1
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Moran IG, Loo YY, Louca S, Young NBA, Whibley A, Withers SJ, Salloum PM, Hall ML, Stanley MC, Cain KE. Vocal convergence and social proximity shape the calls of the most basal Passeriformes, New Zealand Wrens. Commun Biol 2024; 7:575. [PMID: 38750083 PMCID: PMC11096322 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06253-y] [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: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite extensive research on avian vocal learning, we still lack a general understanding of how and when this ability evolved in birds. As the closest living relatives of the earliest Passeriformes, the New Zealand wrens (Acanthisitti) hold a key phylogenetic position for furthering our understanding of the evolution of vocal learning because they share a common ancestor with two vocal learners: oscines and parrots. However, the vocal learning abilities of New Zealand wrens remain unexplored. Here, we test for the presence of prerequisite behaviors for vocal learning in one of the two extant species of New Zealand wrens, the rifleman (Acanthisitta chloris). We detect the presence of unique individual vocal signatures and show how these signatures are shaped by social proximity, as demonstrated by group vocal signatures and strong acoustic similarities among distantly related individuals in close social proximity. Further, we reveal that rifleman calls share similar phenotypic variance ratios to those previously reported in the learned vocalizations of the zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata. Together these findings provide strong evidence that riflemen vocally converge, and though the mechanism still remains to be determined, they may also suggest that this vocal convergence is the result of rudimentary vocal learning abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ines G Moran
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, Aotearoa New Zealand.
| | - Yen Yi Loo
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, Aotearoa New Zealand
- Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, Aotearoa New Zealand
| | - Stilianos Louca
- Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, 97403-1210, OR, USA
| | - Nick B A Young
- Centre for eResearch, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, Aotearoa New Zealand
| | - Annabel Whibley
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, Aotearoa New Zealand
| | - Sarah J Withers
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, Aotearoa New Zealand
| | - Priscila M Salloum
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9016, Aotearoa New Zealand
| | - Michelle L Hall
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
- Bush Heritage Australia, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Margaret C Stanley
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, Aotearoa New Zealand
- Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, Aotearoa New Zealand
| | - Kristal E Cain
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, Aotearoa New Zealand
- Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, Aotearoa New Zealand
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2
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Döppler JF, Atencio M, Amador A, Mindlin GB. Synthesizing avian dreams. CHAOS (WOODBURY, N.Y.) 2024; 34:043103. [PMID: 38558050 DOI: 10.1063/5.0194301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
During sleep, sporadically, it is possible to find neural patterns of activity in areas of the avian brain that are activated during the generation of the song. It has recently been found that in the vocal muscles of a sleeping bird, it is possible to detect activity patterns during these silent replays. In this work, we employ a dynamical systems model for song production in suboscine birds in order to translate the vocal muscles activity during sleep into synthetic songs. Besides allowing us to translate muscle activity into behavior, we argue that this approach poses the biomechanics as a unique window into the avian brain, with biophysical models as its probe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan F Döppler
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
- INFINA, CONICET, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
| | - Melina Atencio
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución & IEGEBA-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
| | - Ana Amador
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
- INFINA, CONICET, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
| | - Gabriel B Mindlin
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
- INFINA, CONICET, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
- Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid 28008, Spain
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3
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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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Forebrain nuclei linked to woodpecker territorial drum displays mirror those that enable vocal learning in songbirds. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001751. [PMID: 36125990 PMCID: PMC9488818 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocal learning is thought to have evolved in 3 orders of birds (songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds), with each showing similar brain regions that have comparable gene expression specializations relative to the surrounding forebrain motor circuitry. Here, we searched for signatures of these same gene expression specializations in previously uncharacterized brains of 7 assumed vocal non-learning bird lineages across the early branches of the avian family tree. Our findings using a conserved marker for the song system found little evidence of specializations in these taxa, except for woodpeckers. Instead, woodpeckers possessed forebrain regions that were anatomically similar to the pallial song nuclei of vocal learning birds. Field studies of free-living downy woodpeckers revealed that these brain nuclei showed increased expression of immediate early genes (IEGs) when males produce their iconic drum displays, the elaborate bill-hammering behavior that individuals use to compete for territories, much like birdsong. However, these specialized areas did not show increased IEG expression with vocalization or flight. We further confirmed that other woodpecker species contain these brain nuclei, suggesting that these brain regions are a common feature of the woodpecker brain. We therefore hypothesize that ancient forebrain nuclei for refined motor control may have given rise to not only the song control systems of vocal learning birds, but also the drumming system of woodpeckers. Vocal learning is thought to have evolved in three orders of birds (songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds). This study shows that woodpeckers have evolved a set of brain nuclei to mediate their drum displays, and these regions closely mirror those that underlie song learning in songbirds.
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5
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Faiß M, Riede T, Goller F. Tonality over a broad frequency range is linked to vocal learning in birds. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220792. [PMID: 36100028 PMCID: PMC9470270 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Many birds emit tonal song syllables even though the sound sources generate sound with rich upper harmonic energy content. This tonality is thought to arise in part from dynamically adjusted filtering of harmonic content. Here, we compare tonality of song syllables between vocal learners and non-learners to assess whether this characteristic is linked to the increased neural substrate that evolved with vocal learning. We hypothesize that vocal learning ability is correlated with enhanced ability for generating tonal sounds, because vocal production learners might also have an enhanced ability to articulate their vocal tracts and sound source for producing tonality. To test this hypothesis, we compared vocal learners and non-learners from two groups (186 passerines and 42 hummingbirds) by assessing tonality of song syllables. The data suggest that vocal learners in both clades have evolved to sing songs with higher tonality than the related, non-vocal learning clades, which is consistent with stronger roles for broadband dynamic filtering and adjustments to the sound source. In addition, oscine songs display higher tonality than those of hummingbirds. A complex interplay of vocal tract biomechanics, anatomical differences of the sound source as well as increased motor control through vocal learning facilitates generation of broad tonality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marius Faiß
- Institute for Zoophysiology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Tobias Riede
- Department of Physiology, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA
| | - Franz Goller
- Institute for Zoophysiology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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6
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Moncrieff AE, Faircloth BC, Brumfield RT. Systematics of Lepidothrix manakins (Aves: Passeriformes: Pipridae) using RADcap markers. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2022; 173:107525. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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7
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Posterior probabilities of membership of repertoires in acoustic clades. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0267501. [PMID: 35452481 PMCID: PMC9032417 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Recordings of calls may be used to assess population structure for acoustic species. This can be particularly effective if there are identity calls, produced nearly exclusively by just one population segment. The identity call method, IDcall, classifies calls into types using contaminated mixture models, and then clusters repertoires of calls into identity clades (potential population segments) using identity calls that are characteristic of the repertoires in each identity clade. We show how to calculate the Bayesian posterior probabilities that each repertoire is a member of each identity clade, and display this information as a stacked bar graph. This methodology (IDcallPP) is introduced using the output of IDcall but could easily be adapted to estimate posterior probabilities of clade membership when acoustic clades are delineated using other methods. This output is similar to that of the STRUCTURE software which uses molecular genetic data to assess population structure and has become a standard in conservation genetics. The technique introduced here should be a valuable asset to those who use acoustic data to address evolution, ecology, or conservation, and creates a methodological and conceptual bridge between geneticists and acousticians who aim to assess population structure.
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8
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Freeman BG, Rolland J, Montgomery GA, Schluter D. Faster evolution of a premating reproductive barrier is not associated with faster speciation rates in New World passerine birds. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20211514. [PMID: 34982949 PMCID: PMC8727149 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Why are speciation rates so variable across the tree of life? One hypothesis is that this variation is explained by how rapidly reproductive barriers evolve. We tested this hypothesis by conducting a comparative study of the evolution of bird song, a premating barrier to reproduction. Speciation in birds is typically initiated when geographically isolated (allopatric) populations evolve reproductive barriers. We measured the strength of song as a premating barrier between closely related allopatric populations by conducting 2339 field experiments to measure song discrimination for 175 taxon pairs of allopatric or parapatric New World passerine birds, and estimated recent speciation rates from molecular phylogenies. We found evidence that song discrimination is indeed an important reproductive barrier: taxon pairs with high song discrimination in allopatry did not regularly interbreed in parapatry. However, evolutionary rates of song discrimination were not associated with recent speciation rates. Evolutionary rates of song discrimination were also unrelated to latitude or elevation, but species with innate song (suboscines) evolved song discrimination much faster than species with learned song (oscines). We conclude that song is a key premating reproductive barrier in birds, but faster evolution of this reproductive barrier between populations does not consistently result in faster diversification between species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin G. Freeman
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T1Z4
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T1Z4
| | - Jonathan Rolland
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T1Z4
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T1Z4
- CNRS, UMR5174, Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, Bâtiment 4R1, 118 Route de Narbonne, Toulouse 31062, France
| | - Graham A. Montgomery
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Dolph Schluter
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T1Z4
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T1Z4
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9
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Abstract
The study of vocal production learning in birds is heavily biased towards oscine songbirds, making the songbird model the reference for comparative studies. However, as vocal learning was probably ancestral in songbirds, interspecific variations might all be variations on a single theme and need not be representative of the nature and characteristics of vocal learning in other bird groups. To assess the possible mechanisms of vocal learning and its evolution therefore requires knowledge about independently evolved incidences of vocal learning. This review examines the presence and nature of vocal production learning in non-songbirds. Using a broad definition of vocal learning and a comparative phylogenetic framework, I evaluate the evidence for vocal learning and its characteristics in non-oscine birds, including well-known vocal learners such as parrots and hummingbirds but also (putative) cases from other taxa. Despite the sometimes limited evidence, it is clear that vocal learning occurs in a range of different, non-related, taxa and can be caused by a variety of mechanisms. It is more widespread than often realized, calling for more systematic studies. Examining this variation may provide a window onto the evolution of vocal learning and increase the value of comparative research for understanding vocal learning in humans. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carel Ten Cate
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, PO Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
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10
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Ter Haar SM, Fernandez AA, Gratier M, Knörnschild M, Levelt C, Moore RK, Vellema M, Wang X, Oller DK. Cross-species parallels in babbling: animals and algorithms. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200239. [PMID: 34482727 PMCID: PMC8419573 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A key feature of vocal ontogeny in a variety of taxa with extensive vocal repertoires is a developmental pattern in which vocal exploration is followed by a period of category formation that results in a mature species-specific repertoire. Vocal development preceding the adult repertoire is often called ‘babbling’, a term used to describe aspects of vocal development in species of vocal-learning birds, some marine mammals, some New World monkeys, some bats and humans. The paper summarizes the results of research on babbling in examples from five taxa and proposes a unifying definition facilitating their comparison. There are notable similarities across these species in the developmental pattern of vocalizations, suggesting that vocal production learning might require babbling. However, the current state of the literature is insufficient to confirm this suggestion. We suggest directions for future research to elucidate this issue, emphasizing the importance of (i) expanding the descriptive data and seeking species with complex mature repertoires where babbling may not occur or may occur only to a minimal extent; (ii) (quasi-)experimental research to tease apart possible mechanisms of acquisition and/or self-organizing development; and (iii) computational modelling as a methodology to test hypotheses about the origins and functions of babbling. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sita M Ter Haar
- Cognitive Neurobiology and Helmholtz Institute, Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, PO Box 80086, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Ahana A Fernandez
- Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Maya Gratier
- Laboratoire Ethologie, Cognition, Développement, Paris Nanterre University, Nanterre, France
| | - Mirjam Knörnschild
- Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany.,Animal Behavior Lab, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Claartje Levelt
- Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Roger K Moore
- Department Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Michiel Vellema
- Cognitive Neurobiology and Helmholtz Institute, Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, PO Box 80086, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Xiaoqin Wang
- Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - D Kimbrough Oller
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.,Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.,Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria
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11
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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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12
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Day LB, Helmhout W, Pano G, Olsson U, Hoeksema JD, Lindsay WR. Correlated evolution of acrobatic display and both neural and somatic phenotypic traits in manakins (Pipridae). Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:1343-1362. [PMID: 34143205 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Brightly colored manakin (Aves: Pipridae) males are known for performing acrobatic displays punctuated by non-vocal sounds (sonations) in order to attract dull colored females. The complexity of the display sequence and assortment of display elements involved (e.g., sonations, acrobatic maneuvers, and cooperative performances) varies considerably across manakin species. Species-specific display elements coevolve with display-distinct specializations of the neuroanatomical, muscular, endocrine, cardiovascular, and skeletal systems in the handful of species studied. Conducting a broader comparative study, we previously found positive associations between display complexity and both brain mass and body mass across 8 manakin genera, indicating selection for neural and somatic expansion to accommodate display elaboration. Whether this gross morphological variation is due to overall brain and body mass expansion (concerted evolution) versus size increases in only functionally relevant brain regions and growth of particular body ("somatic") features (mosaic evolution) remains to be explored. Here we test the hypothesis that cross-species variation in male brain mass and body mass is driven by mosaic evolution. We predicted positive associations between display complexity and variation in the volume of the cerebellum and sensorimotor arcopallium, brain regions which have roles in sensorimotor processes, and learning and performance of precisely timed and sequenced thoughts and movements, respectively. In contrast, we predicted no associations between the volume of a limbic arcopallial nucleus or a visual thalamic nucleus and display complexity as these regions have no-specific functional relationship to display behavior. For somatic features, we predicted that the relationship between body mass and complexity would not include contributions of tarsus length based on a recent study suggesting selection on tarsus length is less labile than body mass. We tested our hypotheses in males from 12 manakin species and a closely related flycatcher. Our analyses support mosaic evolution of neural and somatic features functionally relevant to display and indicate sexual selection for acrobatic complexity may increase the capacity for procedural learning via cerebellar enlargement and maneuverability via a reduction in tarsus length in species with lower overall complexity scores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lainy B Day
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA.,Neuroscience Minor, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Wilson Helmhout
- Neuroscience Minor, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Glendin Pano
- Neuroscience Minor, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Urban Olsson
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 18, SE-413-90 Gothenburg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Box 461, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jason D Hoeksema
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Willow R Lindsay
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA.,Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 18, SE-413-90 Gothenburg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Box 461, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
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13
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Friis JI, Sabino J, Santos P, Dabelsteen T, Cardoso GC. The Allometry of Sound Frequency Bandwidth in Songbirds. Am Nat 2021; 197:607-614. [PMID: 33908826 DOI: 10.1086/713708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractTheory predicts that allometric constraints on sound production should be stronger for the lower frequencies of vocalizations than for the higher frequencies, which could originate from an allometry for sound frequency bandwidth. Using song recordings of approximately 1,000 passerine species (from >75% passerine genera), we show a significantly steeper allometry for the lower song frequencies than for the higher song frequencies, resulting in a positive allometry of frequency bandwidth: larger species can use wider bandwidths than smaller species. The bandwidth allometry exists in songbirds (oscines) but not in nonoscine passerines, indicating that it emerges from a combination of constraints to sound frequency production or transmission and the evolved behavior of oscines: unlike the narrow bandwidths of most nonoscine songs, the learned songs of oscines often use wide bandwidths that can be limited by both lower and upper constraints to sound frequency. This bandwidth allometry has implications for several research topics in acoustic communication.
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14
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Song learning and plasticity in songbirds. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 67:228-239. [PMID: 33667874 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Birdsong provides a fascinating system to study both behavioral and neural plasticity. Oscine songbirds learn to sing, exhibiting behavioral plasticity both during and after the song-learning process. As a bird learns, its song progresses from a plastic and highly variable vocalization into a more stereotyped, crystallized song. However, even after crystallization, song plasticity can occur: some species' songs become more stereotyped over time, whereas other species can incorporate new song elements. Alongside the changes in song, songbirds' brains are also plastic. Both song and neural connections change with the seasons in many species, and new neurons can be added to the song system throughout life. In this review, we highlight important research on behavioral and neural plasticity at multiple timescales, from song development in juveniles to lifelong modifications of learned song.
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15
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Sebastianelli M, Blumstein DT, Kirschel ANG. Higher-pitched bird song towards the coast supports a role for selection in ocean noise avoidance. BIOACOUSTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2021.1879680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Alexander N. G. Kirschel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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16
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Kirschel ANG, Seddon N, Tobias JA. Range-wide spatial mapping reveals convergent character displacement of bird song. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 286:20190443. [PMID: 31039717 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A long-held view in evolutionary biology is that character displacement generates divergent phenotypes in closely related coexisting species to avoid the costs of hybridization or ecological competition, whereas an alternative possibility is that signals of dominance or aggression may instead converge to facilitate coexistence among ecological competitors. Although this counterintuitive process-termed convergent agonistic character displacement-is supported by recent theoretical and empirical studies, the extent to which it drives spatial patterns of trait evolution at continental scales remains unclear. By modelling the variation in song structure of two ecologically similar species of Hypocnemis antbird across western Amazonia, we show that their territorial signals converge such that trait similarity peaks in the sympatric zone, where intense interspecific territoriality between these taxa has previously been demonstrated. We also use remote sensing data to show that signal convergence is not explained by environmental gradients and is thus unlikely to evolve by sensory drive (i.e. acoustic adaptation to the sound transmission properties of habitats). Our results suggest that agonistic character displacement driven by interspecific competition can generate spatial patterns opposite to those predicted by classic character displacement theory, and highlight the potential role of social selection in shaping geographical variation in signal phenotypes of ecological competitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander N G Kirschel
- 1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus , PO Box 20537, Nicosia 1678 , Cyprus.,2 Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford , South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS , UK
| | - Nathalie Seddon
- 2 Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford , South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS , UK
| | - Joseph A Tobias
- 2 Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford , South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS , UK.,3 Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London , Silwood Park, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY , UK
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17
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Macedo G, Silva M, Amaral FRD, Maldonado-Coelho M. Symmetrical discrimination despite weak song differentiation in 2 suboscine bird sister species. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Song mediates territorial competition and mate choice in birds and population divergence in this signal can have important evolutionary consequences. For example, divergent songs can act in specific recognition and limit gene flow and, hence, have a fundamental role on the origin and/or integrity of evolutionary lineages. Especially interesting systems to test the role of song in specific recognition are species pairs that present small structural differences in this signal. Here, we perform song play-back experiments on males of a long-diverged sister pair of Neotropical Suboscine species, the squamate antbird (Myrmoderus squamosus) and the white-bibbed antbird (Myrmoderus loricatus), which occur in parapatry in the Atlantic Forest and that overlap extensively in song variation. Previous evidence indicates that genetic introgression between these species is either absent or negligible, suggesting that vocal discrimination or other mechanisms function as effective barriers to gene flow. Our results show that responses to heterospecific songs were symmetrical and intermediary compared with responses to conspecific songs in both species. A stronger response to conspecific territorial songs suggests that conspecific individuals pose greater competitive threat than heterospecifics. An important implication of our study is that even small song differences can play an important role in specific recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Macedo
- Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Marco Silva
- SAVE Brasil, BirdLife International, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Fábio Raposo do Amaral
- Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Marcos Maldonado-Coelho
- Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil
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18
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Love J, Hoepfner A, Goller F. Song Feature Specific Analysis of Isolate Song Reveals Interspecific Variation in Learned Components. Dev Neurobiol 2019; 79:350-369. [PMID: 31002477 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Revised: 04/14/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Studies of avian vocal development without exposure to conspecific song have been conducted in many passerine species, and the resultant isolate song is often interpreted to represent an expression of the genetic code for conspecific song. There is wide recognition that vocal learning exists in oscine songbirds, but vocal learning has only been thoroughly investigated in a few model species, resulting in a narrow view of birdsong learning. By extracting acoustic signals from published spectrograms, we have reexamined the findings of isolate studies with a universally applicable semi-automated quantitative analysis regimen. When song features were analyzed in light of three different production aspects (respiratory, syringeal, and central programming of sequence), all three show marked interspecific variability in how close isolate song features are to normal. This implies that song learning mechanisms are more variable than is commonly recognized. Our results suggest that the interspecific variation shows no readily observable pattern reflecting phylogeny, which has implications for understanding the mechanisms behind the evolution of avian vocal communication. We emphasize that song learning in passerines provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the evolution of a complex, plastic trait from a phylogenetic perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay Love
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112
| | - Amanda Hoepfner
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112
| | - Franz Goller
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112.,Institute for Zoophysiology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
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19
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20
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Sementili-Cardoso G, Donatelli RJ. Vocal divergence between two disjunct populations of Giant Antshrike (Batara cinerea) is related to environmental conditions. AUSTRAL ECOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Guilherme Sementili-Cardoso
- Institute of Biosciences; Sao Paulo State University; Botucatu Brazil
- Laboratory of Ornithology; School of Sciences; Sao Paulo State University; Bauru Brazil
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21
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Subspecies status and methods explain strength of response to local versus foreign song by oscine birds in meta-analysis. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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22
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Territorial responses to song components in a suboscine, the vermilion flycatcher. Behav Processes 2018; 157:478-483. [PMID: 29940257 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.06.012] [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: 01/08/2018] [Revised: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Vermilion flycatchers songs are composed of two acoustically different parts: a first part (FP) containing a variable number of introductory elements, and a second part (SP) composed of four elements. Previous work suggests that the FP is important for territorial competition and that it conveys information on threat level. By exposing free-living males to playbacks of complete songs (CS's), FP's and SP's, we evaluated the relative contribution of each song part in males' territorial responses. Males called in response to all three treatments, suggesting each song component is important for territorial competition. Males' call response did not differ toward CS's and FP's, and toward CS's and SP's (although a non-significant tendency was found for SP's to elicit a weaker response than CS's), but it was greater toward FP's than toward SP's. These results, coupled with previous work, further support the idea that the FP plays a special role during territorial competition and may give information on level of threat. We further discuss our result in terms of mechanistic and functional hypotheses.
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23
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Pearse WD, Morales-Castilla I, James LS, Farrell M, Boivin F, Davies TJ. Global macroevolution and macroecology of passerine song. Evolution 2018; 72:944-960. [PMID: 29441527 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2016] [Accepted: 01/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Studying the macroevolution of the songs of Passeriformes (perching birds) has proved challenging. The complexity of the task stems not just from the macroevolutionary and macroecological challenge of modeling so many species, but also from the difficulty in collecting and quantifying birdsong itself. Using machine learning techniques, we extracted songs from a large citizen science dataset, and then analyzed the evolution, and biotic and abiotic predictors of variation in birdsong across 578 passerine species. Contrary to expectations, we found few links between life-history traits (monogamy and sexual dimorphism) and the evolution of song pitch (peak frequency) or song complexity (standard deviation of frequency). However, we found significant support for morphological constraints on birdsong, as reflected in a negative correlation between bird size and song pitch. We also found that broad-scale biogeographical and climate factors such as net primary productivity, temperature, and regional species richness were significantly associated with both the evolution and present-day distribution of bird song features. Our analysis integrates comparative and spatial modeling with newly developed data cleaning and curation tools, and suggests that evolutionary history, morphology, and present-day ecological processes shape the distribution of song diversity in these charismatic and important birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D Pearse
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada.,Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada.,Department of Biology and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322
| | - Ignacio Morales-Castilla
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada.,Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada.,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.,Department of Life Sciences, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares 28805, Spain
| | - Logan S James
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
| | - Maxwell Farrell
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
| | - Frédéric Boivin
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
| | - T Jonathan Davies
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
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24
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Derryberry EP, Seddon N, Derryberry GE, Claramunt S, Seeholzer GF, Brumfield RT, Tobias JA. Ecological drivers of song evolution in birds: Disentangling the effects of habitat and morphology. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:1890-1905. [PMID: 29435262 PMCID: PMC5792612 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Revised: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 12/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Environmental differences influence the evolutionary divergence of mating signals through selection acting either directly on signal transmission ("sensory drive") or because morphological adaptation to different foraging niches causes divergence in "magic traits" associated with signal production, thus indirectly driving signal evolution. Sensory drive and magic traits both contribute to variation in signal structure, yet we have limited understanding of the relative role of these direct and indirect processes during signal evolution. Using phylogenetic analyses across 276 species of ovenbirds (Aves: Furnariidae), we compared the extent to which song evolution was related to the direct influence of habitat characteristics and the indirect effect of body size and beak size, two potential magic traits in birds. We find that indirect ecological selection, via diversification in putative magic traits, explains variation in temporal, spectral, and performance features of song. Body size influences song frequency, whereas beak size limits temporal and performance components of song. In comparison, direct ecological selection has weaker and more limited effects on song structure. Our results illustrate the importance of considering multiple deterministic processes in the evolution of mating signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Perrault Derryberry
- Museum of Natural Science and Department of Biological SciencesLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeLAUSA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyTulane UniversityNew OrleansLAUSA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Nathalie Seddon
- Department of ZoologyEdward Grey InstituteUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Graham Earnest Derryberry
- Museum of Natural Science and Department of Biological SciencesLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeLAUSA
| | - Santiago Claramunt
- Museum of Natural Science and Department of Biological SciencesLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeLAUSA
- Department of Natural HistoryRoyal Ontario MuseumTorontoONCanada
| | - Glenn Fairbanks Seeholzer
- Museum of Natural Science and Department of Biological SciencesLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeLAUSA
- Department of OrnithologyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNYUSA
| | - Robb Thomas Brumfield
- Museum of Natural Science and Department of Biological SciencesLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeLAUSA
| | - Joseph Andrew Tobias
- Department of ZoologyEdward Grey InstituteUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
- Department of Life SciencesImperial College LondonLondonUK
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25
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Sementili-Cardoso G, Rodrigues FG, Martins RM, Gerotti RW, Vianna RM, Donatelli RJ. Variation among vocalizations of Taraba major (Aves: Thamnophilidae) subspecies. STUDIES ON NEOTROPICAL FAUNA AND ENVIRONMENT 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/01650521.2017.1414983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Guilherme Sementili-Cardoso
- Laboratório de Ornitologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Bauru, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Botucatu, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Gonçalves Rodrigues
- Laboratório de Ornitologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Bauru, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Botucatu, Brazil
| | - Rafael Martos Martins
- Laboratório de Ornitologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Bauru, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Botucatu, Brazil
| | - Raphael Whitacker Gerotti
- Laboratório de Ornitologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Bauru, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Botucatu, Brazil
| | - Renata Marques Vianna
- Laboratório de Ornitologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Bauru, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Botucatu, Brazil
| | - Reginaldo José Donatelli
- Laboratório de Ornitologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Bauru, Brazil
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26
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Garcia SM, Kopuchian C, Mindlin GB, Fuxjager MJ, Tubaro PL, Goller F. Evolution of Vocal Diversity through Morphological Adaptation without Vocal Learning or Complex Neural Control. Curr Biol 2017; 27:2677-2683.e3. [PMID: 28867206 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.07.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Revised: 06/15/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of complex behavior is driven by the interplay of morphological specializations and neuromuscular control mechanisms [1-3], and it is often difficult to tease apart their respective contributions. Avian vocal learning and associated neural adaptations are thought to have played a major role in bird diversification [4-8], whereas functional significance of substantial morphological diversity of the vocal organ remains largely unexplored. Within the most species-rich order, Passeriformes, "tracheophones" are a suboscine group that, unlike their oscine sister taxon, does not exhibit vocal learning [9] and is thought to phonate with tracheal membranes [10, 11] instead of the two independent sources found in other passerines [12-14]. Here we show tracheophones possess three sound sources, two oscine-like labial pairs and the unique tracheal membranes, which collectively represent the largest described number of sound sources for a vocal organ. Birds with experimentally disabled tracheal membranes were still able to phonate. Instead of the main sound source, the tracheal membranes constitute a morphological specialization, which, through interaction with bronchial labia, contributes to different acoustic features such as spectral complexity, amplitude modulation, and enhanced sound amplitude. In contrast, these same features arise in oscines from neuromuscular control of two labial sources [15-17]. These findings are supported by a modeling approach and provide a clear example for how a morphological adaptation of the tracheophone vocal organ can generate specific, complex sound features. Morphological specialization therefore constitutes an alternative path in the evolution of acoustic diversity to that of oscine vocal learning and complex neural control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M Garcia
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
| | - Cecilia Kopuchian
- CECOAL (Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral) CONICET, Corrientes, Argentina; División Ornitología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" MACN-CONICET, Avenida Ángel Gallardo 470, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gabriel B Mindlin
- Depto. Física, FCEyN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C. Universitaria, Pab I, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Matthew J Fuxjager
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Pablo L Tubaro
- División Ornitología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" MACN-CONICET, Avenida Ángel Gallardo 470, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Franz Goller
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
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27
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Freeman BG, Montgomery GA, Schluter D. Evolution and plasticity: Divergence of song discrimination is faster in birds with innate song than in song learners in Neotropical passerine birds. Evolution 2017; 71:2230-2242. [PMID: 28722748 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2017] [Revised: 05/15/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Plasticity is often thought to accelerate trait evolution and speciation. For example, plasticity in birdsong may partially explain why clades of song learners are more diverse than related clades with innate song. This "song learning" hypothesis predicts that (1) differences in song traits evolve faster in song learners, and (2) behavioral discrimination against allopatric song (a proxy for premating reproductive isolation) evolves faster in song learners. We tested these predictions by analyzing acoustic traits and conducting playback experiments in allopatric Central American sister pairs of song learning oscines (N = 42) and nonlearning suboscines (N = 27). We found that nonlearners evolved mean acoustic differences slightly faster than did leaners, and that the mean evolutionary rate of song discrimination was 4.3 times faster in nonlearners than in learners. These unexpected results may be a consequence of significantly greater variability in song traits in song learners (by 54-79%) that requires song-learning oscines to evolve greater absolute differences in song before achieving the same level of behavioral song discrimination as nonlearning suboscines. This points to "a downside of learning" for the evolution of species discrimination, and represents an important example of plasticity reducing the rate of evolution and diversification by increasing variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin G Freeman
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada.,Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | | | - Dolph Schluter
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada.,Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada
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28
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Mason NA, Burns KJ, Tobias JA, Claramunt S, Seddon N, Derryberry EP. Song evolution, speciation, and vocal learning in passerine birds. Evolution 2017; 71:786-796. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.13159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 12/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas A. Mason
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca New York 14853
- Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology Ithaca New York 14850
| | - Kevin J. Burns
- Department of Biology San Diego State University San Diego California 92182
| | - Joseph A. Tobias
- Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Silwood Park Ascot SL5 7PY United Kingdom
| | - Santiago Claramunt
- Department of Ornithology American Museum of Natural History New York New York 10024
| | - Nathalie Seddon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford OX1 3PS United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth P. Derryberry
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Tulane University New Orleans Louisiana 70118
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29
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de Lima JLR, Soares FA, Remedios ACS, Thom G, Wirthlin M, Aleixo A, Schneider MPC, Mello CV, Schneider PN. A putative RA-like region in the brain of the scale-backed antbird, Willisornis poecilinotus (Furnariides, Suboscines, Passeriformes, Thamnophilidae). Genet Mol Biol 2015; 38:249-54. [PMID: 26500428 PMCID: PMC4612605 DOI: 10.1590/s1415-475738320150010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 04/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The memorization and production of song in songbirds share important parallels with the process of speech acquisition in humans. In songbirds, these processes are dependent on a group of specialized telencephalic nuclei known as the song system: HVC (used as a proper name), RA (robust nucleus of arcopallium), LMAN (lateral magnocellular nucleus of the nidopallium) and striatal Area X. A recent study suggested that the arcopallium of the Sayornis phoebe, a non vocal learner suboscine species, contains a nucleus with some properties similar to those of songbird RA, suggesting that the song system may have been present in the last common ancestor of these groups. Here we report morphological and gene expression evidence that a region with some properties similar to RA is present in another suboscine, the Amazonian endemic Willisornis poecilinotus. Specifically, a discrete domain with a distinct Nissl staining pattern and that expresses the RA marker RGS4 was found in the arcopallium where the oscine RA is localized. Our findings, combined with the previous report on the S. phoebe, suggest that an arcopallial region with some RA-like properties was present in the ancestor of both Suboscines infraorders Tyranni and Furnarii, and is possibly an ancestral feature of Passeriformes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamily L R de Lima
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
| | - Fabricio A Soares
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
| | - Ana C S Remedios
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
| | | | - Morgan Wirthlin
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | | | | | - Claudio V Mello
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Patricia N Schneider
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
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30
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Chakraborty M, Walløe S, Nedergaard S, Fridel EE, Dabelsteen T, Pakkenberg B, Bertelsen MF, Dorrestein GM, Brauth SE, Durand SE, Jarvis ED. Core and Shell Song Systems Unique to the Parrot Brain. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0118496. [PMID: 26107173 PMCID: PMC4479475 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2014] [Accepted: 01/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to imitate complex sounds is rare, and among birds has been found only in parrots, songbirds, and hummingbirds. Parrots exhibit the most advanced vocal mimicry among non-human animals. A few studies have noted differences in connectivity, brain position and shape in the vocal learning systems of parrots relative to songbirds and hummingbirds. However, only one parrot species, the budgerigar, has been examined and no differences in the presence of song system structures were found with other avian vocal learners. Motivated by questions of whether there are important differences in the vocal systems of parrots relative to other vocal learners, we used specialized constitutive gene expression, singing-driven gene expression, and neural connectivity tracing experiments to further characterize the song system of budgerigars and/or other parrots. We found that the parrot brain uniquely contains a song system within a song system. The parrot "core" song system is similar to the song systems of songbirds and hummingbirds, whereas the "shell" song system is unique to parrots. The core with only rudimentary shell regions were found in the New Zealand kea, representing one of the only living species at a basal divergence with all other parrots, implying that parrots evolved vocal learning systems at least 29 million years ago. Relative size differences in the core and shell regions occur among species, which we suggest could be related to species differences in vocal and cognitive abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukta Chakraborty
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Solveig Walløe
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Research Laboratory for Stereology and Neuroscience, Bispebjerg University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Signe Nedergaard
- Danish National Police, National Centre of Forensic Services, Vanloese, Denmark
| | - Emma E. Fridel
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Torben Dabelsteen
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Bente Pakkenberg
- Research Laboratory for Stereology and Neuroscience, Bispebjerg University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Gerry M. Dorrestein
- Dutch Research Institute of Avian and Exotic Animals, Veldhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Steven E. Brauth
- University of Maryland, College Park, MA, United States of America
| | - Sarah E. Durand
- LaGuardia Community College, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Erich D. Jarvis
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
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Mason NA, Burns KJ. The effect of habitat and body size on the evolution of vocal displays in Thraupidae (tanagers), the largest family of songbirds. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas A. Mason
- Department of Biology; San Diego State University; 5500 Campanile Dr. San Diego CA 92182 USA
| | - Kevin J. Burns
- Department of Biology; San Diego State University; 5500 Campanile Dr. San Diego CA 92182 USA
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