Vocal exchanges during pair formation and maintenance in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata)

Abstract

BackgroundPair compatibility affects the success of a pair; however, its causes and mechanisms are not fully understood. Vocal exchange may be very important for pair formation, coordinating pair activities, maintaining the pair bond and mate guarding. To investigate the role of vocal exchange in pair formation and pair maintenance, we explored whether new and established pairs of zebra finches differed in their calling relationships. We used individualised backpack microphones to examine the entire daily vocal emission of pairs, with parallel video recording of behaviour.ResultsWe found that in non-breeding, isolated pairs, a specific type of call, the “stack call”, was the most common. Furthermore, all pairs used the stack call for precisely timed antiphonal exchange. We confirmed a difference between new and established pairs in social behaviour, with the former spending less time in physical contact. Notably, we found that this was mirrored by a difference in calling behaviour: members of new pairs converged over time on a more symmetric calling relationship. Additionally, we observed different response rates to partners among individuals, but a repeatable relationship of answering within pairs, which may reflect different degrees of motivation to answer the partner.ConclusionsOur findings show that there is plasticity in calling behaviour and that it changes during pair formation, resulting in a coordinated stack call exchange with a similar number of answers between partners once the pair is established. It is possible that some of the calling relationship measurements that we present reflect pair compatibility.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12983-017-0197-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Temporal modulation in speech, music, and animal vocal communication: evidence of conserved function

“…Duetting involves the clear alternation of vocalizations between the two individuals in a series of cycles, with very precise response timing and low rates of overlap between each individual's vocalization. [123][124][125][126] Similar patterns of duetting between sexual mates can be found in songbirds and primates (cf. Refs.…”

“…Male−male duetting has been reported in anurans, and has been hypothesized to function in the advertisement to females. Duetting involves the clear alternation of vocalizations between the two individuals in a series of cycles, with very precise response timing and low rates of overlap between each individual's vocalization . Similar patterns of duetting between sexual mates can be found in songbirds and primates (cf.…”

“…Refs. , , and ). For instance, Geissmann found that males of many gibbon species produce phrases that often increase in complexity (e.g., in the number of notes) as the song bout proceeds.…”

Life-Stage Dependent Plasticity in the Auditory System of a Songbird Is Signal and Emitter-Specific

“…Both contact and breeding calls carry information on the identity of the emitter that allow for individual recognition (D'Amelio et al, 2017a;Elie and Theunissen, 2018). These calls are used in a turntaking manner (D'Amelio et al, 2017b), a vocal strategy that is also used by some primates, including humans (Flack, 2013). Within female-male dyads, contact call interactions are plastic and important for pair formation and bond maintenance (Zann, 1996;Gill et al, 2015;D'Amelio et al, 2017b).…”

“…These calls are used in a turntaking manner (D'Amelio et al, 2017b), a vocal strategy that is also used by some primates, including humans (Flack, 2013). Within female-male dyads, contact call interactions are plastic and important for pair formation and bond maintenance (Zann, 1996;Gill et al, 2015;D'Amelio et al, 2017b). Likewise, breedingcall interactions are used for within-pair coordination during reproduction (Boucaud et al, 2017).…”