Superb Fairy-Wren (Malurus cyaneus) Sons and Daughters Acquire Song Elements of Mothers and Social Fathers

Evans, Christine; Kleindorfer, Sonia

doi:10.3389/fevo.2016.00009

Cited by 31 publications

(30 citation statements)

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“…Between‐sex differences in song sharing may also reflect sex‐specific tutor differences. Based on acoustic similarities, Evans and Kleindorfer () found that male and female Superb Fairy‐wrens ( Malarus cyaneus ) learn song elements from both their social fathers and mothers. Studies of two temperate songbirds, in contrast, suggest that young males learn songs from natal neighbors and breeding territory neighbors (Nelson & Poesel, ; Wheelwright et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Between-sex differences in song sharing may also reflect sex-specific tutor differences. Based on acoustic similarities, Evans and Kleindorfer (2016) found that male and female Superb Fairy-wrens (Malarus cyaneus) learn song elements from both their social fathers and mothers.…”

Section: Spatial Structure Of Songsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some song types are sex-specific, whereas other songs types are shared between males and females (Mennill & Vehrencamp, 2005). Even though there is the potential for individuals to learn songs from the opposite sex (as observed in other species, Evans & Kleindorfer, 2016), measurements of song sharing and acoustic similarity suggest that males learn primarily from other males, and that females learn from other females, as suggested in other species (Mennill & Rogers, 2006). Juvenile Rufousand-white Wrens appear to continue to learn songs following natal dispersal, further allowing us to study the role between dispersal and song variation (Graham, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dispersal influences genetic and acoustic spatial structure for both males and females in a tropical songbird

Graham

Heath

Mennill

2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Animals exhibit diverse dispersal strategies, including sex‐biased dispersal, a phenomenon common in vertebrates. Dispersal influences the genetic structure of populations as well as geographic variation in phenotypic traits. Patterns of spatial genetic structure and geographic variation may vary between the sexes whenever males and females exhibit different dispersal behaviors. Here, we examine dispersal, spatial genetic structure, and spatial acoustic structure in Rufous‐and‐white Wrens, a year‐round resident tropical bird. Both sexes sing in this species, allowing us to compare acoustic variation between males and females and examine the relationship between dispersal and song sharing for both sexes. Using a long‐term dataset collected over an 11‐year period, we used banding data and molecular genetic analyses to quantify natal and breeding dispersal distance in Rufous‐and‐white Wrens. We quantified song sharing and examined whether sharing varied with dispersal distance, for both males and females. Observational data and molecular genetic analyses indicate that dispersal is female‐biased. Females dispersed farther from natal territories than males, and more often between breeding territories than males. Furthermore, females showed no significant spatial genetic structure, consistent with expectations, whereas males showed significant spatial genetic structure. Overall, natal dispersal appears to have more influence than breeding dispersal on spatial genetic structure and spatial acoustic structure, given that the majority of breeding dispersal events resulted in individuals moving only short distances. Song sharing between pairs of same‐sex animals decreases with the distance between their territories for both males and females, although males exhibited significantly greater song sharing than females. Lastly, we measured the relationship between natal dispersal distance and song sharing. We found that sons shared fewer songs with their fathers the farther they dispersed from their natal territories, but that song sharing between daughters and mothers was not significantly correlated with natal dispersal distance. Our results reveal cultural differences between the sexes, suggesting a relationship between culture and sex‐biased dispersal.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Spatial Structure Of Songsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dispersal influences genetic and acoustic spatial structure for both males and females in a tropical songbird

Graham

Heath

Mennill

2017

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Another potential explanation could be that young bird's songs differ from their mothers' because they learn vocal elements from multiple tutors. They may learn from their social father, which has been shown in several closely related species (Greig et al, 2012;Evans and Kleindorfer, 2016), but also possibly from auxiliary helpers and other nearby adults.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Kin Signatures Learned in the Egg? Red-Backed Fairy-Wren Songs Are Similar to Their Mother's In-Nest Calls and Songs

2016

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Many vocal animals recognize kin using vocal cues, in territorial contexts and in rearing young, but little is known about the developmental and evolutionary mechanisms that produce vocal kin recognition systems. In the cooperatively breeding red-backed fairy-wren (Malurus melanocephalus), females give specific "in-nest calls" while incubating their eggs. Elements from these calls are incorporated into chicks' begging calls, and appear to be used by parents for recognition. This is likely a result of an embryo's ability to learn the call elements in the egg. Here, we explore the idea that maternal vocal elements may be incorporated into offspring's adult songs, and serve as signatures of kinship, which would aid in kin recognition and benefit signaler and receiver. To investigate this hypothesis, we tested for similarities between maternal vocal elements (in-nest calls and songs) and songs of their adult offspring. We then determined whether offspring songs were more similar to the maternal vocalizations they heard only as embryos (in-nest calls), or maternal songs they heard throughout development, but mostly post-fledge (mothers' full songs). We used dynamic time warping to compare maternal vocal elements with elements in their offspring's adult songs. The elements of each offspring were more similar to the elements of their own mother than to the elements of any other female (but only for the average similarity score), suggesting they may serve as kin signatures. We also found that offspring song elements were more similar to their mother's song elements than to their mother's in-nest call elements. In addition, female in-nest call elements were more similar to their own song elements than to the song elements of any other female. Offspring that produced song elements highly similar to their mother's song elements also had song elements highly similar to their mother's in-nest call elements. Signals of kinship may function critically for survival and successful reproduction, by allowing an individual to allocate care and defense to kin and to avoid mating with genetic relatives. Understanding the processes that facilitate effective kin recognition, including development of kin signatures, helps us to understand how these crucial signaling systems may have evolved.

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“…Australian fairy-wrens (genus Malurus, Maluridae) offer an opportunity to study patterns of intraspecific variation in songs in situations with varying levels of geographic continuity between populations. In fairy-wrens both sexes sing (Payne et al 1988, Rowley and Russell 1997, Greig and Pruett-Jones 2008, Evans and Kleindorfer 2016, particularly during territorial disputes (Hall and Peters 2008, Dowling and Webster 2013, Kleindorfer et al 2013 and (for males) during dawn chorus and conspecific signaling displays Cockburn 2008, Greig andPruett-Jones 2010). All fairy-wrens are cooperatively breeding and socially monogamous, but most are reproductively promiscuous, leading to complex genetic relationships within social family groups (Rowley and Russell 1990, Dunn et al 1995, Tarvin et al 2005, Webster et al 2007, 2008, Cockburn et al 2009, Colombelli-Négrel et al 2010, Rowe and Pruett-Jones 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic patterns of song variation in four species of Malurus fairy‐wrens

Yandell

Hochachka

Pruett‐Jones

et al. 2018

Journal of Avian Biology

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Geographic variation in song is widespread among birds, particularly in species that learn vocalizations. The relationship between geographic distance and song variation is likely related to the degree of isolation between populations. To assess this effect of geographic isolation on song divergence, we examined patterns of geographic song variation in four species of Australian fairy‐wrens (Malurus), two with suspected histories of geographic isolation and two without. Song variation in all four species was consistent with patterns of isolation by distance, and allopatric subspecies in two species were more divergent in song than predicted by distance alone. Each species’ pattern was unique, and some interspecific variation could not be explained by geographic distance. These results indicate that patterns of geographic variation can be influenced by more than geographic distance and historical isolation alone. We suggest that morphological constraints, environmental influences, and sexual selection may all contribute to the variation observed for each species.

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Superb Fairy-Wren (Malurus cyaneus) Sons and Daughters Acquire Song Elements of Mothers and Social Fathers

Cited by 31 publications

References 71 publications

Dispersal influences genetic and acoustic spatial structure for both males and females in a tropical songbird

Dispersal influences genetic and acoustic spatial structure for both males and females in a tropical songbird

Kin Signatures Learned in the Egg? Red-Backed Fairy-Wren Songs Are Similar to Their Mother's In-Nest Calls and Songs

Geographic patterns of song variation in four species of Malurus fairy‐wrens

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