Sexual differentiation and seasonal variation in response to conspecific and heterospecific acoustic signals

Sosa‐López, J. Roberto; Mennill, Daniel J.; Renton, Katherine

doi:10.1111/eth.12616

“…Like intraspecific disputes, these interactions can be costly ( e.g ., Livezey & Humphrey, 1985 ; Nuechterlein & Storer, 1985 ; Potti et al, 2021 ), suggesting that selection should favor the use of signals among heterospecifics during aggressive contests, but the signals used among competing species remain less explored ( Caro & Allen, 2017 ). Some studies, however, suggest that vocalizations ( e.g ., Gorton, 1977 ; Catchpole, 1978 ; Rice, 1978 ; Reed, 1982 ; Martin et al, 1996 ; Martin & Martin, 2001 ; Jankowski, Robinson & Levey, 2010 ; Sosa-López, Mennill & Renton, 2017 ) and color ( e.g ., Flack, 1976 ; König, 1983 ; Snow & Snow, 1984 ) may signal aggression or dominance in competitive contests among species. Furthermore, several species of birds appear to signal their subordinance to avoid heterospecific aggression from co-occurring dominant species ( Gill, 1971 ; Sætre, Král & Bičík, 1993 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggressive signaling among competing species of birds

Kenyon¹,

Martin²

2022

PeerJ

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Aggressive interactions help individuals to gain access to and defend resources, but they can be costly, leading to increased predation risk, injury, or death. Signals involving sounds and color can allow birds to avoid the costs of intraspecific aggressive encounters, but we know less about agonistic signaling between species, where fights can be frequent and just as costly. Here, we review photographic and video evidence of aggressive interactions among species of birds (N = 337 interactions documenting the aggressive signals of 164 different bird species from 120 genera, 50 families, and 24 orders) to document how individuals signal in aggressive encounters among species, and explore whether these visual signals are similar to those used in aggressive encounters with conspecifics. Despite the diversity of birds examined, most aggressively signaling birds displayed weapons (bills, talons, wings) used in fighting and placed these weapons closest to their heterospecific opponent when signaling. Most species oriented their bodies and heads forward with their bills pointing towards their heterospecific opponent, often highlighting their face, throat, mouth, and bill. Many birds also opened their wings and/or tails, increasing their apparent size in displays, consistent with the importance of body size in determining behavioral dominance among species. Aggressive postures were often similar across species and taxonomic families. Exceptions included Accipitridae and Falconidae, which often highlighted their talons in the air, Columbidae, which often highlighted their underwings from the side, and Trochilidae, which often hovered upright in the air and pointed their fanned tail downward. Most species highlighted bright carotenoid-based colors in their signals, but highlighted colors varied across species and often involved multiple colors in combination (e.g., black, white, and carotenoid-based colors). Finally, birds tended to use the same visual signals in aggressive encounters with heterospecifics that they use in aggressive encounters with conspecifics, suggesting that selection from aggressive interactions may act on the same signaling traits regardless of competitor identity.

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“…To date, few studies investigated duetting in the context of territorial defence across different life-history stages (Topp and Mennill 2008;Odom et al 2017;Quirós-Guerrero et al 2017;Sosa-López et al 2017;Diniz et al 2018). The few that did so used mainly three methods: i) context criterion (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird

Mentesana

¹

,

Moiron

²

,

Guedes

³

et al. 2020

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Behaviours such as territorial defence represent functionally integrated traits that underlie multiple behavioural variables such as physical and acoustic responses. Characterizing the multivariate structure of such traits is fundamental to understand their evolution. In bird species that form stable pair bonds and are territorial year-round, both sexes are expected to defend their territory; however, the role that each sex plays in defending their shared territory remains largely unknown. Evidence for the sex-roles during territorial defence is mixed and sex-and context-specific characterizations of territorial defence embracing the multivariate nature of the trait are currently lacking. Here we investigated sex-and context-specific variation in a hypothesised latent variable called "territorial defence" and tested whether duets were part of territorial defence in a wild population of rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus). To do so, we combined a simulated territorial intrusion approach during nest building and provisioning contexts with a structural equation modelling approach. Our results showed that, in males and females, the six measured behavioural variables were linked by a single latent trait, territorial defence, in both contexts. Flights over the decoy and duet songs were equally good proxies of territorial defence. Although males were defending more the territory than females, pair members showed a positive correlation in their behaviour. The structural equation modelling framework enabled us to capture a complex correlation pattern among behavioural variables, expanding upon a classic body of research on territorial defence. Thus, the combination of classical behavioural approaches with sophisticated statistical analyses brings new exciting possibilities to the field of behavioural ecology.

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“…To date, few studies investigated duetting in the context of territorial defence across different life-history stages (Topp and Mennill 2008;Odom et al 2017;Quirós-Guerrero et al 2017;Sosa-López et al 2017;Diniz et al 2018). The few that did so used mainly three methods: i) context criterion (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird

Mentesana

¹

,

Moiron

²

,

Guedes

³

et al. 2020

Preprint

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Behaviours such as territorial defence represent functionally integrated traits that underlie multiple behavioural variables such as physical and acoustic responses. Characterizing the multivariate structure of such traits is fundamental to understand their evolution. In bird species that form stable pair bonds and are territorial year-round, both sexes are expected to defend their territory; however, the role that each sex plays in defending their shared territory remains largely unknown. Evidence for the sex-roles during territorial defence is mixed and sex- and context-specific characterizations of territorial defence embracing the multivariate nature of the trait are currently lacking. Here we investigated sex- and context-specific variation in a hypothesised latent variable called “territorial defence” and tested whether duets were part of territorial defence in a wild population of rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus). To do so, we combined a simulated territorial intrusion approach during nest building and provisioning contexts with a structural equation modelling approach. Our results showed that, in males and females, the six measured behavioural variables were linked by a single latent trait, territorial defence, in both contexts. Flights over the decoy and duet songs were equally good proxies of territorial defence. Although males were defending more the territory than females, pair members showed a positive correlation in their behaviour. The structural equation modelling framework enabled us to capture a complex correlation pattern among behavioural variables, expanding upon a classic body of research on territorial defence. Thus, the combination of classical behavioural approaches with sophisticated statistical analyses brings new exciting possibilities to the field of behavioural ecology.Significance statementTerritorial defence is a key behaviour in territorial species as it plays a major role in an individual’s reproductive success and survival. Additionally, territorial defence has been proposed as one possible evolutionary driver of duetting behaviour, one of the most fascinating vocal behaviours in birds. As behaviours are evolutionary characters, they must be studied in a multivariate framework. In this study we focused on characterizing territorial defence during a simulated territorial intrusion in an integrative manner using a classical territorial intrusion framework. We did so in male and female rufous horneros (Aves: Furnaridae) across two breeding contexts, while simultaneously testing theoretical predictions about the role of duetting behaviour as key part of territorial defence. Overall, our study provides for the first time a sex- and context-comparison of the multivariate, latent variable “territorial defence” in duetting birds, while highlighting the potential of combining field behavioural approaches with structural equation modelling.

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Sexual differentiation and seasonal variation in response to conspecific and heterospecific acoustic signals

Cited by 7 publications

References 28 publications

Aggressive signaling among competing species of birds

Aggressive signaling among competing species of birds

Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird

Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird

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