Repeatability of signalling traits in the avian dawn chorus

Abstract Background Birdsong, a key model in animal communication studies, has been the focus of intensive research. Song traits are commonly considered to reflect differences in individual or territory quality. Yet, few studies have quantified the variability of song traits between versus within in...

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Main Authors: Marc Naguib, Joris Diehl, Kees van Oers, Lysanne Snijders
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2019-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Zoology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12983-019-0328-7
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author Marc Naguib
Joris Diehl
Kees van Oers
Lysanne Snijders
author_facet Marc Naguib
Joris Diehl
Kees van Oers
Lysanne Snijders
author_sort Marc Naguib
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Birdsong, a key model in animal communication studies, has been the focus of intensive research. Song traits are commonly considered to reflect differences in individual or territory quality. Yet, few studies have quantified the variability of song traits between versus within individuals (i.e. repeatability), and thus whether certain song traits indeed provide reliable individual-specific information. Here, we studied the dawn chorus of male great tits (Parus major) to determine if key song traits are repeatable over multiple days and during different breeding stages. Additionally, we examined whether repeatability was associated with exploration behaviour, a relevant personality trait. Finally, we tested if variation in song traits could be explained by breeding stage, lowest night temperature, and exploration behaviour. Results We show that the start time of an individual’s dawn song was indeed repeatable within and across breeding stages, and was more repeatable before, than during, their mate’s egg laying stage. Males started singing later when the preceding night was colder. Daily repertoire size was repeatable, though to a lesser extent than song start time, and no differences were observed between breeding stages. We did not find evidence for an association between exploration behaviour and variation in dawn song traits. Repertoire composition, and specifically the start song type, varied across days, but tended to differ less than expected by chance. Conclusions Our findings that individuals consistently differ in key song traits provides a better understanding of the information receivers can obtain when sampling songs of different males. Surprisingly, start time, despite being influenced by a highly variable environmental factor, appeared to be a more reliable signal of individual differences than repertoire size. Against expectation, singers were more repeatable before than during their mate’s egg laying stage, possibly because before egg laying, females are less constrained to move around unguarded and thus may then already sample (and compare) different singers. Combining repeated dawn song recordings with spatial tracking could reveal if the sampling strategies of receivers are indeed important drivers of repeatability of song traits. Such a complementary approach will further advance our insights into the dynamics and evolution of animal signalling systems.
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spelling doaj.art-99cfa33b2c6b4eb491ab33e55549f12d2022-12-21T20:12:07ZengBMCFrontiers in Zoology1742-99942019-07-0116111110.1186/s12983-019-0328-7Repeatability of signalling traits in the avian dawn chorusMarc Naguib0Joris Diehl1Kees van Oers2Lysanne Snijders3Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & ResearchBehavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & ResearchBehavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & ResearchBehavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & ResearchAbstract Background Birdsong, a key model in animal communication studies, has been the focus of intensive research. Song traits are commonly considered to reflect differences in individual or territory quality. Yet, few studies have quantified the variability of song traits between versus within individuals (i.e. repeatability), and thus whether certain song traits indeed provide reliable individual-specific information. Here, we studied the dawn chorus of male great tits (Parus major) to determine if key song traits are repeatable over multiple days and during different breeding stages. Additionally, we examined whether repeatability was associated with exploration behaviour, a relevant personality trait. Finally, we tested if variation in song traits could be explained by breeding stage, lowest night temperature, and exploration behaviour. Results We show that the start time of an individual’s dawn song was indeed repeatable within and across breeding stages, and was more repeatable before, than during, their mate’s egg laying stage. Males started singing later when the preceding night was colder. Daily repertoire size was repeatable, though to a lesser extent than song start time, and no differences were observed between breeding stages. We did not find evidence for an association between exploration behaviour and variation in dawn song traits. Repertoire composition, and specifically the start song type, varied across days, but tended to differ less than expected by chance. Conclusions Our findings that individuals consistently differ in key song traits provides a better understanding of the information receivers can obtain when sampling songs of different males. Surprisingly, start time, despite being influenced by a highly variable environmental factor, appeared to be a more reliable signal of individual differences than repertoire size. Against expectation, singers were more repeatable before than during their mate’s egg laying stage, possibly because before egg laying, females are less constrained to move around unguarded and thus may then already sample (and compare) different singers. Combining repeated dawn song recordings with spatial tracking could reveal if the sampling strategies of receivers are indeed important drivers of repeatability of song traits. Such a complementary approach will further advance our insights into the dynamics and evolution of animal signalling systems.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12983-019-0328-7Animal communicationBird songDawn chorusDawn songGreat titBehavioural repeatability
spellingShingle Marc Naguib
Joris Diehl
Kees van Oers
Lysanne Snijders
Repeatability of signalling traits in the avian dawn chorus
Frontiers in Zoology
Animal communication
Bird song
Dawn chorus
Dawn song
Great tit
Behavioural repeatability
title Repeatability of signalling traits in the avian dawn chorus
title_full Repeatability of signalling traits in the avian dawn chorus
title_fullStr Repeatability of signalling traits in the avian dawn chorus
title_full_unstemmed Repeatability of signalling traits in the avian dawn chorus
title_short Repeatability of signalling traits in the avian dawn chorus
title_sort repeatability of signalling traits in the avian dawn chorus
topic Animal communication
Bird song
Dawn chorus
Dawn song
Great tit
Behavioural repeatability
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12983-019-0328-7
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AT jorisdiehl repeatabilityofsignallingtraitsintheaviandawnchorus
AT keesvanoers repeatabilityofsignallingtraitsintheaviandawnchorus
AT lysannesnijders repeatabilityofsignallingtraitsintheaviandawnchorus