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Syntactic rules predict song type matching in a songbird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03286-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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2
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Peters S, Soha J, Searcy WA, Nowicki S. Are song sequencing rules learned by song sparrows? Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.07.015] [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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3
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Liu WC, Landstrom M, Schutt G, Inserra M, Fernandez F. A memory-driven auditory program ensures selective and precise vocal imitation in zebra finches. Commun Biol 2021; 4:1065. [PMID: 34518637 PMCID: PMC8437935 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02601-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In the vocal learning model, the juvenile first memorizes a model sound, and the imprinted memory gradually converts into vocal-motor output during the sensorimotor integration. However, early acquired memory may not precisely represent the fine structures of a model sound. How do juveniles ensure precise model imitation? Here we show that juvenile songbirds develop an auditory learning program by actively and attentively engaging with tutor’s singing during the sensorimotor phase. The listening/approaching behavior requires previously acquired model memory and the individual variability of approaching behavior correlates with the precision of tutor song imitation. Moreover, it is modulated by dopamine and associated with forebrain regions for sensory processing. Overall, precise vocal learning may involve two steps of auditory processing: a passive imprinting of model memory occurs during the early sensory period; the previously acquired memory then guides an active and selective engagement of the re-exposed model to fine tune model imitation. Wan-Chun Liu et al. demonstrate that the sensory phase of vocal learning in zebra finches is split across two stages: (1) passive listening and formation of a memory, and (2) active listening and behavioral engagement of juveniles with adult tutors. Furthermore, they show that approach behavior is correlated with song imitation quality, and immediate early gene expression in the caudal medial nidopallium linked to auditory behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wan-Chun Liu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA.
| | - Michelle Landstrom
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA
| | - Gillian Schutt
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA
| | - Mia Inserra
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA
| | - Francesca Fernandez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA
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Papale EB, Azzolin MA, Cascão I, Gannier A, Lammers MO, Martin VM, Oswald JN, Perez-Gil M, Prieto R, Silva MA, Torri M, Giacoma C. Dolphin whistles can be useful tools in identifying units of conservation. BMC ZOOL 2021; 6:22. [PMID: 37170140 PMCID: PMC10127015 DOI: 10.1186/s40850-021-00085-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Prioritizing groupings of organisms or ‘units’ below the species level is a critical issue for conservation purposes. Several techniques encompassing different time-frames, from genetics to ecological markers, have been considered to evaluate existing biological diversity at a sufficient temporal resolution to define conservation units. Given that acoustic signals are expressions of phenotypic diversity, their analysis may provide crucial information on current differentiation patterns within species. Here, we tested whether differences previously delineated within dolphin species based on i) geographic isolation, ii) genetics regardless isolation, and iii) habitat, regardless isolation and genetics, can be detected through acoustic monitoring. Recordings collected from 104 acoustic encounters of Stenella coeruleoalba, Delphinus delphis and Tursiops truncatus in the Azores, Canary Islands, the Alboran Sea and the Western Mediterranean basin between 1996 and 2012 were analyzed. The acoustic structure of communication signals was evaluated by analyzing parameters of whistles in relation to the known genetic and habitat-driven population structure.
Results
Recordings from the Atlantic and Mediterranean were accurately assigned to their respective basins of origin through Discriminant Function Analysis, with a minimum 83.8% and a maximum 93.8% classification rate. A parallel pattern between divergence in acoustic features and in the genetic and ecological traits within the basins was highlighted through Random Forest analysis. Although it is not yet possible to establish a causal link between each driver and acoustic differences between basins, we showed that signal variation reflects fine-scale diversity and may be used as a proxy for recognizing discrete units.
Conclusion
We recommend that acoustic analysis be included in assessments of delphinid population structure, together with genetics and ecological tracer analysis. This cost-efficient non-invasive method can be applied to uncover distinctiveness and local adaptation in other wide-ranging marine species.
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Keerthipriya P, Nandini S, Vidya TNC. Effects of Male Age and Female Presence on Male Associations in a Large, Polygynous Mammal in Southern India: The Asian Elephant. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.616666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a detailed study of male associations in the Asian elephant, using 6 years of data on identified, non-musth males. Adult males spent greater proportions of their time solitarily than in mixed-sex or in all-male groups. Old (over 30 years) males were sighted more frequently with their age-peers and less frequently with young (15–30 years) males than expected at random in all-male groups. Young males were not sighted more frequently with old males than with young males, and did not disproportionately initiate associations with old males. These results suggest that male associations, in the absence of females, may allow for old non-musth males to test strengths against age-peers. Social learning from older individuals did not seem to be important in male associations, unlike that observed in the African savannah elephant. We also found a constraint on the sizes of all-male groups, similar to that seen in female groups in our study population, and all-male groups were rarer and smaller than those in African savannah elephant. Although male associations were weak, most males had a significant top associate, with whom their association was the strongest, in female absence. In mixed-sex groups, male associations occurred at random, suggesting that males were tracking female groups independently. Differences in male social organization from that of the related African savannah elephant that occupies a similar niche possibly arise from differences in ecology.
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Thomas IP, Doucet SM, Norris DR, Newman AE, Williams H, Mennill DJ. Vocal learning in Savannah sparrows: acoustic similarity to neighbours shapes song development and territorial aggression. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Paul N, Thompson MJ, Foote JR. Characterising the flight song: repeatable individual variation of Ovenbird song features. BIOACOUSTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2020.1718552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Paul
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada
| | - Megan J. Thompson
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada
| | - Jennifer R. Foote
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada
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Abstract
Laboratory studies have revealed that social factors are key in bird-song learning. Nevertheless, little is known about how or why birds choose the songs they do learn from the many they will hear under natural conditions. We focus on various theories concerning social song learning that have been offered to date, with special attention paid to two axes of social factors. First, does song learning occur via direct interaction of the young bird with song tutors, or via social eavesdropping by the young bird on interacting singers (social modeling of song)? Social modeling, a hypothesis first proposed by Pepperberg (Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 55(2), 139-160, 1981), and direct interaction are not mutually exclusive hypotheses, and the evidence we review suggests both play a role in song learning. Second, does song learning occur via interactions with rivals (territorial competitors) or with friends (mutually tolerant or even cooperative territorial neighbors). These are largely mutually exclusive hypotheses, and can really only be tested in the field. There is little evidence on this contrast to date. We review our recent study on song sparrows, which indicates that both the young bird and his primary tutor may benefit from song learning/tutoring. If this mutual benefit result is confirmed by further studies, we believe that song "tutoring" in these cases may be more than a term of convenience: that it may qualify as true teaching.
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11
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Akçay Ç, Campbell SE, Darling S, Beecher MD. Territory establishment, song learning strategies and survival in song sparrows. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Çağlar Akçay
- Department of Psychology Koç University Istanbul Turkey
- Department of Biological Sciences Virginia Tech Blacksburg VA USA
| | | | - Saethra Darling
- Department of Psychology University of Washington Seattle WA USA
| | - Michael D. Beecher
- Department of Psychology University of Washington Seattle WA USA
- Department of Biology University of Washington Seattle WA USA
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12
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Akçay Ç, Beecher MD. Song sparrows do not discriminate between their own song and stranger song. Behav Processes 2020; 178:104184. [PMID: 32561233 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2020] [Revised: 06/14/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Bird song is socially learned. During song learning, the bird's hearing its own vocalization is important for normal development of song. Whether bird's own song is represented and recognized as a special category in adult birds, however, is unclear. If birds respond differently to their own songs when these are played back to them, this would be evidence for auditory self-recognition. To test this possibility, we presented song sparrow males (Melospiza melodia) playbacks of their own songs or stranger songs and measured aggressive responses as well as type matching. We found no evidence of behavioral discrimination of bird's own song relative to the (non-matching) stranger song. These findings cast doubt on an earlier proposal that song sparrows display auditory self-recognition and support the common assumption in playback experiments that bird's own song is perceived as stranger song.
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Affiliation(s)
- Çağlar Akçay
- Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey; Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
| | - Michael D Beecher
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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Tramacere A, Wada K, Okanoya K, Iriki A, Ferrari PF. Auditory-Motor Matching in Vocal Recognition and Imitative Learning. Neuroscience 2019; 409:222-234. [PMID: 30742962 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.01.056] [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: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Songbirds possess mirror neurons (MNs) activating during the perception and execution of specific features of songs. These neurons are located in high vocal center (HVC), a premotor nucleus implicated in song perception, production and learning, making worth to inquire their properties and functions in vocal recognition and imitative learning. By integrating a body of brain and behavioral data, we discuss neurophysiology, anatomical, computational properties and possible functions of songbird MNs. We state that the neurophysiological properties of songbird MNs depends on sensorimotor regions that are outside the auditory neural system. Interestingly, songbirds MNs can be the result of the specific type of song representation possessed by some songbird species. At the functional level, we discuss whether songbird MNs are involved in others' song recognition, by dissecting the function of recognition in various different but possible overlapping processes: action-oriented perception, discriminative-oriented perception and identification of the signaler. We conclude that songbird MNs may be involved in recognizing other singer's vocalizations, while their role in imitative learning still require to solve how auditory feedback are used to correct own vocal performance to match the tutor song. Finally, we compare songbird and human mirror responses, hypothesizing a case of convergent evolution, and proposing new experimental directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Tramacere
- Max Planck for the Science of Human History, DLCE Department, Jena, Kahlaische Str 10, 07745, Germany.
| | - Kazuhiro Wada
- Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Hokkaido University, Kita-10 Nishi-8 Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 153-8902 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Atsushi Iriki
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 351-0106 Saitama Prefecture, Wako, Hirosawa, Japan
| | - Pier F Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, via Volturno, 43125, Italy; Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jannerod, CNRS/Universite' Claude Bernard Lyon, 67 Pd Pinel 69675, Bron Cedex, France
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15
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Yeh DJ. Assortative Mating by an Obliquely Transmitted Local Cultural Trait Promotes Genetic Divergence: A Model. Am Nat 2018; 193:81-92. [PMID: 30624103 DOI: 10.1086/700958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The effect of learned culture (e.g., birdsong dialects and human languages) on genetic divergence is unclear. Previous theoretical research suggests that because oblique learning allows phenotype transmission from individuals with no offspring to an unrelated individual in the next generation, the effect of sexual selection on the learned trait is masked. However, I propose that migration and spatially constrained learning can form statistical associations between cultural and genetic traits, which may allow selection on the cultural traits to indirectly affect the genetic traits. Here, I build a population genetic model that allows such statistical associations to form and find that sexual selection and divergent selection on the cultural trait can indeed help maintain genetic divergence through such statistical associations, while selection against genetic hybrids does not affect cultural trait divergence. Furthermore, I find that even when the cultural trait changes over time due to drift and mutation, it can still help maintain genetic divergence. These results suggest the role of obliquely transmitted traits in evolution may be underrated, and the lack of one-to-one associations between cultural and genetic traits may not be sufficient to disprove the role of culture in genetic divergence.
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Podos J. A PERFORMANCE CONSTRAINT ON THE EVOLUTION OF TRILLED VOCALIZATIONS IN A SONGBIRD FAMILY (PASSERIFORMES: EMBERIZIDAE). Evolution 2017; 51:537-551. [PMID: 28565357 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1997.tb02441.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 243] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/1996] [Accepted: 12/04/1996] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Podos
- Department of Zoology; Duke University; Durham North Carolina 27708-0325
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Nelson DA, Nickley BM, Poesel A, Gibbs HL, Olesik JW. Inter-dialect dispersal is common in the Puget Sound white-crowned sparrow. BEHAVIOUR 2017. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Dispersal in birds can have an important influence on the genetic structure of populations by affecting gene flow. In birds that learn their songs, dispersal can affect the ability of male birds to share songs in song dialects and may influence mate attraction. We used Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) trace element analysis on the body feathers of birds to assess dispersal among four song dialects. We found that (1) most males had a feather element profile typical of only one dialect location; (2) males singing non-local (‘foreign’) dialects in a focal population often learned their foreign songs outside the dialect; and (3) females often dispersed among dialects. We estimated 5% dispersal per year by yearling males between the site of moulting and breeding. Our estimate is consistent with genetic estimates of widespread gene flow between dialects in this subspecies of the white-crowned sparrow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas A. Nelson
- aBorror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Ben M. Nickley
- aBorror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Angelika Poesel
- aBorror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - H. Lisle Gibbs
- aBorror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - John W. Olesik
- bSchool of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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Anderson RC, Searcy WA, Peters S, Hughes M, DuBois AL, Nowicki S. Song learning and cognitive ability are not consistently related in a songbird. Anim Cogn 2016; 20:309-320. [PMID: 27844219 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-016-1053-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2016] [Revised: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 11/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Learned aspects of song have been hypothesized to signal cognitive ability in songbirds. We tested this hypothesis in hand-reared song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) that were tutored with playback of adult songs during the critical period for song learning. The songs developed by the 19 male subjects were compared to the model songs to produce two measures of song learning: the proportion of notes copied from models and the average spectrogram cross-correlation between copied notes and model notes. Song repertoire size, which reflects song complexity, was also measured. At 1 year of age, subjects were given a battery of five cognitive tests that measured speed of learning in the context of a novel foraging task, color association, color reversal, detour-reaching, and spatial learning. Bivariate correlations between the three song measures and the five cognitive measures revealed no significant associations. As in other studies of avian cognition, different cognitive measures were for the most part not correlated with each other, and this result remained true when 22 hand-reared female song sparrows were added to the analysis. General linear mixed models controlling for effects of neophobia and nest of origin indicated that all three song measures were associated with better performance on color reversal and spatial learning but were associated with worse performance on novel foraging and detour-reaching. Overall, the results do not support the hypothesis that learned aspects of song signal cognitive ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rindy C Anderson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA
| | - William A Searcy
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA.
| | - Susan Peters
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Melissa Hughes
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA
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Cardoso GC, Atwell JW. Shared songs are of lower performance in the dark-eyed junco. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160341. [PMID: 27493786 PMCID: PMC4968478 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Accepted: 06/29/2016] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Social learning enables the adjustment of behaviour to complex social and ecological tasks, and underlies cultural traditions. Understanding when animals use social learning versus other forms of behavioural development can help explain the dynamics of animal culture. The dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) is a songbird with weak cultural song traditions because, in addition to learning songs socially, male juncos also invent or improvise novel songs. We compared songs shared by multiple males (i.e. socially learned) with songs recorded from only one male in the population (many of which should be novel) to gain insight into the advantages of social learning versus invention or improvisation. Song types shared by multiple males were on average of lower performance, on aspects of vocal performance that have been implicated in agonistic communication in several species. This was not explained by cultural selection among socially learned songs (e.g. selective learning) because, for shared song types, song performance did not predict how many males shared them. We discuss why social learning does not maximize song performance in juncos, and suggest that some songbirds may add novel songs to culturally inherited repertoires as a means to acquire higher-quality signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonçalo C. Cardoso
- CIBIO—Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Jonathan W. Atwell
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, 1001 E. 3rd Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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Beecher MD, Burt JM. The Role of Social Interaction in Bird Song Learning. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00313.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Bird song learning has become a powerful model system for studying learning because of its parallels with human speech learning, recent advances in understanding of its neurobiological basis, and the strong tradition of studying song learning in both the laboratory and the field. Most of the findings and concepts in the field derive from the tape-tutor experimental paradigm, in which the young bird is tutored by tape-recorded song delivered by a loudspeaker in an isolation chamber. This paradigm provides rigorous experimental control of auditory parameters, but strips song learning of any social context, and has slowed the realization that social factors might be critical to the process. In recent years, field research and lab studies using live birds as tutors have revealed that social factors play a preeminent role in song learning. In this article, we propose a new experimental paradigm—the virtual-tutor design, which permits precise manipulation of singing interactions between simulated tutors that the young bird “overhears,” as well as direct singing interactions between the young bird and the simulated tutors. We suggest that this approach may permit researchers to analyze social factors in bird song learning, particularly those relating to auditory interactions, that have been difficult to analyze heretofore.
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Evans C, Kleindorfer S. Superb Fairy-Wren (Malurus cyaneus) Sons and Daughters Acquire Song Elements of Mothers and Social Fathers. Front Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2016.00009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Akçay Ç, Campbell SE, Beecher MD. The fitness consequences of honesty: Under-signalers have a survival advantage in song sparrows. Evolution 2015; 69:3186-93. [PMID: 26573880 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2015] [Revised: 10/24/2015] [Accepted: 10/31/2015] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
How honest or reliable signaling can evolve and be maintained has been a major question in evolutionary biology. The question is especially puzzling for a particular class of signals used in aggressive interactions: threat signals. Here, we report a study on song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) in which we assayed males with playbacks on their territories to quantify their aggressiveness (flights and close proximity) and aggressive signaling levels (rates of soft song, a close-range signal reliably predicting attack) and asked whether these traits affect individuals' survival on territory. We found that the effect of aggressive signaling via soft song interacted with aggressive behaviors such that there was a negative correlational selection: among males with low aggression, those males that signaled at higher levels (over-signalers) had higher survival whereas among males with high aggression those that signaled at low levels (under-signalers) survived longer. In other words, males that deviate from reliable signaling have a survival advantage. These results, along with previous research that suggested most of the deviation from reliable signaling in this system is in the form of under-signaling (high-aggression males signaling at low levels) pose a puzzle for future research on how this reliable signaling system is maintained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Çağlar Akçay
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195. .,Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061.
| | | | - Michael D Beecher
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195.,Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195
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The evolution of vocal learning. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2014; 28:48-53. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2014.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2014] [Revised: 06/14/2014] [Accepted: 06/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Nelson DA, Poesel A. Tutor choice and imitation accuracy during song learning in a wild population of the Puget Sound white-crowned sparrow. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1782-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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Akçay Ç, Campbell SE, Reed VA, Beecher MD. Song sparrows do not learn more songs from aggressive tutors. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Dalziell AH, Welbergen JA, Igic B, Magrath RD. Avian vocal mimicry: a unified conceptual framework. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 90:643-68. [PMID: 25079896 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2013] [Revised: 06/10/2014] [Accepted: 06/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Mimicry is a classical example of adaptive signal design. Here, we review the current state of research into vocal mimicry in birds. Avian vocal mimicry is a conspicuous and often spectacular form of animal communication, occurring in many distantly related species. However, the proximate and ultimate causes of vocal mimicry are poorly understood. In the first part of this review, we argue that progress has been impeded by conceptual confusion over what constitutes vocal mimicry. We propose a modified version of Vane-Wright's (1980) widely used definition of mimicry. According to our definition, a vocalisation is mimetic if the behaviour of the receiver changes after perceiving the acoustic resemblance between the mimic and the model, and the behavioural change confers a selective advantage on the mimic. Mimicry is therefore specifically a functional concept where the resemblance between heterospecific sounds is a target of selection. It is distinct from other forms of vocal resemblance including those that are the result of chance or common ancestry, and those that have emerged as a by-product of other processes such as ecological convergence and selection for large song-type repertoires. Thus, our definition provides a general and functionally coherent framework for determining what constitutes vocal mimicry, and takes account of the diversity of vocalisations that incorporate heterospecific sounds. In the second part we assess and revise hypotheses for the evolution of avian vocal mimicry in the light of our new definition. Most of the current evidence is anecdotal, but the diverse contexts and acoustic structures of putative vocal mimicry suggest that mimicry has multiple functions across and within species. There is strong experimental evidence that vocal mimicry can be deceptive, and can facilitate parasitic interactions. There is also increasing support for the use of vocal mimicry in predator defence, although the mechanisms are unclear. Less progress has been made in explaining why many birds incorporate heterospecific sounds into their sexual displays, and in determining whether these vocalisations are functionally mimetic or by-products of sexual selection for other traits such as repertoire size. Overall, this discussion reveals a more central role for vocal mimicry in the behavioural ecology of birds than has previously been appreciated. The final part of this review identifies important areas for future research. Detailed empirical data are needed on individual species, including on the structure of mimetic signals, the contexts in which mimicry is produced, how mimicry is acquired, and the ecological relationships between mimic, model and receiver. At present, there is little information and no consensus about the various costs of vocal mimicry for the protagonists in the mimicry complex. The diversity and complexity of vocal mimicry in birds raises important questions for the study of animal communication and challenges our view of the nature of mimicry itself. Therefore, a better understanding of avian vocal mimicry is essential if we are to account fully for the diversity of animal signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia H Dalziell
- Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia
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Searcy WA, Akçay C, Nowicki S, Beecher MD. Aggressive Signaling in Song Sparrows and Other Songbirds. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-800286-5.00003-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Lachlan RF, Nowicki S. How Reliable Is Song Learning Accuracy as a Signal of Male Early Condition? Am Nat 2012; 180:751-61. [DOI: 10.1086/668010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Maddison CJ, Anderson RC, Prior NH, Taves MD, Soma KK. Soft song during aggressive interactions: seasonal changes and endocrine correlates in song sparrows. Horm Behav 2012; 62:455-63. [PMID: 22902893 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2012] [Revised: 07/26/2012] [Accepted: 08/01/2012] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
It is well known that songbirds produce high amplitude songs ("broadcast songs"). Songbirds also produce low amplitude songs ("soft songs") during courtship or territorial aggression in the breeding season. Soft songs are important social signals but have been studied far less than broadcast songs. To date, no studies have examined seasonal changes in soft song or its endocrine regulation. Here, in male song sparrows, we examined soft songs during a simulated territorial intrusion in the breeding season and non-breeding season. We also measured plasma testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels in subjects immediately after the aggressive encounter. The total number of songs produced (broadcast+soft songs) did not vary between seasons. However, there was a dramatic increase in the percentage of soft song in the non-breeding season. Further, the percentage of soft song was negatively correlated with plasma testosterone levels in the non-breeding season. There were seasonal differences in the acoustic structure of two major elements of soft song, trills and buzzes. The minimum frequency of trills was lower in the non-breeding season, and the element repetition rate of buzzes was lower in the non-breeding season. To our knowledge, this is the first study to (1) examine soft songs outside of the breeding season and (2) to identify endocrine correlates of soft songs, which are important social signals in songbirds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris J Maddison
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC, Canada
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Greig EI, Taft BN, Pruett-Jones S. Sons learn songs from their social fathers in a cooperatively breeding bird. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:3154-60. [PMID: 22593105 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Song learning is hypothesized to allow social adaptation to a local song neighbourhood. Maintaining social associations is particularly important in cooperative breeders, yet vocal learning in such species has only been assessed in systems where social association was correlated with relatedness. Thus, benefits of vocal learning as a means of maintaining social associations could not be disentangled from benefits of kin recognition. We assessed genetic and cultural contributions to song in a species where social association was not strongly correlated with kinship: the cooperatively breeding, reproductively promiscuous splendid fairy-wren (Malurus splendens). We found that song characters of socially associated father-son pairs were more strongly correlated (and thus songs were more similar) than songs of father-son pairs with a genetic, but no social, association (i.e. cuckolding fathers). Song transmission was, therefore, vertical and cultural, with minimal signatures of kinship. Additionally, song characters were not correlated with several phenotypic indicators of male quality, supporting the idea that there may be a tradeoff between accurate copying of tutors and quality signalling via maximizing song performance, particularly when social and genetic relationships are decoupled. Our results lend support to the hypothesis that song learning facilitates the maintenance of social associations by permitting unrelated individuals to acquire similar signal phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma I Greig
- Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, and Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
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Poesel A, Nelson DA, Gibbs HL. Song sharing correlates with social but not extrapair mating success in the white-crowned sparrow. Behav Ecol 2012. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ars007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
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Templeton CN, Reed VA, Campbell SE, Beecher MD. Spatial movements and social networks in juvenile male song sparrows. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011; 23:141-152. [PMID: 22479140 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2011] [Revised: 07/18/2011] [Accepted: 07/27/2011] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The time between fledging and breeding is a critical period in songbird ontogeny, but the behavior of young songbirds in the wild is relatively unstudied. The types of social relationships juveniles form with other individuals can provide insight into the process through which they learn complex behaviors crucial for survival, territory establishment, and mate attraction. We used radio telemetry to observe social associations of young male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) from May to November. Juvenile song sparrows were frequently observed in social flocks and generally associated with more birds in the summer than in the autumn months. Most juvenile subjects formed stable social relationships with other birds and were seen with the same individual on up to 60% of the days observed. The strongest associations occurred with other juvenile males, and these individuals were often seen <1 m from the subject, even when the subject moved large distances between tracking observations. Associations also had long-term behavioral consequences as subjects were more likely to establish territories near their associates and learn shared song types. Our results indicate that male song sparrows spend a large percentage of the juvenile life stage forming social relationships and suggest that these associations may be important for the ecology of young birds and the ontogeny of their behaviors.
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Hughes M, Hyman J. Should I Stay or Should I Go Now: Late Establishment and Low Site Fidelity as Alternative Territorial Behaviors. Ethology 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2011.01950.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Boogert NJ, Anderson RC, Peters S, Searcy WA, Nowicki S. Song repertoire size in male song sparrows correlates with detour reaching, but not with other cognitive measures. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Hill CE, Akçay Ç, Campbell SE, Beecher MD. Extrapair paternity, song, and genetic quality in song sparrows. Behav Ecol 2010. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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A bird brain's view of auditory processing and perception. Hear Res 2010; 273:123-33. [PMID: 20851756 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2010.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2010] [Revised: 08/12/2010] [Accepted: 08/14/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
By studying the primary forebrain auditory area of songbirds, field L, using a song-inspired synthetic stimulus and reverse correlation techniques, we found a surprisingly systematic organization of this area, with nearly all neurons narrowly tuned along the spectral dimension, the temporal dimension, or both; there were virtually no strongly orientation-sensitive cells, and in the areas that we recorded, cells broadly tuned in both time and frequency were rare. In addition, cells responsive to fast temporal frequencies predominated only in the field L input layer, suggesting that neurons with fast and slow responses are concentrated in different regions. Together with other songbird data and work from chicks and mammals, these findings suggest that sampling a range of temporal and spectral modulations, rather than orientation in time-frequency space, is the organizing principle of forebrain auditory sensitivity. We then examined the role of these acoustic parameters important to field L organization in a behavioral task. Birds' categorization of songs fell off rapidly when songs were altered in frequency, but, despite the temporal sensitivity of field L neurons, the same birds generalized well to songs that were significantly changed in timing. These behavioral data point out that we cannot assume that animals use the information present in particular neurons without specifically testing perception.
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Sprau P, Mundry R. Song type sharing in common nightingales, Luscinia megarhynchos, and its implications for cultural evolution. Anim Behav 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Horning CL, Beecher MD, Stoddard PK, Campbell SE. Song Perception in the Song Sparrow: Importance of Different Parts of the Song in Song Type Classification. Ethology 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1993.tb00546.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Templeton CN, Akçay C, Campbell SE, Beecher MD. Juvenile sparrows preferentially eavesdrop on adult song interactions. Proc Biol Sci 2010; 277:447-53. [PMID: 19846461 PMCID: PMC2842648 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2009] [Accepted: 09/28/2009] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent research has demonstrated that bird song learning is influenced by social factors, but so far has been unable to isolate the particular social variables central to the learning process. Here we test the hypothesis that eavesdropping on singing interactions of adults is a key social event in song learning by birds. In a field experiment, we compared the response of juvenile male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to simulated adult counter-singing versus simulated solo singing. We used radio telemetry to follow the movements of each focal bird and assess his response to each playback trial. Juveniles approached the playback speakers when exposed to simulated interactive singing of two song sparrows, but not when exposed to simulated solo singing of a single song sparrow, which in fact they treated similar to heterospecific singing. Although the young birds approached simulated counter-singing, neither did they approach closely, nor did they vocalize themselves, suggesting that the primary function of approach was to permit eavesdropping on these singing interactions. These results indicate that during the prime song-learning phase, juvenile song sparrows are attracted to singing interactions between adults but not to singing by a single bird and suggest that singing interactions may be particularly powerful song-tutoring events.
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Belzner S, Voigt C, Catchpole CK, Leitner S. Song learning in domesticated canaries in a restricted acoustic environment. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 276:2881-6. [PMID: 19474048 PMCID: PMC2817203 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2009] [Accepted: 05/01/2009] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Many songbirds learn their songs early in life from a song model. In the absence of such a model, they develop an improvised song that often lacks the species-typical song structure. Open-ended learners, such as the domesticated canary, are able to modify their songs in adulthood, although the mechanisms that guide and time the song-learning process are still not fully understood. In a previous study, we showed that male domesticated canaries lacking an adult song model in their first year substantially change their song repertoire and composition when exposed to normally reared conspecifics in their second year. Here, we investigate song development in descendants of canaries that were raised and kept as a peer group without a song model. Such males represent tutors with abnormal song characteristics. Interestingly, the F(1) generation developed quite normal song structure, and when brought into an environment with normally raised canaries in their second year, they did not modify their songs substantially. These results suggest that contact with an adult song model early in life is crucial for song crystallization, but also that song development is at least partly guided by innate rules. They also question the existing classification of canaries as open-ended learners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Belzner
- Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, D-82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Cornelia Voigt
- Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, D-82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Clive K Catchpole
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 OEX, UK
| | - Stefan Leitner
- Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, D-82319 Seewiesen, Germany
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 OEX, UK
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Chapter 5 Vocal Performance and Sensorimotor Learning in Songbirds. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/s0065-3454(09)40005-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
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den Hartog PM, Slabbekoorn H, Ten Cate C. Male territorial vocalizations and responses are decoupled in an avian hybrid zone. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2008; 363:2879-89. [PMID: 18508751 PMCID: PMC2606739 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A core area of speciation research concerns the coevolution of species-specific signals and the selective sensitivity to such signals. Signals and responses to them should be tuned to each other, to be effective in intraspecific communication. Hybrid zones are ideal to study the presence of such 'behavioural coupling' and the mechanisms governing it, and this has rarely been done. Our study examines acoustic signals of males and their response to them in the context of territorial interactions in a natural hybrid zone between two dove species, Streptopelia vinacea and Streptopelia capicola. Male signals are important in hybrid zone dynamics as they are essential for territory establishment, which is crucial for successful reproduction. We tested whether the response of individual male hybrids is linked to how similar their own signal is to the playback signal. We did not find evidence for behavioural coupling. The combined evidence from the low level of response to hybrid and heterospecific signals outside the hybrid zone and a lack of coupling within the hybrid zone suggests that perceptual learning may explain our results. Learning to respond to locally abundant signals may be the best individual strategy and is likely to contribute to the maintenance of a hybrid zone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula M den Hartog
- Behavioural Biology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Strand C, Ross M, Weiss S, Deviche P. Testosterone and social context affect singing behavior but not song control region volumes in adult male songbirds in the fall. Behav Processes 2008; 78:29-37. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2007.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2007] [Revised: 11/19/2007] [Accepted: 12/03/2007] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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