes. These males were more likely to acquire a territory if they were genetically related to the previous or current territory owners; otherwise they remained on natal territories as helpers. The relatedness effect can arise from the prior residence advantage established in the preceding winter when younger males followed their parents to perform kin-directed off-territory forays. Our research highlights the key role of local kinship in determining younger males' territory acquisition and thus their fate in terms of independent reproduction versus help. This finding provides insight into the formation of kin-based, facultative cooperative societies prevailing among vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhibing Li
- Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Shicheng Chen
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Sai Wei
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Xin Lu
- Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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10
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Staniewicz A, Sokołowska E, Muszyńska A, Budka M. Competition for acoustic space in a temperate-forest bird community. Behav Ecol 2023; 34:1043-1054. [PMID: 37969554 PMCID: PMC10636732 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arad075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals that communicate by acoustic signaling share a common acoustic environment. Birds are particularly vocal examples, using a wide repertoire of broadcast signals for mate attraction and territorial defense. However, interference caused by sounds that overlap in frequency and time can disrupt signal detection and reduce reproductive success. Here, we investigated competition avoidance mechanisms used by the bird community inhabiting a primeval lowland temperate forest in Białowieża, Eastern Poland. We recorded the dawn chorus at 84 locations in early and late spring and calculated dissimilarity indices of the broadcast signals to examine how species with greater song similarities use spatial and temporal partitioning to avoid competition for acoustic space throughout the breeding season. The bird community changed its use of acoustic space throughout the day and season. Birds did not use spatial partitioning of signal space when we looked at recording locations over the whole study period, but they did in a seasonal context, with species more acoustically different than expected by chance recorded at the same point in the same part of the season. Our results also indicate that daily temporal niche partitioning may only occur at certain times before sunrise, with no evidence of large-scale temporal partitioning between species vocalizing during the same 1-min recordings in daytime. These results contribute toward our understanding of the evolution of bird communication and highlight the strategies employed by different species to improve their signal transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agata Staniewicz
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | - Emilia Sokołowska
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | - Adrianna Muszyńska
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | - Michał Budka
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
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Varella MAC. Nocturnal selective pressures on the evolution of human musicality as a missing piece of the adaptationist puzzle. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1215481. [PMID: 37860295 PMCID: PMC10582961 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1215481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Human musicality exhibits the necessary hallmarks for biological adaptations. Evolutionary explanations focus on recurrent adaptive problems that human musicality possibly solved in ancestral environments, such as mate selection and competition, social bonding/cohesion and social grooming, perceptual and motor skill development, conflict reduction, safe time-passing, transgenerational communication, mood regulation and synchronization, and credible signaling of coalition and territorial/predator defense. Although not mutually exclusive, these different hypotheses are still not conceptually integrated nor clearly derived from independent principles. I propose The Nocturnal Evolution of Human Musicality and Performativity Theory in which the night-time is the missing piece of the adaptationist puzzle of human musicality and performing arts. The expansion of nocturnal activities throughout human evolution, which is tied to tree-to-ground sleep transition and habitual use of fire, might help (i) explain the evolution of musicality from independent principles, (ii) explain various seemingly unrelated music features and functions, and (iii) integrate many ancestral adaptive values proposed. The expansion into the nocturnal niche posed recurrent ancestral adaptive challenges/opportunities: lack of luminosity, regrouping to cook before sleep, imminent dangerousness, low temperatures, peak tiredness, and concealment of identity. These crucial night-time features might have selected evening-oriented individuals who were prone to acoustic communication, more alert and imaginative, gregarious, risk-taking and novelty-seeking, prone to anxiety modulation, hedonistic, promiscuous, and disinhibited. Those night-time selected dispositions may have converged and enhanced protomusicality into human musicality by facilitating it to assume many survival- and reproduction-enhancing roles (social cohesion and coordination, signaling of coalitions, territorial defense, antipredatorial defense, knowledge transference, safe passage of time, children lullabies, and sexual selection) that are correspondent to the co-occurring night-time adaptive challenges/opportunities. The nocturnal dynamic may help explain musical features (sound, loudness, repetitiveness, call and response, song, elaboration/virtuosity, and duetting/chorusing). Across vertebrates, acoustic communication mostly occurs in nocturnal species. The eveningness chronotype is common among musicians and composers. Adolescents, who are the most evening-oriented humans, enjoy more music. Contemporary tribal nocturnal activities around the campfire involve eating, singing/dancing, storytelling, and rituals. I discuss the nocturnal integration of musicality's many roles and conclude that musicality is probably a multifunctional mental adaptation that evolved along with the night-time adaptive landscape.
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Maldonado-Coelho M, Dos Santos SS, Isler ML, Svensson-Coelho M, Sotelo-Muñoz M, Miyaki CY, Ricklefs RE, Blake JG. Evolutionary and Ecological Processes Underlying Geographic Variation in Innate Bird Songs. Am Nat 2023; 202:E31-E52. [PMID: 37531273 DOI: 10.1086/725016] [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: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
AbstractEcological and evolutionary processes underlying spatial variation in signals involved in mate recognition and reproductive isolation are crucial to understanding the causes of population divergence and speciation. Here, to test hypotheses concerning the causes of song divergence, we examine how songs of two sister species of Atlantic Forest suboscine birds with innate songs, the Pyriglena fire-eye antbirds, vary across their ranges. Specifically, we evaluated the influence of isolation by distance and introgressive hybridization, as well as morphological and environmental variation, on geographic variation in male songs. Analyses based on 496 male vocalizations from 63 locations across a 2,200-km latitudinal transect revealed clinal changes in the structure of songs and showed that introgressive hybridization increases both the variability and the homogenization of songs in the contact zone between the two species. We also found that isolation by distance, morphological constraints, the environment, and genetic introgression independently predicted song variation across geographic space. Our study shows the importance of an integrative approach that investigates the roles of distinct ecological and evolutionary processes that influence acoustic signal evolution.
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Using Acoustic Data Repositories to Study Vocal Responses to Playback in a Neotropical Songbird. BIRDS 2023. [DOI: 10.3390/birds4010005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Birds may alter song structure in response to territorial challenges to convey information about aggressive intent or fighting ability. Professional and amateur ornithologists upload daily many birdsong recordings into acoustic data repositories, usually scoring whether songs were recorded in response to a conspecific playback or produced spontaneously. We analyzed recordings from these repositories to evaluate if song traits of Rufous-browed Peppershrikes (Cyclarhis gujanensis) vary between playback-elicited songs and spontaneous songs. For each recording after playback, we chose one spatially closer spontaneous recording to avoid geographic bias. Birds recorded after playback produced slightly longer songs than birds that were singing spontaneously. This result was accounted for by increases in the amount of sound and silence within a song after the playback instead of changes in the mean number or duration of elements. Playback did not alter song frequency parameters (bandwidth, minimum, mean, and maximum frequencies) or song rate. These results indicate that song duration might mediate aggressive interactions in Rufous-browed Peppershrikes. Even considering limitations such as unknown playback stimulus identity and possible pseudoreplication, acoustic data repositories give a unique yet unexplored opportunity to gather insights into the evolution of song flexibility during aggressive encounters.
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14
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Rivera-Gutierrez HF, Jaramillo-Calle V, Lopera-Salazar A, Martinez-Alvarado D. Does learning matter? Birdsong-learning program determines coping strategies for living in urban noisy environments. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-023-03292-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Urban noise limits perception by masking acoustic signals, with negative consequences for communication. Although animals relying on acoustic communication are affected, they have developed different strategies to reduce the masking effect of urban noise. Theoretically, birdsong vocal learning confers behavioral plasticity, which may be important for adapting to life in urban environments. To understand the role of vocal learning for adjusting to noisy places, we performed a field study combined with a phylogenetic comparative analysis, comparing passerine species that typically exhibit song learning (oscines) and those that do not (suboscines). Under the premise that vocal learning confers behavioral plasticity, we hypothesized that (1) while oscine species would vary song traits (acoustic parameters), under noisy conditions, suboscines would remain consistent; (2) suboscines may vary birdsong activity in relation to noise; and (3) song learning functions as an exaptation for inhabiting noisy urban environments. We found that oscines only shifted the minimum frequency of their song and did not vary song activity in noisy areas. In contrast, suboscines shifted their complete song upwards and decreased song activity in cities. Our phylogenetic analysis indicated that foraging stratum and song frequency, not learning, best explain adaptation to cities in an evolutionary context. If city noise functions as an ecological filter, frequency traits may serve as an exaptation for colonizing noisy environments. We provided clear evidence that passerine species, depending on their song-learning ability, use different strategies to cope with noise, suggesting that vocal learning determines how birds cope with the masking effect of urban noise.
Significance statement
Since birdsong learning may confer behavioral flexibility, we studied its role for adapting to urban noisy environments. We studied passerines that vary in vocal learning ability combining field data with a phylogenetic comparative analysis. Our methodology may provide information on both the response and the evolutionary advantages of vocal learning for living in noisy urban environments. Although both learner and non-learner birds varied their responses, they displayed different strategies for coping with urban noise. Moreover, differences in vocal learning might not limit colonization of noisy environments, and ecological and acoustic traits may explain adaptation to urbanization. Frequency parameters are conserved evolutionary traits among birds living in cities and may function as a preadaptation that facilitates the colonization of urban environments. Our study suggests that the birdsong-learning program does not help birds colonize cities but determines how they cope with the masking effect of urban noise.
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15
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Provost KL, Yang J, Carstens BC. The impacts of fine-tuning, phylogenetic distance, and sample size on big-data bioacoustics. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0278522. [PMID: 36477744 PMCID: PMC9728902 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocalizations in animals, particularly birds, are critically important behaviors that influence their reproductive fitness. While recordings of bioacoustic data have been captured and stored in collections for decades, the automated extraction of data from these recordings has only recently been facilitated by artificial intelligence methods. These have yet to be evaluated with respect to accuracy of different automation strategies and features. Here, we use a recently published machine learning framework to extract syllables from ten bird species ranging in their phylogenetic relatedness from 1 to 85 million years, to compare how phylogenetic relatedness influences accuracy. We also evaluate the utility of applying trained models to novel species. Our results indicate that model performance is best on conspecifics, with accuracy progressively decreasing as phylogenetic distance increases between taxa. However, we also find that the application of models trained on multiple distantly related species can improve the overall accuracy to levels near that of training and analyzing a model on the same species. When planning big-data bioacoustics studies, care must be taken in sample design to maximize sample size and minimize human labor without sacrificing accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaiya L. Provost
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Jiaying Yang
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Bryan C. Carstens
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
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16
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Zhang C, Chen Y, Hao Z, Gao X. An Efficient Time-Domain End-to-End Single-Channel Bird Sound Separation Network. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12223117. [PMID: 36428345 PMCID: PMC9686777 DOI: 10.3390/ani12223117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Bird sounds have obvious characteristics per species, and they are an important way for birds to communicate and transmit information. However, the recorded bird sounds in the field are usually mixed, which making it challenging to identify different bird species and to perform associated tasks. In this study, based on the supervised learning framework, we propose a bird sound separation network, a dual-path tiny transformer network, to directly perform end-to-end mixed species bird sound separation in the time-domain. This separation network is mainly composed of the dual-path network and the simplified transformer structure, which greatly reduces the computational resources required of the network. Experimental results show that our proposed separation network has good separation performance (SI-SNRi reaches 19.3 dB and SDRi reaches 20.1 dB), but compared with DPRNN and DPTNet, its parameters and floating point operations are greatly reduced, which means a higher separation efficiency and faster separation speed. The good separation performance and high separation efficiency indicate that our proposed separation network is valuable for distinguishing individual birds and studying the interaction between individual birds, as well as for realizing the automatic identification of bird species on a variety of mobile devices or edge computing devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengyun Zhang
- School of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Yonghuan Chen
- School of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Zezhou Hao
- Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 510520, China
| | - Xinghui Gao
- School of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Correspondence:
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17
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Sebastianelli M, Lukhele SM, Nwankwo EC, Hadjioannou L, Kirschel ANG. Continent-wide patterns of song variation predicted by classical rules of biogeography. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:2448-2462. [PMID: 36124660 PMCID: PMC9826498 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Physiological constraints related to atmospheric temperature pose a limit to body and appendage size in endothermic animals. This relationship has been summarised by two classical principles of biogeography: Bergmann's and Allen's rules. Body size may also constrain other phenotypic traits important in ecology, evolution and behaviour, and such effects have seldom been investigated at a continental scale. Through a multilevel-modelling approach, we demonstrate that continent-wide morphology of related African barbets follows predictions of Bergmann's rule, and that body size mirrors variation in song pitch, an acoustic trait important in species recognition and sexual selection. Specifically, effects on song frequency in accordance with Bergmann's rule dwarf those of acoustic adaptation at a continental scale. Our findings suggest that macroecological patterns of body size can influence phenotypic traits important in ecology and evolution, and provide a baseline for further studies on the effects of environmental change on bird song.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Alexander N. G. Kirschel
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of CyprusNicosiaCyprus,University of California Los AngelesDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA,Edward Grey Institute, Department of ZoologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
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18
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Male and female songs propagation in a duetting tropical bird species in its preferred and secondary habitat. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0275434. [PMID: 36190953 PMCID: PMC9529145 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Acoustic signals produced by animals must transmit through the environment to reach potential receivers and change their behaviour. Both the environment (vegetation, air properties, other animals) and the form of the signal affect the propagation process. Here we investigated how the transmission of different song types of a duetting songbird species inhabiting an extreme environment within African montane forest, varies between males and females as well as different types of micro-habitats. We hypothesised that male and female songs would have different transmission properties, reflecting known differences in signal form and function. We analysed signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), excess attenuation (EA) and tail-to-signal ratio (TSR) of songs of male and female Yellow-breasted Boubous (Laniarius atroflavus) that were played and re-recorded in a range of sites representing the species-typical habitats. We found significant effects of distance, site (habitat) and sex reflected in all three measures of sound degradation. The clearest, primarily distance-dependent pattern was found for SNR of songs propagated in level forest site. EA was substantially higher in shrubs than in forest habitats, while TSR reflecting longer echoes appeared at longer distances in forest sites. Thus, Yellow-breasted Boubou songs are better propagated in forests than in disturbed sites covered with shrubs. We found that all male song types used for broadcast singing propagated farther than female songs, with significantly higher SNR at all distances. The different male song types which are known to have different functions, also demonstrated a differentiated pattern of propagation reflecting their functionality. All signals that were tested propagated the furthest in the ideal condition described as forest with a level terrain. Signals degraded much faster during transmission through shrubs regrowing after forest burning. On this site, the differences in the propagation of male and female songs, as well as the differences between male song types, were relatively least pronounced. Transmission in typical mountain forest among streams and with substantial terrain variation revealed that degradation pattern in such habitat could be perturbed in a non-linear way. Streams acting as a source of high noise level also negatively affected transmission and may strongly limit the perception of birds staying close to them. However, stream noise did not affect sex differences in song propagation as was found for the site located in shrubs. Male songs showed more efficient transmission through all habitats (least in the shrubs) than female song. These differences were the result of male songs having a whistle structure that is better adapted for long-range propagation than the atonal, wideband frequency female vocalisations. Results support the idea that signals of males of the Yellow-breasted Boubous evolved under the pressure of long-range communication both with rivals and females, while females of the species are much more focused on within-pair communication or signalling together with their partner. The consequence of deforestation resulting in pushing back territories to the forest remnants along streams may be a shortening of the song’s active range, in particular, in females.
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19
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The Subantarctic Rayadito (Aphrastura subantarctica), a new bird species on the southernmost islands of the Americas. Sci Rep 2022; 12:13957. [PMID: 36028531 PMCID: PMC9418250 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17985-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe a new taxon of terrestrial bird of the genus Aphrastura (rayaditos) inhabiting the Diego Ramírez Archipelago, the southernmost point of the American continent. This archipelago is geographically isolated and lacks terrestrial mammalian predators as well as woody plants, providing a contrasted habitat to the forests inhabited by the other two Aphrastura spp. Individuals of Diego Ramírez differ morphologically from Aphrastura spinicauda, the taxonomic group they were originally attributed to, by their larger beaks, longer tarsi, shorter tails, and larger body mass. These birds move at shorter distances from ground level, and instead of nesting in cavities in trees, they breed in cavities in the ground, reflecting different life-histories. Both taxa are genetically differentiated based on mitochondrial and autosomal markers, with no evidence of current gene flow. Although further research is required to define how far divergence has proceeded along the speciation continuum, we propose A. subantarctica as a new taxonomic unit, given its unique morphological, genetic, and behavioral attributes in a non-forested habitat. The discovery of this endemic passerine highlights the need to monitor and conserve this still-pristine archipelago devoid of exotic species, which is now protected by the recently created Diego Ramírez Islands-Drake Passage Marine Park.
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20
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Selection levels on vocal individuality: strategic use or byproduct. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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21
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Gómez-Catasús J, Barrero A, Llusia D, Iglesias-Merchan C, Traba J. Wind farm noise shifts vocalizations of a threatened shrub-steppe passerine. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 303:119144. [PMID: 35301031 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Wind energy has experienced a notable development during the last decades, driving new challenges for animal communities. Although bird collisions with wind turbines and spatial displacement due to disturbance have been widely described in the literature, other potential impacts remain unclear. In this study, we addressed the effect of turbine noise on the vocal behaviour of a threatened shrub-steppe passerine highly dependent on acoustic communication, the Dupont's lark Chersophilus duponti. Based on directional recordings of 49 calling and singing males exposed to a gradient of turbine noise level (from 15 up to 51 dBA), we tested for differences in signal diversity, redundancy, and complexity, as well as temporal and spectral characteristics of their vocalizations (particularly the characteristic whistle). Our results unveiled that Dupont's lark males varied the vocal structure when subject to turbine noise, by increasing the probability of emitting more complex whistles (with increased number of notes) and shifting the dominant note (emphasizing the longest and higher-pitched note). In addition, males increased duration and minimum frequency of specific notes of the whistle, while repertoire size and signal redundancy remain constant. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting multiple and complex responses on the vocal repertoire of animals exposed to turbine noise and unveiling a shift of the dominant note in response to anthropogenic noise in general. These findings suggest that the Dupont's lark exhibits some level of phenotypic plasticity, which might enable the species to cope with noisy environments, although the vocal adjustments observed might have associated costs or alter the functionality of the signal. Future wind energy projects must include fine-scale noise assessments to quantify the consequences of chronic noise exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Gómez-Catasús
- Terrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (TEG-UAM), Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CIBC-UAM), Madrid, Spain; Novia University of Applied Sciences, Raseborgvägen 9, FI-10600, Ekenäs, Finland.
| | - Adrián Barrero
- Terrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (TEG-UAM), Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CIBC-UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Diego Llusia
- Terrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (TEG-UAM), Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CIBC-UAM), Madrid, Spain; Laboratório de Herpetologia e Comportamento Animal, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Campus Samambaia, CEP 74001-970, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
| | - Carlos Iglesias-Merchan
- CENERIC Research Centre, Tres Cantos, Spain; Escuela Ingeniería de Montes, Forestal y Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Traba
- Terrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (TEG-UAM), Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CIBC-UAM), Madrid, Spain
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22
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Crino OL, Falk S, Katsis AC, Kraft FLOH, Buchanan KL. Mitochondria as the powerhouses of sexual selection: Testing mechanistic links between development, cellular respiration, and bird song. Horm Behav 2022; 142:105184. [PMID: 35596967 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The developmental environment can affect the expression of sexually selected traits in adulthood. The physiological mechanisms that modulate such effects remain a matter of intense debate. Here, we test the role of the developmental environment in shaping adult mitochondrial function and link mitochondrial function to expression of a sexually selected trait in males (bird song). We exposed male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to corticosterone (CORT) treatment during development. After males reached adulthood, we quantified mitochondrial function from whole red blood cells and measured baseline CORT and testosterone levels, body condition/composition, and song structure. CORT-treated males had mitochondria that were less efficient (FCRL/R) and used a lower proportion of maximum capacity (FCRR/ETS) than control males. Additionally, CORT-treated males had higher baseline levels of CORT as adults compared to control males. Using structural equation modelling, we found that the effects of CORT treatment during development on adult mitochondrial function were indirect and modulated by baseline CORT levels, which are programmed by CORT treatment during development. Developmental treatment also had an indirect effect on song peak frequency. Males treated with CORT during development sang songs with higher peak frequency than control males, but this effect was modulated through increased CORT levels and by a decrease in FCRR/ETS. CORT-treated males had smaller tarsi compared to control males; however, there were no associations between body size and measures of song frequency. Here, we provide the first evidence supporting links between the developmental environment, mitochondrial function, and the expression of a sexually selected trait (bird song).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondi L Crino
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia; Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Steph Falk
- School of Biological Science Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Institute of Immunology and Epigenetics, Max Planck Institute, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Andrew C Katsis
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia; College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Fanny-Linn O H Kraft
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia; Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Katherine L Buchanan
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
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23
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Garcia Arasco A, Manser M, Watson SK, Kyabulima S, Radford AN, Cant MA, Garcia M. Testing the acoustic adaptation hypothesis with vocalizations from three mongoose species. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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24
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de Framond L, Brumm H, Thompson WI, Drabing SM, Francis CD. The broken-wing display across birds and the conditions for its evolution. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220058. [PMID: 35350855 PMCID: PMC8965389 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The broken-wing display is a well-known and conspicuous deceptive signal used to protect birds' broods against diurnal terrestrial predators. Although commonly associated with shorebirds, it remains unknown how common the behaviour is across birds and what forces are associated with the evolution of the display. Here, we use the broken-wing display as a paradigmatic example to study the evolution of a behaviour across Aves. We show that the display is widespread: it has been described in 52 families spread throughout the phylogeny, suggesting that it independently evolved multiple times. Further, we evaluated the association with 16 ecological and life-history variables hypothesized to be related to the evolution of the broken-wing display. Eight variables were associated with the display. We found that species breeding farther from the equator, in more dense environments, with shorter incubation periods, and relatively little nest cover were more likely to perform the display, as were those in which only one parent incubates eggs, species that mob nest predators and species that are altricial or multi-brooded. Collectively, our comprehensive approach identified forces associated with the repeated evolution of this conspicuous display, thereby providing new insights into how deceptive behaviours evolve in the context of predator-prey interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Léna de Framond
- Communication and Social Behavior Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Henrik Brumm
- Communication and Social Behavior Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Wren I. Thompson
- Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
| | - Shane M. Drabing
- Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
| | - Clinton D. Francis
- Communication and Social Behavior Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
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25
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Gomes L, Röhr DL, Sousa-Lima RS, Garda AA, Juncá FA. Environmental factors influencing call propagation in Pithecopus nordestinus: testing the acoustic adaptation hypothesis. BIOACOUSTICS 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2022.2042855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lidiane Gomes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, Brazil
| | - David Lucas Röhr
- Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia, Laboratório de Anfíbios e Répteis (LAR), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
- Faculdade Pitágoras de Medicina, Eunápolis, Brazil
| | - Renata S. Sousa-Lima
- Departamento de Fisiologia e Comportamento, Laboratório de Bioacústica (LaB), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Adrian Antonio Garda
- Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia, Laboratório de Anfíbios e Répteis (LAR), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Flora Acuña Juncá
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, Brazil
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26
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Marcolin F, Cardoso GC, Bento D, Reino L, Santana J. Body size and sexual selection shaped the evolution of parrot calls. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:439-450. [PMID: 35147264 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Morphology, habitat and various selective pressures (e.g., social and sexual selection) can influence the evolution of acoustic signals, but the relative importance of their effects is not well understood. The order Psittaciformes (parrots, sensu lato) is a large clade of very vocal and often gregarious species for which large-scale comparative studies of vocalizations are lacking. We measured acoustic traits (duration, sound frequency, frequency bandwidth and sound entropy) of the predominant call type for >200 parrot species to test: (1) for associations with body size; (2) the acoustic adaptation hypothesis (predicting differences between forest and open-habitat species); (3) the social complexity hypothesis (predicting more complex calls in gregarious species); and (4) influences of sexual selection (predicting correlated evolution with colour ornamentation). Larger species had on average longer calls, lower sound frequency and wider frequency bandwidth. These associations with body size are all predicted by physical principles of sound production. We found no evidence for the acoustic adaptation and social complexity hypotheses, but perhaps social complexity is associated with vocal traits not studied here, such as call repertoire sizes. More sexually dichromatic species had on average simpler calls (shorter, with lower entropy and narrower frequency bandwidth) indicating an influence of sexual selection, namely an evolutionary negative correlation between colour ornamentation and elaborate acoustic signals, as predicted by the transference hypothesis. Our study is the first large-scale attempt at understanding acoustic diversity across the Psittaciformes, and indicates that body size and sexual selection influenced the evolution of species differences in vocal signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Marcolin
- Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, P-1349-017, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Gonçalo C Cardoso
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Daniel Bento
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal.,CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Luís Reino
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal.,CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Joana Santana
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal.,CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisboa, Portugal
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Vincze O, Vágási CI, Pénzes J, Szabó K, Magonyi NM, Czirják GÁ, Pap PL. Sexual dimorphism in immune function and oxidative physiology across birds: The role of sexual selection. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:958-970. [PMID: 35106902 PMCID: PMC9305230 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Sex‐specific physiology is commonly reported in animals, often indicating lower immune indices and higher oxidative stress in males than in females. Sexual selection is argued to explain these differences, but empirical evidence is limited. Here, we explore sex differences in immunity, oxidative physiology and packed cell volume of wild, adult, breeding birds (97 species, 1997 individuals, 14 230 physiological measurements). We show that higher female immune indices are most common across birds (when bias is present), but oxidative physiology shows no general sex‐bias and packed cell volume is generally male‐biased. In contrast with predictions based on sexual selection, male‐biased sexual size dimorphism is associated with male‐biased immune measures. Sexual dichromatism, mating system and parental roles had no effect on sex‐specificity in physiology. Importantly, female‐biased immunity remained after accounting for sexual selection indices. We conclude that cross‐species differences in physiological sex‐bias are largely unrelated to sexual selection and alternative explanations should be explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orsolya Vincze
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Debrecen, Hungary.,Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Csongor I Vágási
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Janka Pénzes
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Krisztián Szabó
- Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Nóra M Magonyi
- Doctoral School of Biology and Sportbiology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.,Centre for Agricultural Research, Plant Protection Institute, ELKH, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gábor Á Czirják
- Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Péter L Pap
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.,Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
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Schruth DM, Templeton CN, Holman DJ. On reappearance and complexity in musical calling. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0218006. [PMID: 34919558 PMCID: PMC8683036 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Music is especially valued in human societies, but music-like behavior in the form of song also occurs in a variety of other animal groups including primates. The calling of our primate ancestors may well have evolved into the music of modern humans via multiple selective scenarios. But efforts to uncover these influences have been hindered by the challenge of precisely defining musical behavior in a way that could be more generally applied across species. We propose an acoustic focused reconsideration of "musicality" that could help enable independent inquiry into potential ecological pressures on the evolutionary emergence of such behavior. Using published spectrographic images (n = 832 vocalizations) from the primate vocalization literature, we developed a quantitative formulation that could be used to help recognize signatures of human-like musicality in the acoustic displays of other species. We visually scored each spectrogram along six structural features from human music-tone, interval, transposition, repetition, rhythm, and syllabic variation-and reduced this multivariate assessment into a concise measure of musical patterning, as informed by principal components analysis. The resulting acoustic reappearance diversity index (ARDI) estimates the number of different reappearing syllables within a call type. ARDI is in concordance with traditional measures of bird song complexity yet more readily identifies shorter, more subtly melodic primate vocalizations. We demonstrate the potential utility of this index by using it to corroborate several origins scenarios. When comparing ARDI scores with ecological features, our data suggest that vocalizations with diversely reappearing elements have a pronounced association with both social and environmental factors. Musical calls were moderately associated with wooded habitats and arboreal foraging, providing partial support for the acoustic adaptation hypothesis. But musical calling was most strongly associated with social monogamy, suggestive of selection for constituents of small family-sized groups by neighboring conspecifics. In sum, ARDI helps construe musical behavior along a continuum, accommodates non-human musicality, and enables gradualistic co-evolutionary paths between primate taxa-ranging from the more inhibited locational calls of archaic primates to the more exhibitional displays of modern apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M. Schruth
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | | | - Darryl J. Holman
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
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30
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Yosef R, Korkos M, Kosicki JZ. Does Size Matter? The Case of the Courtship Pyramids in Red Sea Ghost Crabs ( Ocypode saratan). Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:3541. [PMID: 34944314 PMCID: PMC8698000 DOI: 10.3390/ani11123541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Display, wherein males attempt to maximize fitness by attracting sexually mature females to mate, is known to drive speciation by Sexual Selection. We researched the Red Sea Ghost Crab (Ocypode saratan; RSGC), in which males build display pyramids to attract females. The study was conducted at the beach in Eilat, Israel. At each session, we measured the height (in cm) of all pyramids and the dimensions (height, breadth; in cm) of the burrow entrance. We assumed that the size of the entrance represented the relative size of the carapace width of the occupant. The mean (± SE) entrance volume was 230.8 ± 11.7 cm, and the height of the pyramid was 11.8 ± 0.49 cm (n = 54). The results of our study did not support our hypothesis because we had expected to find a linear correlation between body size and pyramid height, i.e., the larger the male, the larger the pyramid. However, our results show that the largest males in the population either built small pyramids or not at all, and the cut-off of the larger crab's body size appears to be around 350 cm3. We discovered a step-wise function in the data in that crabs with the smallest body size of ca. 250 cm3 constructed the highest pyramids, with a declining tendency between 250-350 cm3 and extremely low pyramids beyond 350 cm3. However, our findings need to be further studied with a stress on the ambiance and elucidate whether the habitats differ in temperature, humidity, prey-base, etc., before concluding as to why the larger males desist from building pyramids. This study underwrites the importance of studying the mating systems of the macro-fauna of the beaches that are fast disappearing owing to anthropogenic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reuven Yosef
- Eilat Campus, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Eilat 88000, Israel
| | - Michal Korkos
- Rabin High School, 51 Yotam Street, Eilat 88104, Israel;
| | - Jakub Z. Kosicki
- Department of Avian Biology and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego Str. 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland;
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Dickerson AL, Rowland JA, Trama AJE, Wraith‐Franck D, Hall ML. Male and female Australian magpie‐larks respond differently to variation in song frequency (pitch). Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jessica A. Rowland
- Centre for Integrative Ecology School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Burwood Vic. Australia
| | - Asher J. E. Trama
- School of BioSciences The University of Melbourne Parkville Vic. Australia
| | | | - Michelle L. Hall
- School of BioSciences The University of Melbourne Parkville Vic. Australia
- Bush Heritage Australia Melbourne Vic. Australia
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA Australia
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Benedict L, Hardt B, Dargis L. Form and Function Predict Acoustic Transmission Properties of the Songs of Male and Female Canyon Wrens. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.722967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
To function effectively, animal signals must transmit through the environment to receivers, and signal transmission properties depend on signal form. Here we investigated how the transmission of multiple parts of a well-studied signal, bird song, varies between males and females of one species. We hypothesized that male and female songs would have different transmission properties, reflecting known differences in song form and function. We further hypothesized that two parts of male song used differentially in broadcast singing and aggressive contests would transmit differently. Analyses included male and female songs from 20 pairs of canyon wrens (Catherpes mexicanus) played and re-recorded in species-typical habitat. We found that male song cascades used in broadcast singing propagated farther than female songs, with higher signal-to-noise ratios at distance. In contrast, we demonstrated relatively restricted propagation of the two vocalization types typically used in short-distance aggressive signaling, female songs and male “cheet” notes. Of the three tested signals, male “cheet” notes had the shortest modeled propagation distances. Male and female signals blurred similarly, with variable patterns of excess attenuation. Both male song parts showed more consistent transmission across the duration of the signal than did female songs. Song transmission, thus, varied by sex and reflected signal form and use context. Results support the idea that males and females of the same species can show distinctly different signal evolution trajectories. Sexual and social selection pressures can shape sex-specific signal transmission, even when males and females are communicating in shared physical environments.
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Carouso-Peck S, Goldstein MH, Fitch WT. The many functions of vocal learning. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200235. [PMID: 34482721 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The capacity to learn novel vocalizations has evolved convergently in a wide range of species. Courtship songs of male birds or whales are often treated as prototypical examples, implying a sexually selected context for the evolution of this ability. However, functions of learned vocalizations in different species are far more diverse than courtship, spanning a range of socio-positive contexts from individual identification, social cohesion, or advertising pair bonds, as well as agonistic contexts such as territorial defence, deceptive alarm calling or luring prey. Here, we survey the diverse usages and proposed functions of learned novel signals, to build a framework for considering the evolution of vocal learning capacities that extends beyond sexual selection. For each function that can be identified for learned signals, we provide examples of species using unlearned signals to accomplish the same goals. We use such comparisons to generate hypotheses concerning when vocal learning is adaptive, given a particular suite of socio-ecological traits. Finally, we identify areas of uncertainty where improved understanding would allow us to better test these hypotheses. Considering the broad range of potential functions of vocal learning will yield a richer appreciation of its evolution than a narrow focus on a few prototypical species. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.
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Vernes SC, Kriengwatana BP, Beeck VC, Fischer J, Tyack PL, ten Cate C, Janik VM. The multi-dimensional nature of vocal learning. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200236. [PMID: 34482723 PMCID: PMC8419582 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
How learning affects vocalizations is a key question in the study of animal communication and human language. Parallel efforts in birds and humans have taught us much about how vocal learning works on a behavioural and neurobiological level. Subsequent efforts have revealed a variety of cases among mammals in which experience also has a major influence on vocal repertoires. Janik and Slater (Anim. Behav.60, 1-11. (doi:10.1006/anbe.2000.1410)) introduced the distinction between vocal usage and production learning, providing a general framework to categorize how different types of learning influence vocalizations. This idea was built on by Petkov and Jarvis (Front. Evol. Neurosci.4, 12. (doi:10.3389/fnevo.2012.00012)) to emphasize a more continuous distribution between limited and more complex vocal production learners. Yet, with more studies providing empirical data, the limits of the initial frameworks become apparent. We build on these frameworks to refine the categorization of vocal learning in light of advances made since their publication and widespread agreement that vocal learning is not a binary trait. We propose a novel classification system, based on the definitions by Janik and Slater, that deconstructs vocal learning into key dimensions to aid in understanding the mechanisms involved in this complex behaviour. We consider how vocalizations can change without learning, and a usage learning framework that considers context specificity and timing. We identify dimensions of vocal production learning, including the copying of auditory models (convergence/divergence on model sounds, accuracy of copying), the degree of change (type and breadth of learning) and timing (when learning takes place, the length of time it takes and how long it is retained). We consider grey areas of classification and current mechanistic understanding of these behaviours. Our framework identifies research needs and will help to inform neurobiological and evolutionary studies endeavouring to uncover the multi-dimensional nature of vocal learning. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja C. Vernes
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
- Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Veronika C. Beeck
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Julia Fischer
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Centre, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter L. Tyack
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Carel ten Cate
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Hart PJ, Ibanez T, Paxton K, Tredinnick G, Sebastián-González E, Tanimoto-Johnson A. Timing Is Everything: Acoustic Niche Partitioning in Two Tropical Wet Forest Bird Communities. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.753363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
When acoustic signals sent from individuals overlap in frequency and time, acoustic interference and signal masking may occur. Under the acoustic niche hypothesis (ANH), signaling behavior has evolved to partition acoustic space and minimize overlap with other calling individuals through selection on signal structure and/or the sender’s ability to adjust the timing of signals. Alternately, under the acoustic clustering hypothesis, there is potential benefit to convergence and synchronization of the structural or temporal characteristics of signals in the avian community, and organisms produce signals that overlap more than would be expected by chance. Interactive communication networks may also occur, where species living together are more likely to have songs with convergent spectral and or temporal characteristics. In this study, we examine the fine-scale use of acoustic space in montane tropical wet forest bird communities in Costa Rica and Hawai‘i. At multiple recording stations in each community, we identified the species associated with each recorded signal, measured observed signal overlap, and used null models to generate random distributions of expected signal overlap. We then compared observed vs. expected signal overlap to test predictions of the acoustic niche and acoustic clustering hypotheses. We found a high degree of overlap in the signal characteristics (frequency range) of species in both Costa Rica and Hawai‘i, however, as predicted under ANH, species significantly reduced observed overlap relative to the random distribution through temporal partitioning. There was little support for acoustic clustering or the prediction of the network hypothesis that species segregate across the landscape based on the frequency range of their vocalizations. These findings constitute strong support that there is competition for acoustic space in these signaling communities, and this has resulted primarily in temporal partitioning of the soundscape.
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Janicke T, Fromonteil S. Sexual selection and sexual size dimorphism in animals. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20210251. [PMID: 34520680 PMCID: PMC8440037 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection is often considered as a critical evolutionary force promoting sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in animals. However, empirical evidence for a positive relationship between sexual selection on males and male-biased SSD received mixed support depending on the studied taxonomic group and on the method used to quantify sexual selection. Here, we present a meta-analytic approach accounting for phylogenetic non-independence to test how standardized metrics of the opportunity and strength of pre-copulatory sexual selection relate to SSD across a broad range of animal taxa comprising up to 95 effect sizes from 59 species. We found that SSD based on length measurements was correlated with the sex difference in the opportunity for sexual selection but showed a weak and statistically non-significant relationship with the sex difference in the Bateman gradient. These findings suggest that pre-copulatory sexual selection plays a limited role for the evolution of SSD in a broad phylogenetic context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Janicke
- Centre d’Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, UMR 5175 CNRS, Université de Montpellier, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Montpellier, France
- Applied Zoology, Technical University Dresden, Zellescher Weg 20b, Dresden 01062, Germany
| | - Salomé Fromonteil
- Centre d’Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, UMR 5175 CNRS, Université de Montpellier, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Montpellier, France
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37
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Beco R, Silveira LF, Derryberry EP, Bravo GA. Ecology and behavior predict an evolutionary trade-off between song complexity and elaborate plumages in antwrens (Aves, Thamnophilidae). Evolution 2021; 75:2388-2410. [PMID: 34382212 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The environment can impose constraints on signal transmission properties such that signals should evolve in predictable directions (Sensory Drive Hypothesis). However, behavioral and ecological factors can limit investment in more than one sensory modality leading to a trade-off in use of different signals (Transfer Hypothesis). In birds, there is mixed evidence for both sensory drive and transfer hypothesis. Few studies have tested sensory drive while also evaluating the transfer hypothesis, limiting understanding of the relative roles of these processes in signal evolution. Here, we assessed both hypotheses using acoustic and visual signals in male and female antwrens (Thamnophilidae), a species-rich group that inhabits diverse environments and exhibits behaviors, such as mixed-species flocking, that could limit investment in different signal modalities. We uncovered significant effects of habitat (sensory drive) and mixed-species flocking behavior on both sensory modalities, and we revealed evolutionary trade-offs between song and plumage complexity, consistent with the transfer hypothesis. We also showed sex- and trait-specific responses in visual signals that suggest both natural and social selection play an important role in the evolution of sexual dimorphism. Altogether, these results support the idea that environmental (sensory drive) and behavioral pressures (social selection) shape signal evolution in antwrens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renata Beco
- Seção de Aves, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 04263-000, Brazil.,Departamento de Zoologia do Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Luís F Silveira
- Seção de Aves, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 04263-000, Brazil
| | - Elizabeth P Derryberry
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996
| | - Gustavo A Bravo
- Seção de Aves, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 04263-000, Brazil.,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138.,Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138
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38
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Contingency and determinism in the evolution of bird song sound frequency. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11600. [PMID: 34078943 PMCID: PMC8172888 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90775-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual signals are archetypes of contingent evolution: hyper-diverse across species, often evolving fast and in unpredictable directions. It is unclear to which extent their evolutionary unpredictability weakens deterministic evolution, or takes place bounded by deterministic patterns of trait evolution. We compared the evolution of sound frequency in sexual signals (advertisement songs) and non-sexual social signals (calls) across > 500 genera of the crown songbird families. Contrary to the acoustic adaptation hypothesis, we found no evidence that forest species used lower sound frequencies in songs or calls. Consistent with contingent evolution in song, we found lower phylogenetic signal for the sound frequency of songs than calls, which suggests faster and less predictable evolution, and found unpredictable direction of evolution in lineages with longer songs, which presumably experience stronger sexual selection on song. Nonetheless, the most important deterministic pattern of sound frequency evolution—its negative association with body size—was stronger in songs than calls. This can be explained by songs being longer-range signals than most calls, and thus using sound frequencies that animals of a given size produce best at high amplitude. Results indicate that sexual selection can increase aspects of evolutionary contingency while strengthening, rather than weakening, deterministic patterns of evolution.
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