Concordance of movements and songs enhances receiver responses to multimodal display in the starling

Abstract Many animals produce signals that consist of vocalizations and movements to attract mates or deter rivals. We usually consider them as components of a single multimodal signal because they are temporally coordinated. Sometimes, however, this relationship takes on a more complex spatiotempor...

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Main Authors: Stanisław Rusiecki, Paweł Ręk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-02-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54024-w
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author Stanisław Rusiecki
Paweł Ręk
author_facet Stanisław Rusiecki
Paweł Ręk
author_sort Stanisław Rusiecki
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Many animals produce signals that consist of vocalizations and movements to attract mates or deter rivals. We usually consider them as components of a single multimodal signal because they are temporally coordinated. Sometimes, however, this relationship takes on a more complex spatiotemporal character, resembling choreographed music. Timing is important for audio-visual integration, but choreographic concordance requires even more skill and competence from the signaller. Concordance should therefore have a strong impact on receivers; however, little is known about its role in audio-visual perception during natural interactions. We studied the effects of movement and song type concordance in audio-visual displays of the starling, Sturnus vulgaris. Starlings produce two types of movements that naturally appear in specific phrases of songs with a similar temporal structure and amplitude. In an experiment with a taxidermic robotic model, males responded more to concordant audio-visual displays, which are also naturally preferred, than to discordant displays. In contrast, the effect of concordance was independent of the specific combination of movement and song types in a display. Our results indicate that the concordance of movements and songs was critical to the efficacy of the display and suggest that the information that birds gained from concordance could not be obtained by adding information from movements and songs.
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spelling doaj.art-25866d8c3fa3498f84ac7eedc377534f2024-03-05T19:10:13ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-02-011411910.1038/s41598-024-54024-wConcordance of movements and songs enhances receiver responses to multimodal display in the starlingStanisław Rusiecki0Paweł Ręk1Department of Behavioural Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Adam Mickiewicz UniversityDepartment of Behavioural Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Adam Mickiewicz UniversityAbstract Many animals produce signals that consist of vocalizations and movements to attract mates or deter rivals. We usually consider them as components of a single multimodal signal because they are temporally coordinated. Sometimes, however, this relationship takes on a more complex spatiotemporal character, resembling choreographed music. Timing is important for audio-visual integration, but choreographic concordance requires even more skill and competence from the signaller. Concordance should therefore have a strong impact on receivers; however, little is known about its role in audio-visual perception during natural interactions. We studied the effects of movement and song type concordance in audio-visual displays of the starling, Sturnus vulgaris. Starlings produce two types of movements that naturally appear in specific phrases of songs with a similar temporal structure and amplitude. In an experiment with a taxidermic robotic model, males responded more to concordant audio-visual displays, which are also naturally preferred, than to discordant displays. In contrast, the effect of concordance was independent of the specific combination of movement and song types in a display. Our results indicate that the concordance of movements and songs was critical to the efficacy of the display and suggest that the information that birds gained from concordance could not be obtained by adding information from movements and songs.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54024-w
spellingShingle Stanisław Rusiecki
Paweł Ręk
Concordance of movements and songs enhances receiver responses to multimodal display in the starling
Scientific Reports
title Concordance of movements and songs enhances receiver responses to multimodal display in the starling
title_full Concordance of movements and songs enhances receiver responses to multimodal display in the starling
title_fullStr Concordance of movements and songs enhances receiver responses to multimodal display in the starling
title_full_unstemmed Concordance of movements and songs enhances receiver responses to multimodal display in the starling
title_short Concordance of movements and songs enhances receiver responses to multimodal display in the starling
title_sort concordance of movements and songs enhances receiver responses to multimodal display in the starling
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54024-w
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