Why do females sing?—pair communication and other song functions in eastern bluebirds

Rose, Evangeline M.; Coss, Derek A.; Haines, Casey D.; Danquah, Sheridan A; Studds, Colin E.; Omland, Kevin E.

doi:10.1093/beheco/arz130

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…We report that while female song is nearly nine times less frequent than male song, and relegated largely to the first month of the breeding season, it has an overall similar structure to male song and is used similarly in counter-singing, as well as mate-interruption contexts. The use of female song in counter-singing (see supplementary video 1) just prior to clutch initiation is consistent with singing patterns of other Northern temperate breeding species and suggests a functional role for this signal similar to what has been found for female song in those species (Cain et al, 2015; Krieg & Getty, 2016b; Levin, 1996; Rose et al, 2019; Yasukawa, 1989, 1990). Specifically, female barn swallow song could be actively maintained and used by females during this short period of the breeding season when females are establishing and competing for nest sites (Krieg & Getty, 2016b; Rosvall, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Analysis of female song provides insight into the evolution of sex differences in a widely studied songbird

Wilkins

Odom

Benedict

et al. 2020

Preprint

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3Understanding the patterns and processes related to sexual dimorphism in diverse animal taxa 1 4 is a foundational research topic in ecology and evolution. Within the realm of animal 1 5 communication, studies have traditionally focused on male signals, assuming that female choice 1 6and male-male competition have promoted dimorphism via elaboration of male traits, but 1 7 selection on females also has the potential to create sex differences. Here, we describe female 1 8 song in barn swallows for the first time, report rates of female song production, and couple song 1 9 data with plumage data to explore the relative degree to which dimorphism in signaling traits is 2 0 consistent with contemporary selection on males versus females. During previous intensive 2 1 study of male song over two years, we recorded songs for 15 females, with matched phenotypic 2 2 and fitness data. We randomly selected 15 samples from our larger male dataset to test 2 3 whether sexual dimorphism in song and plumage is more strongly associated with fledgling 2 4 success for females or genetic paternity for males. Analyses included 35 potential sexual 2 5 signals including 22 song parameters and 13 plumage traits. Outcomes indicate that: female 2 6songs are used in multiple contexts, restricted primarily to the beginning of the breeding season; 2 7 song traits were more dimorphic than visual plumage traits; and trait correlations with 2 8 reproductive success in females, rather than males, predicted sex-based differences in song 2 9 and plumage. These results are consistent with phylogenetic studies showing that sex-based 3 0 phenotypic differences are driven by changes in females, highlighting the potential role 3 1 of female trait evolution in explaining patterns of sexual dimorphism. To achieve a better 3 2

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Analysis of female song provides insight into the evolution of sex differences in a widely studied songbird

Wilkins

Odom

Benedict

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…(2018), Rose et al. (2019). All field methods and protocols were approved by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC, approval KO01741417).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Traditionally, the field of ornithology has viewed birdsong as a primarily male behavior used for mate attraction and territory defense (Catchpole & Slater, 2008; Rose et al., 2019). However, recent work has demonstrated that female song is both widespread and ancestral in songbirds, and that song may have additional or different functions in females (Odom & Benedict, 2018; Odom et al., 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Species differences also exist in female song function. Across species, male song is thought to function primarily for mate attraction and territory defense (Catchpole & Slater, 2008; Rose et al., 2019). However, female song only shares these functions in some species (Illes, 2015; Langmore, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The large song repertoires of male eastern bluebirds function in mate attraction (Gowaty & Plissner, 1998), territory defense (Gowaty & Plissner, 1998), and intersexual communication, including mate communication and coordination of feeding activities (Huntsman & Ritchison, 2002). Female song in eastern bluebirds also functions in mate communication and pair‐bond maintenance (Rose et al., 2019). However, the function and extent of song repertoires in female eastern bluebirds remain largely unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Large female song repertoires and within‐pair song type sharing in a temperate breeding songbird

et al. 2020

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Female song has been significantly understudied in songbirds. While male song has been studied for centuries, female song has only begun to be explored in the last few decades. This is especially true in relation to understanding repertoire size and function. In male songbirds, song repertoires are thought to function primarily in mate attraction and territory defense. Only a few studies to date have explored repertoire size in female songbirds, and many of those focused on tropical duetting species. We quantified the size and explored the function of song repertoires in a temperate breeding songbird, the eastern bluebird. Female song in eastern bluebirds functions primarily in communication with a social mate in order to maintain long-term pair bonds. Previous work in this species also documented that males have large repertoires serving a variety of purposes. We found that female bluebirds have similar song repertoire sizes to males. Also, females share their repertoires and song types more closely with their mate than shared with non-mates. This is one of the first studies to document large female repertoires in a non-duetting temperate species. Our findings indicate that large female repertoires and song type sharing in this species is integral to communication between social mates. Additionally, the large effect size of song type sharing with newly formed mates suggests open-ended learning may be present in this songbird, a previously under-documented phenomenon in females. This study provides the groundwork to explore the ontogeny and evolution of song repertoire size in female songbirds and to expand our understanding of song repertoires beyond their functions in males as an indicator of male fitness.

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Adult male–female social bond advertising: The primary function of coordinated singing intensity in a small ape

Fan

2021

American J Primatol

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Adult male and female coordinated singing occur in diverse animal taxa. Adult male-female social bond advertising and strengthening have been proposed as two important functional hypotheses of coordinated singing. Here we studied these two functions in four groups of cao vit gibbon (Nomascus nasutus), a small ape that lives in polygynous family groups and adult members coordinated their sex-specific songs to produce complex duets or trios (three members sing together), using 6-year field behavioral data. In this study, we used the number of successful great call sequences per bout or per minute, and latency period from start of the adult male call to the first successful great call sequence to represent singing intensity. We used the proportion of proximity, behavioral synchronization, and grooming between adult male and female to represent bond strength. We used linear mixed-effects model to investigate the correlation between singing intensity and adult male-female social bond strength. We found a negative correlation between all three bond strength indicators and female latency period (N = 209), and a positive correlation between the number of successful great call sequences per bout (N = 253) and per minute (N = 254) and proximity. We used paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test to investigate if adult gibbons increase bond strength after singing. We found proximity (hourly level: N = 45; daily level: N = 54), behavioral synchronization (hourly level: N = 57; daily level: N = 49), and grooming (daily level: N = 34) in most of the groups did not increase significantly after singing in an hourly or daily level. Together, these results indicate that cao vit gibbon coordinated singing serves primarily in adult male-female social bond advertising and distinct singing intensity indicators advertise different information on adult male-female social bond strength.

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Why do females sing?—pair communication and other song functions in eastern bluebirds

Cited by 25 publications

References 40 publications

Analysis of female song provides insight into the evolution of sex differences in a widely studied songbird

Analysis of female song provides insight into the evolution of sex differences in a widely studied songbird

Large female song repertoires and within‐pair song type sharing in a temperate breeding songbird

Adult male–female social bond advertising: The primary function of coordinated singing intensity in a small ape

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