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Cinková I, Shrader AM. Individuality, species-specific features, and female discrimination of male southern white rhinoceros courtship calls. Anim Cogn 2022; 25:769-782. [PMID: 35015220 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01591-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Male vocalizations associated with courtship can play a key role in mate selection. They may help females obtain information about males' quality and identity and/or may contain species-specific properties that help prevent interspecies breeding. Despite vocalizations being a prominent part of the courtship of white rhinos, the role that they play in white rhino breeding behaviour has not been extensively studied. Both southern (SWR) and critically endangered northern white rhino (NWR) males intensively vocalize during courtship with hic calls. We examined these calls and found that call properties differed between NWR and SWR males. In addition, we found that individual SWR males could be identified with a high degree of accuracy using their hic calls and that the signature information capacity in hic calls would allow females to individually recognize about 11 adult males living in or moving through their home-ranges, which may help with mate selection. Then, we conducted playback experiments with wild anoestrus SWR females. The females discriminated between the NWR and SWR hic calls and between the SWR hic and SWR pant calls. However, we only found differences in the latency of observed behaviours, not in their duration or in the intensity of females' reaction. This might suggest that females which are not in oestrus are not highly responsive to a male's motivation (i.e., seeking contact or mating), but are more interested in assessing his dominance status or familiarity. Ultimately, our results indicate that courtship hic calls encode information which might help females choose mating partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Cinková
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. .,Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
| | - Adrian M Shrader
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.,Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
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Frey R, Wyman MT, Johnston M, Schofield M, Locatelli Y, Reby D. Roars, groans and moans: Anatomical correlates of vocal diversity in polygynous deer. J Anat 2021; 239:1336-1369. [PMID: 34342877 PMCID: PMC8602020 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Eurasian deer are characterized by the extraordinary diversity of their vocal repertoires. Male sexual calls range from roars with relatively low fundamental frequency (hereafter fo ) in red deer Cervus elaphus, to moans with extremely high fo in sika deer Cervus nippon, and almost infrasonic groans with exceptionally low fo in fallow deer Dama dama. Moreover, while both red and fallow males are capable of lowering their formant frequencies during their calls, sika males appear to lack this ability. Female contact calls are also characterized by relatively less pronounced, yet strong interspecific differences. The aim of this study is to examine the anatomical bases of these inter-specific and inter-sexual differences by identifying if the acoustic variation is reflected in corresponding anatomical variation. To do this, we investigated the vocal anatomy of male and female specimens of each of these three species. Across species and sexes, we find that the observed acoustic variability is indeed related to expected corresponding anatomical differences, based on the source-filter theory of vocal production. At the source level, low fo is associated with larger vocal folds, whereas high fo is associated with smaller vocal folds: sika deer have the smallest vocal folds and male fallow deer the largest. Red and sika deer vocal folds do not appear to be sexually dimorphic, while fallow deer exhibit strong sexual dimorphism (after correcting for body size differences). At the filter level, the variability in formants is related to the configuration of the vocal tract: in fallow and red deer, both sexes have evolved a permanently descended larynx (with a resting position of the larynx much lower in males than in females). Both sexes also have the potential for momentary, call-synchronous vocal tract elongation, again more pronounced in males than in females. In contrast, the resting position of the larynx is high in both sexes of sika deer and the potential for further active vocal tract elongation is virtually absent in both sexes. Anatomical evidence suggests an evolutionary reversal in larynx position within sika deer, that is, a secondary larynx ascent. Together, our observations confirm that the observed diversity of vocal behaviour in polygynous deer is supported by strong anatomical differences, highlighting the importance of anatomical specializations in shaping mammalian vocal repertoires. Sexual selection is discussed as a potential evolutionary driver of the observed vocal diversity and sexual dimorphisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roland Frey
- Department of Reproduction ManagementLeibniz Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW)BerlinGermany
| | - Megan Tompkins Wyman
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental ScienceUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Malcolm Johnston
- Clinical Imaging Sciences CentreUniversity of SussexBrightonUK
- Department of RadiologyBrighton and Sussex University HospitalsBrightonUK
| | - Michael Schofield
- Genome Damage and Stability CentreSchool of Life SciencesUniversity of SussexBrightonUK
| | - Yann Locatelli
- Réserve de la Haute ToucheMuséum National d’Histoire NaturelleObterreFrance
| | - David Reby
- Equipe de Neuro‐Ethologie Sensorielle (ENES)/Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (CRNL)University of Saint‐Étienne, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM UMR_S 1028Saint‐ÉtienneFrance
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Orci KM, Murányi D. Female answer specificity to male drumming calls in three closely related species of the stonefly genus Zwicknia (Plecoptera: Capniidae). INSECT SCIENCE 2021; 28:215-223. [PMID: 31997466 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This study examines the rate of female answers to conspecific versus heterospecific male vibratory calls in three, closely related stonefly species: Zwicknia bifrons, Z. acuta, and Z. rupprechti. In a previous study those three species were recognized on the basis of their distinct male drumming calls along with differences in genital morphology and genetic divergence. During this study no-choice playback experiments using original male call samples from each species were performed, and the answer rate of females to conspecific and heterospecific signal variants was measured. Mixed effect logistic regression models were used to test if male call species identity had a statistically significant effect on female answer probability. Females answered conspecific male calls with significantly higher probability than heterospecific calls in all the three examined species, suggesting that the divergence of vibrational communication can be an important component of the prezygotic isolation between them. Low, but well detectable responsiveness to heterospecific calls was observable between Z. bifrons and Z. acuta, the two species closest to each other regarding mitochondrial genetic divergence and male call pattern similarity. Thus, our results are most congruent with a tight, gradual coevolution of male calls and female preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirill Márk Orci
- MTA-ELTE-MTM Ecology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University and the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dávid Murányi
- Department of Zoology, Eszterházy Károly University, Eger, Hungary
- Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
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Tomaru M, Hattori E, Yamada H, Oguma Y. Sexual isolation between Drosophila simulans and D. mauritiana: D. simulans females do not discriminate against intact-wing D. mauritiana males. J ETHOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-020-00675-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Cinková I, Shrader AM. Rival assessment by territorial southern white rhinoceros males via eavesdropping on the contact and courtship calls. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Smith SL, Senn HV, Pérez‐Espona S, Wyman MT, Heap E, Pemberton JM. Introgression of exotic Cervus ( nippon and canadensis) into red deer ( Cervus elaphus) populations in Scotland and the English Lake District. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:2122-2134. [PMID: 29468030 PMCID: PMC5817139 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2017] [Revised: 11/04/2017] [Accepted: 11/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Since the mid-19th century, multiple introductions of Japanese sika deer (Cervus nippon nippon) and North American wapiti (C. canadensis) have taken place in the British Isles. While wapiti have generally been unsuccessful, sika have been very successful, especially in Scotland where they now overlap at least 40% of the range of native red deer (C. elaphus). Hybridization between these two species and red deer has been demonstrated in captivity and in the wild. Using a panel of 22 microsatellite loci that are highly diagnostic between red deer and sika, and moderately diagnostic between red deer and wapiti, we investigated the extent of introgression between these species in 2,943 deer sampled from around Scotland and from the English Lake District using the Bayesian clustering software STRUCTURE. We also used a diagnostic mitochondrial marker for red deer and sika. Our survey extends previous studies indicating little introgression of wapiti nuclear alleles into red deer, in particular in Northern Scotland, Kintyre, and the Lake District. We found a new area of extensive sika introgression in South Kintyre. In the North Highlands, we show for the first time geographically scattered evidence of past hybridization followed by extensive backcrossing, including one red-like individual with sika introgression, two sika-like individuals with red deer introgression, and six individuals that were apparently pure sika at the nuclear markers assessed but which carried red deer mitochondria. However, there has not been a collapse of assortative mating in this region. Similarly, in the English Lake District red deer, we found only traces of past sika introgression. No sika alleles were detected in the Central Highlands or the Hebridean red deer refugia. We make suggestions for management to prevent further spread of sika alleles into red deer and vice versa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L. Smith
- Institute of Evolutionary BiologySchool of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Helen V. Senn
- WildGenes LaboratoryRoyal Zoological Society of ScotlandEdinburghUK
| | | | - Megan T. Wyman
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition ResearchSchool of PsychologyUniversity of SussexFalmerUK
| | - Elizabeth Heap
- Institute of Evolutionary BiologySchool of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Josephine M. Pemberton
- Institute of Evolutionary BiologySchool of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
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Wyman MT, Locatelli Y, Charlton BD, Reby D. Female Sexual Preferences Toward Conspecific and Hybrid Male Mating Calls in Two Species of Polygynous Deer, Cervus elaphus and C. nippon. Evol Biol 2015; 43:227-241. [PMID: 27217596 PMCID: PMC4860407 DOI: 10.1007/s11692-015-9357-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2015] [Accepted: 10/31/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The behavioral processes at the basis of hybridization and introgression are understudied in terrestrial mammals. We use a unique model to test the role of sexual signals as a reproductive barrier to introgression by investigating behavioral responses to male sexual calls in estrous females of two naturally allopatric but reproductively compatible deer species, red deer and sika deer. Previous studies demonstrated asymmetries in acoustic species discrimination between these species: most but not all female red deer prefer conspecific over sika deer male calls while female sika deer exhibit no preference differences. Here, we extend this examination of acoustic species discrimination to the role of male sexual calls in introgression between parent species and hybrids. Using two-speaker playback experiments, we compared the preference responses of estrous female red and sika deer to male sexual calls from conspecifics versus red × sika hybrids. These playbacks simulate early secondary contact between previously allopatric species after hybridization has occurred. Based on previous conspecific versus heterospecific playbacks, we predicted that most female red deer would prefer conspecific calls while female sika deer would show no difference in their preference behaviors toward conspecific and hybrid calls. However, results show that previous asymmetries did not persist as neither species exhibited more preferences for conspecific over hybrid calls. Thus, vocal behavior is not likely to deter introgression between these species during the early stages of sympatry. On a wider scale, weak discrimination against hybrid sexual signals could substantially contribute to this important evolutionary process in mammals and other taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan T. Wyman
- />Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QH UK
- />Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California, 1331 Academic Surge Building, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Yann Locatelli
- />Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Réserve de la Haute Touche, 36290 Obterre, France
| | - Benjamin D. Charlton
- />School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - David Reby
- />Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QH UK
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González M, Peretti AV, Costa FG. Reproductive isolation between two populations ofAglaoctenus lagotis, a funnel-web wolf spider. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Macarena González
- Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva; y Evolución Cátedra de Diversidad Animal I; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; Físicas y Naturales; Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Vélez Sarsfield 299 CP: 5000 Córdoba Capital Argentina
- Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA); CONICET - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Córdoba Argentina
- Laboratorio de Etología, Ecología y Evolución; Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; Clemente Estable Montevideo Uruguay
| | - Alfredo V. Peretti
- Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva; y Evolución Cátedra de Diversidad Animal I; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; Físicas y Naturales; Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Vélez Sarsfield 299 CP: 5000 Córdoba Capital Argentina
- Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA); CONICET - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Córdoba Argentina
| | - Fernando G. Costa
- Laboratorio de Etología, Ecología y Evolución; Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; Clemente Estable Montevideo Uruguay
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10
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Response of red deer stags (Cervus elaphus) to playback of harsh versus common roars. Naturwissenschaften 2014; 101:851-4. [PMID: 25119193 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-014-1217-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2014] [Revised: 07/08/2014] [Accepted: 07/23/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Red deer stags (Cervus elaphus) give two distinct types of roars during the breeding season, the "common roar" and the "harsh roar." Harsh roars are more frequent during contexts of intense competition, and characterized by a set of features that increase their perceptual salience, suggesting that they signal heightened arousal. While common roars have been shown to encode size information and mediate both male competition and female choice, to our knowledge, the specific function of harsh roars during male competition has not yet been studied. Here, we investigate the hypothesis that the specific structure of male harsh roars signals high arousal to competitors. We contrast the behavioral responses of free ranging, harem-holding stags to the playback of harsh roars from an unfamiliar competitor with their response to the playback of common roars from the same animal. We show that males react less strongly to sequences of harsh roars than to sequences of common roars, possibly because they are reluctant to escalate conflicts with highly motivated and threatening unfamiliar males in the absence of visual information. While future work should investigate the response of stags to harsh roars from familiar opponents, our observations remain consistent with the hypothesis that harsh roars may signal motivation during male competition, and illustrate how intrasexual selection can contribute to the diversification of male vocal signals.
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