Learned components of courtship: A focus on postural displays, choreographies and construction abilities

Spezie, Giovanni; Quigley, Cliodhna; Fusani, Leonida

doi:10.1016/bs.asb.2022.01.001

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 300 publications

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“…Contrary to our prediction, however, subordinate males did not differ from bower owners in their responsiveness to the receiver's spatial location or use of decorations during courtship. The data presented in this study argue against the skills hypothesis and indicate that alternative motor patterns may be available early in ontogeny or learned at an earlier stage during development (Spezie et al 2022). These findings disagree with previous descriptive accounts on bowerbird courtship behaviour suggesting that birds with longer tenure at a bower show marked differences from other males which did not possess a permanent display arena.…”

Section: Courtship Parameters Vary Between Display Segments Irrespect...mentioning

confidence: 56%

Male–male associations in spotted bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus maculatus) exhibit attributes of courtship coalitions

Spezie

Fusani

2022

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Despite strong selective pressures inherent in competition for mates, in species with non-resource-based mating systems males commonly engage in non-agonistic interactions with same-sex visitors at display arenas. Bowerbirds perform courtship dances on elaborate display structures — known as bowers — that are built and defended by one resident male. Several reports have suggested that bower owners tolerate the presence of specific male visitors at their display arenas, referred to here as ‘subordinates’. Subordinate males may learn the skills required for successful sexual signalling via prolonged social interactions at adults’ arenas, but little is known about whether courtship proficiency changes with experience and/or whether subordinates actively contribute to enhancing the resident male’s mating success. In this study, we investigated male-male associations in wild spotted bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus maculatus). We first sought to determine whether courtship behaviour differs based on bower ownership status. We then examined whether social interactions between bower owners and subordinate males may qualify as courtship coalitions. Our analysis of courtship postural components did not reveal differences in timing or relative occurrence of postural components between subordinate males and bower owners, whereas we found evidence that male-male associations in spotted bowerbirds may provide an example of rudimentary courtship coalitions. In particular, higher subordinate attendance is associated with lower destruction rates by neighbouring rivals and with overall higher mating success, and male pairs are stable in subsequent years. This study provides novel information about social dynamics among male bowerbirds, and further insights into the evolution of coalitionary behaviour in male displays. Significance statement Same-sex associations between established males and subordinate visitors on display arenas are common in birds, yet poorly understood. Using video recordings from a population of wild spotted bowerbirds, Ptilonorhynchus maculatus, we performed a quantitative analysis on motor courtship components across males, and on their social interactions on display arenas to investigate the nature of male–male partnerships. Our results showed that motor courtship performance in subordinate visitors is not suggestive of an early ontogenetic stage, as previously speculated. Moreover, though bower ‘owners’ and subordinate males do not coordinate their behaviour during courtship or bower building, male–male partnerships may qualify as a rudimentary or incipient form of courtship coalitions. Subordinate males are tolerated at bowers, the magnitude of subordinate attendance correlates with owner males’ mating success, and repeated interactions between individuals reveal consistent partner associations.

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Section: Courtship Parameters Vary Between Display Segments Irrespect...mentioning

confidence: 56%

Male–male associations in spotted bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus maculatus) exhibit attributes of courtship coalitions

Spezie

Fusani

2022

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…In the second part of our analysis, we investigated whether patterns of local similarities also occur in visual courtship components. Despite the importance of postural components of courtship across taxa [15,39], evidence for local traditions of visual displays is still scarce. For instance, to the best of our knowledge, only one study has documented patterns of variation consistent with social transmission in the visual displays of long-billed hermits P. longirostris [14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, while the role of such interactions in guiding social learning has been investigated primarily in controlled laboratory conditions, relatively fewer studies have attempted to link same-sex social dynamics to patterns of similarities in courtship signals in the wild. Furthermore, evidence is restricted to birdsong and little is known about the impact of social interactions on multi-modal displays that involve both acoustic and motor components [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do social interactions predict similarities in audio-visual courtship signals in spotted bowerbirds?

Knoester,

Spezie,

Mann

et al. 2022

Proceedings of the 10th Convention of the European Acoustics Association Forum Acusticum 2023

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Spotted bowerbirds perform a multi-modal courtship display on dedicated structures -bowers -that are built by one resident male. Bower owners tolerate the presence of specific subordinate males at their bowers, yet the role of these male-male associations remains unclear. One explanation is that these immature males are learning the skills required for successful sexual signalling. Courtship in this species consists of a sequence of harsh calls, body postures and movements. If social learning occurs, male-male associations may result in similarities in acoustic and visual signals within owner-subordinate pairs. In this study, we tested whether the magnitude of social interactions can predict similarities in audio-visual display patterns in a single population of spotted bowerbirds. We video-recorded their courtship behaviour to examine whether bowerbirds (i) exhibit micro-geographical similarities in their audiovisual displays and (ii) are more similar in their courtship to conspecifics with whom they interact more frequently at bowers. For both acoustic and visual courtship components, we found evidence for micro-geographical variation that was not explained by genetic distance. However, social proximity covaried with similarities in acoustic -but not visual -displays. Our findings raise relevant questions about the mechanisms of social learning in audio-visual sexual signalling.

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“…For instance, immature males may improve the quality of their courtship displays by watching adults (i.e. sensorimotor learning; Spezie et al., 2022) and may enhance their immediate reproductive success by occasionally ‘stealing’ or ‘sneaking’ copulations from adults (Dougherty et al., 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Video evidence of mountings by female‐plumaged birds of paradise (Aves: Paradisaeidae) in the wild: Is there evidence of alternative mating tactics?

MacGillavry,

Janiczek,

Fusani

2024

Ethology

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The bewildering courtship phenotypes of male birds of paradise (Paradisaedae) represent a classic example of sexual selection through mate choice. While the majority of sexual selection studies have focused on either mate choice or intrasexual competition, males across a variety of taxa adopt alternative mating tactics as additional means of obtaining fertilization when they are otherwise unable to. For example, across various polygynous birds, subordinate males engage in sneak copulations, which may offset the fitness costs of prolonged subordinate periods. Despite exhibiting strong mating skews and male delayed plumage maturation, reports of sneak copulation in the birds of paradise are exceedingly rare. After reviewing an extensive video collection of courtship interactions, we found examples of mountings by female‐plumaged birds in three birds of paradise species: the Western parotia Parotia sefilata, Carola's parotia Parotia carolae, and the magnificent bird of paradise Cicinnurus magnificus. While homosexual mountings by females have been documented previously in Lawes' parotia P. lawesii, adult males in the magnificent bird of paradise violently attacked intruding female‐plumaged birds attempting to mount receivers, suggesting that they may be immature males engaging in alternative mating tactics. Overall, the rare video footage described here is suggestive of two fascinating, yet unexplored phenomena in polygynous birds: alternative mating tactics and female homosexual behaviour.

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Learned components of courtship: A focus on postural displays, choreographies and construction abilities

Cited by 8 publications

References 300 publications

Male–male associations in spotted bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus maculatus) exhibit attributes of courtship coalitions

Male–male associations in spotted bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus maculatus) exhibit attributes of courtship coalitions

Do social interactions predict similarities in audio-visual courtship signals in spotted bowerbirds?

Video evidence of mountings by female‐plumaged birds of paradise (Aves: Paradisaeidae) in the wild: Is there evidence of alternative mating tactics?

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