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1. Can you hear/see me? Multisensory integration of signals does not always facilitate mate choice

   https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arac061  

   Coss, Derek A ; Ryan, Michael J ; Page, Rachel A ; Hunter, Kimberly L ; Taylor, Ryan C ( June 2022 , Behavioral Ecology)

   Candolin, Ulrika (Ed.)

   Abstract Females of many species choose mates using multiple sensory modalities. Multimodal noise may arise, however, in dense aggregations of animals communicating via multiple sensory modalities. Some evidence suggests multimodal signals may not always improve receiver decision-making performance. When sensory systems process input from multimodal signal sources, multimodal noise may arise and potentially complicate decision-making due to the demands on cognitive integration tasks. We tested female túngara frog, Physalaemus (=Engystomops) pustulosus, responses to male mating signals in noise from multiple sensory modalities (acoustic and visual). Noise treatments were partitioned into three categories: acoustic, visual, and multimodal. We used natural calls from conspecifics and heterospecifics for acoustic noise. Robotic frogs were employed as either visual signal components (synchronous vocal sac inflation with call) or visual noise (asynchronous vocal sac inflation with call). Females expressed a preference for the typically more attractive call in the presence of unimodal noise. However, during multimodal signal and noise treatments (robofrogs employed with background noise), females failed to express a preference for the typically attractive call in the presence of conspecific chorus noise. We found that social context and temporal synchrony of multimodal signaling components are important for multimodal communication. Our results demonstrate that multimodal signals have the potential to increase the complexity of the sensory scene and reduce the efficacy of female decision making. 

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2. Anthropogenic noise affects female, not male house wren response to change in signaling network

   https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.13085  

   Grabarczyk, Erin E. ; Araya‐Salas, Marcelo ; Vonhof, Maarten J. ; Gill, Sharon A. ; Fusani, ed., Leonida ( August 2020 , Ethology)

   Vocal signals mediate social relationships, and among networks of territorial animals, information is often shared via broadcast vocalizations. Anthropogenic noise may disrupt communication among individuals within networks, as animals change the way they vocalize in noise. Furthermore, constraints on signal transmission, including frequency masking and distance, may affect information exchange following a disruption in social networks. We tested the hypothesis that signaling interactions within networks of breeding male and female house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) depend on distance, ambient noise, and receiver nesting stage. We used playback experiments to simulate territorial intrusions with and without noise playbacks on the territories of established males and simultaneously recorded the vocal responses of neighbors. To examine whether intrusions impacted interactions between males, we used randomization tests to determine whether treatment, distance, noise, or nesting stage affected vocal coordination between challenged and neighboring males. We also quantified singing patterns to explore whether intrusions on territories of challenged males affected singing by males and females on neighboring territories. Males sang at the lowest rates and were less likely to overlap songs with the challenged male when their partner was laying, compared to males during early and late nesting stages. Noise and distance did not affect vocal coordination or male singing rates. Fewer females sang during the intruder‐only treatment compared to the control and intrusions with noise. Added noise in the territories of challenged males may have masked signals, and as a result, females only changed their behavior during the intruder‐only treatment. Our results suggest that the fertility of breeding partners may be more important to males than short‐term changes on rival male territories. Elevated noise did little to alter male responses to threats within networks. Females appeared to eavesdrop on interactions involving neighboring males, but noise may have prevented detection of their interactions.

    

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3. Noise-induced vocal plasticity in urban white-crowned sparrows does not involve adjustment of trill performance components

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36276-5  

   Gentry, Katherine E. ; Luther, David A. ( February 2019 , Scientific Reports)

   Background noise can interfere with acoustic communication and subsequently influence signaling behavior. Immediate signaling flexibility (ISF) is a context-dependent form of behavioral plasticity that allows animals to temporarily change their acoustic behavior in response to noise fluctuations and potentially improve the chances of successful communication in noisy environments. The adaptive value of ISF is ultimately contingent on the response of the intended receiver, and there are differential effects on receiver response depending on which signal component is modified. However, there is scant research on whether ISF involves modification of a signal component specifically linked to mate attraction or territory defense. Our study addresses this knowledge gap and provides important insight into whether males employ short-term signal modification in a manner that could affect mate pairing success in birds. Specifically, we explore the maladaptive potential of ISF in the San Francisco, California population ofZonotrichia leucophrys nuttalliby testing for changes in trill bandwidth and rate—the specific trill structure components known to influence the receiver’s perception of vocal performance in this species—before and during noise broadcast experiments. AlthoughZonotrichia leucophrys nuttalliare capable of ISF, we found no evidence that noise induces temporary adjustment of the trill structure traits used by receivers to assess vocal performance.

    

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4. Reproductive- and Social-State Plasticity of Multiple Sensory Systems in a Cichlid Fish

   https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icab062  

   Maruska, Karen P ; Butler, Julie M ( May 2021 , Integrative and Comparative Biology)

   Synopsis Intra- and inter-sexual communications are vital to the survival and reproductive success of animals. In species that cycle in and out of breeding or other physiological condition, sensory function can be modulated to optimize communication at crucial times. Little is known, however, about how widespread this sensory plasticity is across taxa, whether it occurs in multiple senses or both sexes within a species, and what potential modulatory substances and substrates are involved. Thus, studying modulation of sensory communication in a single species can provide valuable insights for understanding how sensory abilities can be altered to optimize detection of salient signals in different sensory channels and social contexts. The African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni uses multimodal communication in social contexts such as courtship, territoriality, and parental care and shows plasticity in sensory abilities. In this review, we synthesize what is known about how visual, acoustic, and chemosensory communication is used in A. burtoni in inter- and intra-specific social contexts, how sensory funtion is modulated by an individual’s reproductive, metabolic, and social state, and discuss evidence for plasticity in potential modulators that may contribute to changes in sensory abilities and behaviors. Sensory plasticity in females is primarily associated with the natural reproductive cycle and functions to improve detection of courtship signals (visual, auditory, chemosensory, and likely mechanosensory) from high-quality males for reproduction. Plasticity in male sensory abilities seems to function in altering their ability to detect the status of other males in the service of territory ownership and future reproductive opportunities. Changes in different classes of potential modulators or their receptors (steroids, neuropeptides, and biogenic amines) occur at both peripheral sensory organs (eye, inner ear, and olfactory epithelium) and central visual, olfactory, and auditory processing regions, suggesting complex mechanisms contributing to plasticity of sensory function. This type of sensory plasticity revealed in males and females of A. burtoni is likely more widespread among diverse animals than currently realized, and future studies should take an integrative and comparative approach to better understand the proximate and ultimate mechanisms modulating communication abilities across taxa. 

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5. A rapidly evolving cricket produces percussive vibrations: how, who, when, and why

   https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arad031  

   Wikle, Aaron W. ; Broder, E. Dale ; Gallagher, James H. ; Tinghitella, Robin M. ; Snell-Rood, ed., Emilie ( May 2023 , Behavioral Ecology)

   Sexual signals are often transmitted through multiple modalities (e.g., visual and chemical) and under selection from both intended and unintended receivers. Each component of a multimodal signal may be more or less conspicuous to receivers, and signals may evolve to take advantage of available private channels. We recently documented percussive substrate-borne vibrations in the Pacific field cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus), a species that uses airborne acoustic and chemical signals to attract and secure mates. The airborne signals of Hawaiian T. oceanicus are currently undergoing rapid evolution; at least five novel male morphs have arisen in the past 20 years. Nothing is yet known about the newly discovered percussive substrate-borne vibrations, so we ask “how” they are produced, “who” produces them (e.g., population, morph), “when” they produce them (e.g., whether they are plastic), and “why” (e.g., do they play a role in mating). We show that the vibrations are produced exclusively by males during courtship via foreleg drumming. One novel morph, purring, produces quieter airborne songs and is more likely to drum than the ancestral morph. However, drumming behavior is also contextually plastic for some males; when we removed the ability of males to produce airborne song, ancestral males became more likely to drum, whereas two novel morphs were equally likely to drum regardless of their ability to produce song. Opposite our prediction, females were less likely to mate with males who drummed. We discuss why that might be and describe what we can learn about complex signal evolution from this newly discovered behavior.

    

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