Vigor and skill in the acrobatic mating displays of a Neotropical songbird

Manica, Lilian T.; Macêdo, Regina H.; Graves, Jeff A.; Podos, Jeffrey

doi:10.1093/beheco/arw143

Cited by 42 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Indeed, studies of sexual displays in birds [57,58] and humans [59] indicate that the receivers of such signals are sensitive to this type of variation. Signals that reveal underlying quality might also be pertinent during a fight between males if the fight is observed by females that use information on skill to subsequently choose a mate [56].…”

Section: (A) Skill Reveals Underlying Qualitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of skill in animal contests: a neglected component of fighting ability

Briffa¹,

Lane²

2017

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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What attributes make some individuals more likely to win a fight than others? A range of morphological and physiological traits have been studied intensely but far less focus has been placed on the actual agonistic behaviours used. Current studies of agonistic behaviour focus on contest duration and the vigour of fighting. It also seems obvious that individuals that fight more skilfully should have a greater chance of winning a fight. Here, we discuss the meaning of skill in animal fights. As the activities of each opponent can be disrupted by the behaviour of their rival, we differentiate among ability, technique and skill itself. In addition to efficient, accurate and sometimes precise movement, skilful fighting also requires rapid decision-making, so that appropriate tactics and strategies are selected. We consider how these different components of skill could be acquired, through genes, experiences of play-fighting and of real fights. Skilful fighting can enhance resource holding potential (RHP) by allowing for sustained vigour, by inflicting greater costs on opponents and by minimizing the chance of damage. Therefore, we argue that skill is a neglected but important component of RHP that could be readily studied to provide new insights into the evolution of agonistic behaviour.

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Section: (A) Skill Reveals Underlying Qualitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of skill in animal contests: a neglected component of fighting ability

Briffa¹,

Lane²

2017

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…Drumming is a relatively simple motor display: It is a single repeated element. In contrast, other bird species incorporate a diverse range of movements into their displays (Fusani et al, ; Fuxjager et al, ; Hjorth, ; Johnsgard, ; Manica et al, , ; Ribeiro, Guaraldo, Macedo, & Manica, ). Each one of the elements used in these complex courtship displays might also vary throughout the day and with each performance, but studies comparable to ours have yet to be conducted in other avian species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Avian courtship can, however, include a wide range of complex motor acts that are also subject to variation across and within individuals. Despite the widespread occurrence of sound production, dances, and various plumage displays, there are only a handful of studies addressing inter‐ or intra‐male variation of motor displays in birds (Barske et al, ; Barske, Schlinger, Wikelski, & Fusani, ; Fusani, Giordano, Day, & Schlinger, ; Manica, Graves, Podos, & Macedo, ; Manica, Macedo, Graves, & Podos, ; Ota, Gahr, & Soma, ). Motor displays that involve fine and/or intense motor control are likely to vary both within and among males because their dependence on muscle performance makes them susceptible to fatigue and potential candidates for warm‐up periods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Courtship display speed varies daily and with body size in the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)

et al. 2020

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Courtship displays are typically comprised of the same behavioral pattern, or patterns, repeated several times by males. Both the quantity and quality of the displays produced by a given male bird are not, however, constant. The number and/or quality of displays can decrease over time, indicating fatigue, or males can increase the number and/or quality as they display more, indicating a warm‐up period. Although there is evidence for fatigue or warm‐up periods for many types of courtship displays, data on motor components of avian courtship are scant, despite how commonly they are used. Here, we test whether drumming, a non‐vocal motor display, in male ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) changes in relation to the number of displays executed. Using a large number of recordings, our linear mixed models yielded a significant effect of cumulative number of drumming displays on the number of wingbeats per second, referred to as pulse rate. Across males, pulse rate is slowest when males begin drumming each day and increases until approximately 50 drumming displays have been produced. The rate of increase is also modulated by the nighttime low temperature such that cooler conditions are associated with lower pulse rates and a slower increase in pulse rate relative to the cumulative number of displays. Further, the maximum pulse rate recorded and average pulse rate after 50 displays is inversely correlated with body mass such that larger males are slower than smaller males. We suggest that the daily changes in pulse rate likely reflect a warm‐up period based upon the effects of cumulative drumming count and temperature on pulse rate. Whether these dynamic changes in the production of a motor display are informative to female grouse is unknown. However, we propose that daily changes in how motor displays are performed may be a common feature of avian courtship that has gone relatively unnoticed, despite the potential for motor performance to be a trait that is important for female mate choice.

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“…Blue‐black grassquit males perform multimodal displays that involve not only acoustic components, but also visual cues: males leap at heights of 25 ± 9 cm (Costa & Macedo, ) while clapping their wings behind their heads and presenting white underwing plumage patches (Maia & Macedo, ). At the peak of the leap, males emit a high‐pitched song and return to the perched position to leap again a few seconds later (Manica, Macedo, Graves, & Podos, ). Previous studies have shown that the height of the leap is important for male pairing success (Carvalho et al, ; Manica et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dangerous love? Predation risk does not affect female mate choice in blue‐black grassquits

2019

Self Cite

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Predation risk may be an important factor affecting female mate choice. Hypothetically, females could choose extravagantly ornamented males that survive in high predation risk environments. However, this decision could be different if choosing a conspicuous male under high predation risk is costly for females or results in reduced offspring survival. In such contexts, females could become indifferent to male quality or prefer inconspicuous males. We tested this idea using captive blue‐black grassquits (Volatinia jacarina, Linnaeus, 1766), a species in which males perform conspicuous leap displays coupled with songs during the breeding season, which presumably subjects females and offspring to higher predation risk. Females were placed in an arena with speakers on opposite sides emitting male courtship songs. One speaker emitted songs at a high rate (proxy for a conspicuous male) while the other speaker broadcast songs at a low rate (proxy for a less conspicuous male). While the female evaluated the two male songs, a third speaker emitted vocalizations characterizing three levels of risk: adult predator, nest predator, and no‐risk control. Females showed no preference for either male stimuli across the predation risk treatments. This lack of preference relative to frequency of male vocal displays suggests that leap‐song frequency is not used by females during mate choice. We suggest that in addition to its role in courtship, male grassquit displays also signal status to other males when competing for territories. Thus, we propose that predation risk does not directly influence blue‐black grassquit intersexual selection and that females in this species may exercise indirect mate choice, choosing social mates based on male ability to establish and defend a territory, and relying secondarily upon other aspects of male display attributes, such as its visual components.

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Vigor and skill in the acrobatic mating displays of a Neotropical songbird

Cited by 42 publications

References 67 publications

The role of skill in animal contests: a neglected component of fighting ability

The role of skill in animal contests: a neglected component of fighting ability

Courtship display speed varies daily and with body size in the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)

Dangerous love? Predation risk does not affect female mate choice in blue‐black grassquits

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