IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v14y2023i1d10.1038_s41467-023-39308-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sexual selection for both diversity and repetition in birdsong

Author

Listed:
  • Javier Sierro

    (Lancaster University)

  • Selvino R. Kort

    (Manchester Metropolitan University)

  • Ian R. Hartley

    (Lancaster University)

Abstract

From fiddler crabs to humans, animals perform repetitive displays showing neuromotor skill and vigour. Consistent repetition of identical notes (vocal consistency) facilitates the assessment of neuromotor skills and is important in communication in birds. Most birdsong research has focused on song diversity as a signal of individual quality, which seems contradictory as repetition is extremely common in most species. Here we show that consistent repetition within songs is positively correlated with reproductive success in male blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). A playback experiment shows that females are sexually aroused by male songs with high levels of vocal consistency, which also peaks seasonally during the fertile period of the female, supporting the role of vocal consistency in mate choice. Male vocal consistency also increases with subsequent repetitions of the same song type (a warm-up effect) which conflicts with the fact that females habituate to repeated song, showing decreased arousal. Importantly, we find that switching song types elicits significant dishabituation within the playback, supporting the habituation hypothesis as an evolutionary mechanism driving song diversity in birds. An optimal balance between repetition and diversity may explain the singing style of many bird species and displays of other animals.

Suggested Citation

  • Javier Sierro & Selvino R. Kort & Ian R. Hartley, 2023. "Sexual selection for both diversity and repetition in birdsong," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-39308-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39308-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39308-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-023-39308-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barbara Ballentine & Jeremy Hyman & Stephen Nowicki, 2004. "Vocal performance influences female response to male bird song: an experimental test," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 15(1), pages 163-168, January.
    2. Selvino R. de Kort & Erin R. B. Eldermire & Emily R. A. Cramer & Sandra L. Vehrencamp, 2009. "The deterrent effect of bird song in territory defense," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 20(1), pages 200-206.
    3. Masayo Soma & László Zsolt Garamszegi, 2011. "Rethinking birdsong evolution: meta-analysis of the relationship between song complexity and reproductive success," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 22(2), pages 363-371.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Matteo Sebastianelli & Sifiso M. Lukhele & Simona Secomandi & Stacey G. Souza & Bettina Haase & Michaella Moysi & Christos Nikiforou & Alexander Hutfluss & Jacquelyn Mountcastle & Jennifer Balacco & S, 2024. "A genomic basis of vocal rhythm in birds," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emily R.A. Cramer, 2013. "Vocal deviation and trill consistency do not affect male response to playback in house wrens," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 24(2), pages 412-420.
    2. Sandra L. Vehrencamp & Jesse M. Ellis & Brett F. Cropp & John M. Koltz, 2014. "Negotiation of territorial boundaries in a songbird," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 25(6), pages 1436-1450.
    3. Jason Keagy & Jean-François Savard & Gerald Borgia, 2012. "Cognitive ability and the evolution of multiple behavioral display traits," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(2), pages 448-456.
    4. Richard W Hedley, 2016. "Complexity, Predictability and Time Homogeneity of Syntax in the Songs of Cassin’s Vireo (Vireo cassinii)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-23, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-39308-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.