Dance Choreography Is Coordinated with Song Repertoire in a Complex Avian Display

Dalziell, Anastasia H.; Peters, Richard; Cockburn, Andrew; Dorland, Alexandra D.; Maisey, Alex C.; Magrath, Robert D.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2013.05.018

Cited by 68 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Lyrebird-specific vocalizations have not been described in females; therefore, to identify lyrebird-specific alarm calls and whistle songs we referred to our recordings of male lyrebird vocalizations from earlier studies (Dalziell, 2012;Dalziell and Magrath, 2012;Dalziell et al, 2013), published sonograms of males (Powys, 1995;Robinson and Curtis, 1996;Higgins et al, 2001), and a single sonogram of a female vocalization (Higgins et al, 2001). Detailed written descriptions also informed our identification of lyrebird-specific alarm calls (reviewed in Higgins et al, 2001).…”

Section: Lyrebird-specific Vocalizations (Alarm Calls and Song)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adult males (>6 years) possess a spectacular tail (Smith, 1999(Smith, , 2004) that they exhibit during sophisticated coordinated song and dance performances to females (Dalziell et al, 2013). Song and dance displays are performed on display arenas known as 'mounds' a circular patch of cleared ground on the forest floor (Higgins et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elaborate Mimetic Vocal Displays by Female Superb Lyrebirds

Dalziell

Welbergen

2016

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Some of the most striking vocalizations in birds are made by males that incorporate vocal mimicry in their sexual displays. Mimetic vocalization in females is largely undescribed, but it is unclear whether this is because of a lack of selection for vocal mimicry in females, or whether the phenomenon has simply been overlooked. These issues are thrown into sharp relief in the superb lyrebird, Menura novaehollandiae, a basal oscine passerine with a lek-like mating system and female uniparental care. The spectacular mimetic song display produced by courting male lyrebirds is a textbook example of a sexually selected trait, but the vocalizations of female lyrebirds are largely unknown. Here, we provide the first analysis of the structure and context of the vocalizations of female lyrebirds. Female lyrebirds were completely silent during courtship; however, females regularly produced sophisticated vocal displays incorporating both lyrebird-specific vocalizations and imitations of sounds within their environment. The structure of female vocalizations varied significantly with context. While foraging, females mostly produced a complex lyrebird-specific song, whereas they gave lyrebird-specific alarm calls most often during nest defense. Within their vocal displays females also included a variety of mimetic vocalizations, including imitations of the calls of dangerous predators, and of alarm calls and song of harmless heterospecifics. Females gave more mimetic vocalizations during nest defense than while foraging, and the types of sounds they imitated varied between these contexts, suggesting that mimetic vocalizations have more than one function. These results are inconsistent with previous portrayals of vocalizations by female lyrebirds as rare, functionless by-products of sexual selection on males. Instead, our results support the hypotheses that complex female vocalizations play a role in nest defense and mediate female-female competition for breeding territories. In sum, this study reveals elaborate female vocal displays in a species widely depicted as an example of sexual selection for male extravagance, and thus highlights the hidden complexity of female vocalizations.

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Section: Lyrebird-specific Vocalizations (Alarm Calls and Song)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elaborate Mimetic Vocal Displays by Female Superb Lyrebirds

Dalziell

Welbergen

2016

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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“…Integrated elements may be grouped, because either their structures or functions are linked. Structurally, display components might be grouped as a module owing to their tight covariance [32], or to their recurrence as a stereotyped unit in time or space [80]. Examples of structural modules in animal signalling might include particular notes, syllables, and phrases within a bird song, or different patches of colour in a fish; these elements likely share developmental and physiological bases and thus are interrelated, yet are independent of other structures or elements.…”

Section: (D) Modularity: a Subset Of Components Form Tightly Linked Smentioning

confidence: 99%

A systems approach to animal communication

Hebets¹,

et al. 2016

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Why animal communication displays are so complex and how they have evolved are active foci of research with a long and rich history. Progress towards an evolutionary analysis of signal complexity, however, has been constrained by a lack of hypotheses to explain similarities and/or differences in signalling systems across taxa. To address this, we advocate incorporating a systems approach into studies of animal communication-an approach that includes comprehensive experimental designs and data collection in combination with the implementation of systems concepts and tools. A systems approach evaluates overall display architecture, including how components interact to alter function, and how function varies in different states of the system. We provide a brief overview of the current state of the field, including a focus on select studies that highlight the dynamic nature of animal signalling. We then introduce core concepts from systems biology (redundancy, degeneracy, pluripotentiality, and modularity) and discuss their relationships with system properties (e.g. robustness, flexibility, evolvability). We translate systems concepts into an animal communication framework and accentuate their utility through a case study. Finally, we demonstrate how consideration of the system-level organization of animal communication poses new practical research questions that will aid our understanding of how and why animal displays are so complex.

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“…Males of polygynous species (e.g., spiders3, frogs4, fishes5, and birds67) use multimodal courtship displays to increase the efficacy of signalling89. Thus, by coordinating visual and acoustic displays without interference between display components, polygynous male birds can better convey sexual signals6710.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Tap dancing birds: the multimodal mutual courtship display of males and females in a socially monogamous songbird

Ota

Gahr

Soma

2015

Sci Rep

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According to classical sexual selection theory, complex multimodal courtship displays have evolved in males through female choice. While it is well-known that socially monogamous songbird males sing to attract females, we report here the first example of a multimodal dance display that is not a uniquely male trait in these birds. In the blue-capped cordon-bleu (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus), a socially monogamous songbird, both sexes perform courtship displays that are characterised by singing and simultaneous visual displays. By recording these displays with a high-speed video camera, we discovered that in addition to bobbing, their visual courtship display includes quite rapid step-dancing, which is assumed to produce vibrations and/or presumably non-vocal sounds. Dance performances did not differ between sexes but varied among individuals. Both male and female cordon-bleus intensified their dance performances when their mate was on the same perch. The multimodal (acoustic, visual, tactile) and multicomponent (vocal and non-vocal sounds) courtship display observed was a combination of several motor behaviours (singing, bobbing, stepping). The fact that both sexes of this socially monogamous songbird perform such a complex courtship display is a novel finding and suggests that the evolution of multimodal courtship display as an intersexual communication should be considered.

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Dance Choreography Is Coordinated with Song Repertoire in a Complex Avian Display

Cited by 68 publications

References 32 publications

Elaborate Mimetic Vocal Displays by Female Superb Lyrebirds

Elaborate Mimetic Vocal Displays by Female Superb Lyrebirds

A systems approach to animal communication

Tap dancing birds: the multimodal mutual courtship display of males and females in a socially monogamous songbird

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