Stereotypy and variation in the claw waving display of the fiddler crab Uca tangeri

Jordão, Joana M.; Curto, Ana F.; Oliveira, Rui Filipe

doi:10.1007/s10211-007-0030-1

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(51 reference statements)

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“…Thus, we hypothesized that the amount of variability in syllable type performance could be a signal of individual quality, with higher quality individuals showing less variability (i.e., being more consistent). A similar relationship between performance variability and individual quality has been suggested for motor displays in other modalities (Jordao et al 2007; Zahavi 1980). …”

supporting

confidence: 72%

Syllable type consistency is related to age, social status and reproductive success in the tropical mockingbird

et al. 2009

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Many animals repeat standardized displays multiple times while attracting a mate or deterring a rival. In such contexts it is possible that the ability to perform each display or signal type in a consistent fashion is under direct selection. Studies on sexual selection on song learning in birds have focused on differences in repertoire size with less attention to the potential importance of being able to perform each song/syllable type with high consistency. We present evidence that tropical mockingbirds decrease the variation between renditions of each syllable type as they grow older (i.e., become more consistent) and that more consistent males in this species tend to have higher dominance status and reproductive success. These findings stress the importance of consistency in the performance of sexual displays and suggest that this parameter may be very relevant even in species that are selected for high vocal diversity (i.e., large repertoires). In addition to signalling dominance status and age, we hypothesize that syllable type consistency may also be an indicator of the integrity of brain function in birds analogous to the tests used for neuropsychological assessment in humans.

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supporting

confidence: 72%

Syllable type consistency is related to age, social status and reproductive success in the tropical mockingbird

et al. 2009

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“…To obtain the precise vertical variation of waves, only recordings in which the animal was in full‐face view were used, thus excluding U. ecuadoriensis from this analysis. Although there is evidence for individual differences in waving displays owing to social context and environmental factors (Hyatt, 1977; Jordão, Curto & Oliveira, 2007), this variation was assumed to be small in relation to interspecific differences, which is a common assumption of comparative studies (Martins, 1996). In addition, videos were only recorded when the weather was fairly consistent during the time period of the reproductive season, meaning that environmental factors possibly had little influence on the structure and tempo of the displays.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of waving displays in fiddler crabs (Uca spp., Crustacea: Ocypodidae)

Perez

Rosenberg

Pie

2012

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Male fiddler crabs are commonly recognized by the presence of a single massive claw used in a variety of contexts, including territorial defence, agonistic interactions, and courtship behaviour. The most common behavioural context involving these enlarged chelipeds is their use in waving displays, which are remarkably diverse among species. Although the waving display is one of the most obvious behavioural features of male fiddler crabs, little is known about their main evolutionary trends during the diversification of the genus. The present study employed phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate the evolution of waving behaviour in a sample of 19 species of Uca from Central and North America. Digital recordings were used to quantify the temporal dynamics of waving behaviour in each species. Multivariate ordination methods were used to assess whether different elements of the display showed distinct evolutionary dynamics, particularly with respect to body size and the environment where species are most commonly found. Most of the interspecific variation in displays involves differences in the overall waving velocity, with no correspondence to their local environments, nor their body size. Interestingly, despite the strong concentration of variance in the first two ordination axes, there was no statistically significant evidence for phylogenetic signals in their respective scores. These results suggest that the overall structure of waving displays is evolutionarily labile, at the same time as being concentrated in a few particular axes of variation, possibly indicating evolution along lines of least resistance. The approach employed in the present study highlights the utility of phylogenetic comparative methods for elucidating the evolution of complex behavioural characteristics, such as the waving display in male fiddler crabs. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106, 307–315.

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“…In addition to precedence, females show preferences for certain wave characteristics. Males that wave vigorously are more successful than those that perform more slowly (Backwell et al, 1999) and the amplitude of waving is also important (Jordão et al, 2007). Observations of male fiddler crabs (e.g.…”

Section: Courtship Displaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Skilful mating? Insights from animal contest research

Lane

Briffa

2022

Animal Behaviour

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Stereotypy and variation in the claw waving display of the fiddler crab Uca tangeri

Cited by 9 publications

References 34 publications

Syllable type consistency is related to age, social status and reproductive success in the tropical mockingbird

Syllable type consistency is related to age, social status and reproductive success in the tropical mockingbird

The evolution of waving displays in fiddler crabs (Uca spp., Crustacea: Ocypodidae)

Skilful mating? Insights from animal contest research

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