Dynamics of Territorial Singing Between Neighboring Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia)

Lemon, Robert E.; Kramer, Howard G.

doi:10.1163/156853983x00228

Cited by 71 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…This is again independent of context, but focuses on receiver response. Alternatively, song switching may be an indicator of motivation to attack (Falls & D'Agincourt 1982;Kramer & Lemon 1983;Stoddard et al 1988), and this predicts that switching rates are affected by motivation and context rather than song rate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Duet singing and repertoire use in threat signalling of individuals and pairs

Marshall-Ball

Slater²

2004

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Song-type switching rate and song matching have been shown to function as territorial signals in male solo song but, to our knowledge, seem not to have been previously studied in a duetting species. We studied the plain wren (Thryothorus modestus zeledoni ), to test whether duets signalled threat through song-switching rates, or through phrase type or duet type matching. Increases in the rate of song switching appear to function as an anti-habituation device rather than as a specific signal of threat. Fitting with previous results that same-sex individuals share phrase types, but pairs do not share duet types, both males and females used duets to phrase type match to playback. Pairs, however, did not duet type match in response to playback, and this suggests that within the cooperative territory defence of the duet, each sex is targeting its aggression at same-sex competitors.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Duet singing and repertoire use in threat signalling of individuals and pairs

Marshall-Ball

Slater²

2004

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…Such asymmetries in the timing of their songs are thought to re£ect di¡erences in social state and status (Hultsch & Todt 1982). Furthermore, studies in other species on timing of songs during vocal interactions have shown that di¡erence in the timing of songs is functionally important (Todt 1981;Kramer & Lemon 1983;Popp 1989;Brindley 1991;Nielsen & Vehrencamp 1995;Dabelsteen et al 1996Dabelsteen et al , 1997. Song overlapping, for instance, in many cases is used and perceived as an agonistic signal (Todt & Naguib 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nightingales respond more strongly to vocal leaders of simulated dyadic interactions

Naguib

Fichtel

Todt

1999

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Although vocal interactions in songbirds have been well studied, little is known about the extent to which birds attend to their conspeci¢cs' interactions. Attending to others' interactions can provide valuable information since vocal interactions are often asymmetrical and can re£ect di¡erences in the state or quality of the signallers. Playback experiments with simulated dyadic interactions showed that male territorial nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) attend to asymmetries in interactions and respond more strongly to rivals that overlap the songs of their counterpart. In order to test if nightingales respond di¡erently to two interacting rivals that are alternating songs asymmetrically (with leader^follower roles), we simulated an interaction using a dual-speaker design. Subjects discriminated between the simulated singing strategies and responded more intensely at the loudspeaker playing the preceding songs. This suggests that individuals whose songs precede in an interaction when there is no acoustic overlap are perceived as more serious rivals. Intense responses to the preceding songs compared with intense responses to the overlapping (non-preceding) songs in a previous study also indicate that discrimination is not the result of one speci¢c proximate cue such as greater attention to the ¢rst-or last-heard stimulus. Thus, these results provide further evidence that by listening to asymmetries in conspeci¢cs' vocal interactions, receivers can obtain valuable information on their relative di¡erences.

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“…We found that orange-fronted conure flocks responded with higher contact call rates during trials that ended in partial fusions (Fig 2). Such an increase in response rate could be explained by increased arousal during decision disagreements in flocks [87] or more individuals trying to influence the decision outcome [80]. In contrasts, flocks matched the stimulus calls better in trials where all individuals made the same decision (Fig 4).…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 96%

Follow the leader? Orange-fronted conures eavesdrop on conspecific vocal performance and utilise it in social decisions

2021

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Animals regularly use social information to make fitness-relevant decisions. Particularly in social interactions, social information can reduce uncertainty about the relative quality of conspecifics, thus optimising decisions on with whom and how to interact. One important resource for individuals living in social environments is the production of information by signalling conspecifics. Recent research has suggested that some species of parrots engage in affiliative contact call matching and that these interactions may be available to conspecific unintended receivers. However, it remains unclear what information third parties may gain from contact call matching and how it can be utilised during flock decisions. Here, using a combined choice and playback experiment, we investigated the flock fusion choices and vocal behaviour of a social parrot species, the orange-fronted conure (Eupsittula canicularis), to a contact call matching interaction between two individuals of different sexes and with different vocal roles. Our results revealed that orange-fronted conures chose to follow vocal leaders more often than vocal followers during fusions. Furthermore, flocks responded with higher call rates and matched the stimulus calls closer when subsequently choosing a vocal leader. Interestingly, orange-fronted conures also showed higher contact call rates and closer matches when choosing males over females. These results suggest that paying attention to conspecific contact call interactions can provide individuals with social information that can be utilised during fission and fusion events, significantly influencing the social dynamics of orange-fronted conures.

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Dynamics of Territorial Singing Between Neighboring Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia)

Cited by 71 publications

References 25 publications

Duet singing and repertoire use in threat signalling of individuals and pairs

Duet singing and repertoire use in threat signalling of individuals and pairs

Nightingales respond more strongly to vocal leaders of simulated dyadic interactions

Follow the leader? Orange-fronted conures eavesdrop on conspecific vocal performance and utilise it in social decisions

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