Female preferences drive the evolution of mimetic accuracy in male sexual displays

Coleman, Seth W.; Patricelli, Gail L.; Coyle, Brian J.; Siani, Jennifer; Borgia, Gerald

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0234

Cited by 74 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…These coefficients reflect the similarity between two sounds and range from zero, when there is no similarity, to one, when the sounds are identical (Clark et al 1987; Coleman et al 2007). The effects of background noise on our results were minimized by computing the SPCC coefficients using only the frequency bands covered by each syllable type.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2009

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“…Species vary in the bower traits favouring mating success, which may include the number of coloured decorations [11], avenue form [12] or bower paint [13,14]. Females may also choose mates based on physical traits such as vocal mimicry [15] and courtship movements [16]. Different components of male displays may serve different functions; for example, the white bones at the entrance of male spotted bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus maculatus) bowers may attract females to the bower, while glass objects may stimulate the female once in the bower [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual effects in great bowerbird sexual displays and their implications for signal design

2014

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It is often assumed that the primary purpose of a male's sexual display is to provide information about quality, or to strongly stimulate prospective mates, but other functions of courtship displays have been relatively neglected. Male great bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis) construct bowers that exploit the female's predictable field of view (FOV) during courtship displays by creating forced perspective illusions, and the quality of illusion is a good predictor of mating success. Here, we present and discuss two additional components of male courtship displays that use the female's predetermined viewpoint: (i) the rapid and diverse flashing of coloured objects within her FOV and (ii) chromatic adaptation of the female's eyes that alters her perception of the colour of the displayed objects. Neither is directly related to mating success, but both are likely to increase signal efficacy, and may also be associated with attracting and holding the female's attention. Signal efficacy is constrained by trade-offs between the signal components; there are both positive and negative interactions within multicomponent signals. Important signal components may have a threshold effect on fitness rather than the often assumed linear relationship.

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“…Moreover, Okida et al (2010) showed a significant e#ect of vocalisation during the display on the mating success in this species. Recent studies on the bower display showed that various characteristics of display a#ected the male mating success, including the quality of the bower structure (Borgia 1985b), decorations (Borgia 1985b, Madden 2003a, 2003b), male's painting behaviour , vocal mimicry (Lo#redo & Borgia 1986, Coleman et al 2007, and intensity of behavioural display (Patricelli et al 2002, Coleman et al 2004. Thus, the bower display is composed of multiple sexual signals.…”

Section: Multiple Components Of Displaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Bower Structure is a Good Predictor of Mating Success in the Great Bowerbird

Katsuno¹,

Okida²,

Yamaguchi³

et al. 2010

J. Yamashina Inst. Ornithol.

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Abstract. Male Great Bowerbirds Chlamydera nuchalis build a bower and pile decorations around it for courtship display. We tested the e#ect of the bower structure and amounts of decorations on the mating success of owner males in a population of C. n. nuchalis near Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. We collected data on measurements of bowers and mating success of individual owner males for 16 and 14 bowers in 2005 and 2006, respectively. We used five variables (avenue length, avenue width, wall thickness, bower height and degree of asymmetry) corresponding to the bower structure, and two variables (coverage (%) of green decorations and that of all decorations) corresponding to amounts of decorations as explanatory variables. An analysis of the generalized linear mixed model and model selection revealed that avenue length and wall thickness a#ected mating success positively, and that of avenue width, negatively. Avenue length and wall thickness correspond to the size of the bower, which suggests that a larger bower provides females with better protection from a vigorous male's display. A long and narrow avenue may provide a refuge for females from the harassment by an owner male. No variables corresponding to decorations were important for the mating success.

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Female preferences drive the evolution of mimetic accuracy in male sexual displays

Cited by 74 publications

References 11 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

Visual effects in great bowerbird sexual displays and their implications for signal design

Bower Structure is a Good Predictor of Mating Success in the Great Bowerbird

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