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The origins of acoustic communication in vertebrates

Author

Listed:
  • Zhuo Chen

    (Henan Normal University
    University of Arizona)

  • John J. Wiens

    (University of Arizona)

Abstract

Acoustic communication is crucial to humans and many other tetrapods, including birds, frogs, crocodilians, and mammals. However, large-scale patterns in its evolution are largely unstudied. Here, we address several fundamental questions about the origins of acoustic communication in terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods), using phylogenetic methods. We show that origins of acoustic communication are significantly associated with nocturnal activity. We find that acoustic communication does not increase diversification rates, a surprising result given the many speciation-focused studies of frog calls and bird songs. We also demonstrate that the presence of acoustic communication is strongly conserved over time. Finally, we find that acoustic communication evolved independently in most major tetrapod groups, often with remarkably ancient origins (~100–200 million years ago). Overall, we show that the role of ecology in shaping signal evolution applies to surprisingly deep timescales, whereas the role of signal evolution in diversification may not.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhuo Chen & John J. Wiens, 2020. "The origins of acoustic communication in vertebrates," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-14356-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14356-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Eric R. Schuppe & Irene Ballagh & Najva Akbari & Wenxuan Fang & Jonathan T. Perelmuter & Caleb H. Radtke & Margaret A. Marchaterre & Andrew H. Bass, 2024. "Midbrain node for context-specific vocalisation in fish," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen & Simon William Townsend & Linilson Rodrigues Padovese & Nicole Klein & Peter Praschag & Camila R. Ferrara & Stephan Ettmar & Sabrina Menezes & Arthur Pinatti Varani & Jaren Se, 2022. "Common evolutionary origin of acoustic communication in choanate vertebrates," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-7, December.

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