Long-term maintenance and eventual extinction of preference for a mate’s call in the female budgerigar

Eda-Fujiwara, Hiroko; Kanesada, Aya; Okamoto, Yasuharu; Satoh, Ryohei; Watanabe, Akïharu; Miyamoto, Terumasa

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.07.030

Cited by 9 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Contact calls are commonly studied in parrot communication, and are thought to facilitate a range of social activities and be involved mate preferences (e.g. [25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30], [31], [37], [38], [39]). We analyzed 556 contact calls recorded from 182 individuals.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Learned Vocal Variation Is Associated with Abrupt Cryptic Genetic Change in a Parrot Species Complex

et al. 2012

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Contact zones between subspecies or closely related species offer valuable insights into speciation processes. A typical feature of such zones is the presence of clinal variation in multiple traits. The nature of these traits and the concordance among clines are expected to influence whether and how quickly speciation will proceed. Learned signals, such as vocalizations in species having vocal learning (e.g. humans, many birds, bats and cetaceans), can exhibit rapid change and may accelerate reproductive isolation between populations. Therefore, particularly strong concordance among clines in learned signals and population genetic structure may be expected, even among continuous populations in the early stages of speciation. However, empirical evidence for this pattern is often limited because differences in vocalisations between populations are driven by habitat differences or have evolved in allopatry. We tested for this pattern in a unique system where we may be able to separate effects of habitat and evolutionary history. We studied geographic variation in the vocalizations of the crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans) parrot species complex. Parrots are well known for their life-long vocal learning and cognitive abilities. We analysed contact calls across a ca 1300 km transect encompassing populations that differed in neutral genetic markers and plumage colour. We found steep clinal changes in two acoustic variables (fundamental frequency and peak frequency position). The positions of the two clines in vocal traits were concordant with a steep cline in microsatellite-based genetic variation, but were discordant with the steep clines in mtDNA, plumage and habitat. Our study provides new evidence that vocal variation, in a species with vocal learning, can coincide with areas of restricted gene flow across geographically continuous populations. Our results suggest that traits that evolve culturally can be strongly associated with reduced gene flow between populations, and therefore may promote speciation, even in the absence of other barriers.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidence from several species has demonstrated that parrot contact calls are used in mate choice, pair bonding and mate recognition [26], [27], [28], [29], [30], [31]. Australian parrots in the crimson rosella complex ( Platycercus elegans ) form steep plumage colour and genetic clines, however these clines are discordant [32], [33], [34].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learned Vocal Variation Is Associated with Abrupt Cryptic Genetic Change in a Parrot Species Complex

et al. 2012

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“…Moreover, there is evidence that the song control pathway in the brain, which controls song production, also controls the vocal production of unlearned calls (Ter Maat et al, 2014), although, to our knowledge, no studies have yet examined the role of these regions in the production of learned calls in species that learn both calls and song. Similarly, there is some evidence that the brain regions involved in song recognition are also involved in call recognition (Brauth et al, 2002; Eda-Fujiwara et al, 2011), but comparisons of responses to shared and unshared calls have not yet been made. Most importantly, the neural mechanisms of call perception, production and learning in other vocal learning species like bats and cetaceans are even less resolved than are those of birds (Knörnschild, 2014; Petkov & Jarvis, 2012; Stoeger & Manger, 2014).…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social calls provide novel insights into the evolution of vocal learning

2016

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Learned song is among the best-studied models of animal communication. In oscine songbirds, where learned song is most prevalent, it is used primarily for intrasexual selection and mate attraction. Learning of a different class of vocal signals, known as contact calls, is found in a diverse array of species, where they are used to mediate social interactions among individuals. We argue that call learning provides a taxonomically rich system for studying testable hypotheses for the evolutionary origins of vocal learning. We describe and critically evaluate four nonmutually exclusive hypotheses for the origin and current function of vocal learning of calls, which propose that call learning (1) improves auditory detection and recognition, (2) signals local knowledge, (3) signals group membership, or (4) allows for the encoding of more complex social information. We propose approaches to testing these four hypotheses but emphasize that all of them share the idea that social living, not sexual selection, is a central driver of vocal learning. Finally, we identify future areas for research on call learning that could provide new perspectives on the origins and mechanisms of vocal learning in both animals and humans.

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“…The most common call used by budgerigars is the contact call, a short, frequency-modulated vocalization that develops through social learning (Brittan-Powell et al 1997). Budgerigars placed in groups typically develop contact calls that are shared among group members over a period of several weeks (Farabaugh and Dooling 1996; Brittan-Powell et al 1997; Brown and Farabaugh 1997; Bartlett and Slater 1999; Hile et al 2000; Hile and Striedter 2000; Fujiwara et al 2011; Young 2011). Call sharing in this species appears to exhibit different patterns depending on how groups are formed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A test of multiple hypotheses for the function of call sharing in female budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulatus

Dahlin

Young

Cordier

et al. 2013

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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In many social species group, members share acoustically similar calls. Functional hypotheses have been proposed for call sharing, but previous studies have been limited by an inability to distinguish among these hypotheses. We examined the function of vocal sharing in female budgerigars with a two-part experimental design that allowed us to distinguish between two functional hypotheses. The social association hypothesis proposes that shared calls help animals mediate affiliative and aggressive interactions, while the password hypothesis proposes that shared calls allow animals to distinguish group identity and exclude nonmembers. We also tested the labeling hypothesis, a mechanistic explanation which proposes that shared calls are used to address specific individuals within the sender–receiver relationship. We tested the social association hypothesis by creating four–member flocks of unfamiliar female budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) and then monitoring the birds’ calls, social behaviors, and stress levels via fecal glucocorticoid metabolites. We tested the password hypothesis by moving immigrants into established social groups. To test the labeling hypothesis, we conducted additional recording sessions in which individuals were paired with different group members. The social association hypothesis was supported by the development of multiple shared call types in each cage and a correlation between the number of shared call types and the number of aggressive interactions between pairs of birds. We also found support for calls serving as a labeling mechanism using discriminant function analysis with a permutation procedure. Our results did not support the password hypothesis, as there was no difference in stress or directed behaviors between immigrant and control birds.

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Long-term maintenance and eventual extinction of preference for a mate’s call in the female budgerigar

Cited by 9 publications

References 34 publications

Learned Vocal Variation Is Associated with Abrupt Cryptic Genetic Change in a Parrot Species Complex

Learned Vocal Variation Is Associated with Abrupt Cryptic Genetic Change in a Parrot Species Complex

Social calls provide novel insights into the evolution of vocal learning

A test of multiple hypotheses for the function of call sharing in female budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulatus

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