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1. Experimental manipulation of chest spotting alters territorial aggression in urban and rural song sparrows

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-023-03396-6  

   Beck, Michelle L. ; Sewall, Kendra B. ; Akҫay, Ҫağlar ( December 2023 , Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology)

   In many taxa, melanin-based coloration is a signal of dominance or fighting ability and is associated with concentrations of hormones that may mediate aggressive behavior. Previous studies found that experimental manipulation of melanin-based signals can result in manipulated individuals receiving more social challenges in some but not all species. These differences could arise from mismatches between the signal, behavior, and hormone concentrations. In the present study, we experimentally manipulated the chest spotting of urban and rural male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) following an assessment of their territorial aggression and initial concentrations of corticosterone and testosterone and then assessed their behavior and hormone concentrations 2 weeks later. We found that males generally displayed less territorial aggression in the second trial, consistent with our previous findings. Males in the enlarged treatment decreased aggression to a greater degree than those in the reduced treatment. The effect of the plumage manipulation was similar across the rural and urban habitats. Despite the changes in behavior we detected, we found no effects of the manipulation on concentrations of testosterone or corticosterone. Our results show that melanin-based spotting in male song sparrows is a signal of territorial aggression but the physiological mechanisms that mediate the relationships between chest spotting and behavior remain to be identified.

   Many bird species use their plumage to signal their dominance status, fighting ability, or motivation during interactions with other individuals to resolve conflicts without a fight. Here, we asked whether chest spotting is a signal in territorial interactions among male song sparrows. We experimentally increased or reduced the extent of spotting in males and measured the change in their aggression. We found that reduced-spotting males showed a more moderate seasonal decrease of aggression compared to males with enlarged spotting reduced aggression, possibly because the former experienced more intrusions later on in the breeding season while the latter experienced fewer intrusions. These results are consistent with chest spotting size in song sparrows functioning as a signal of territory holding potential of the bearer.

    

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2. Correlated evolution of distinct signals associated with increased social selection in female white‐shouldered fairywrens

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8370  

   Jones, John Anthony ; Odom, Karan J. ; Hoppe, Ian R. ; Nason, Doka ; Ketaloya, Serena ; Karubian, Jordan ( November 2021 , Ecology and Evolution)

   Conspicuous female signals have recently received substantial scientific attention, but it remains unclear if their evolution is the result of selection acting on females independently of males or if mutual selection facilitates female change. Species that express female, but not male, phenotypic variation among populations represents a useful opportunity to address this knowledge gap. White‐shouldered fairywrens (Malurus alboscapulatus) are tropical songbirds with a well‐resolved phylogeny where female, but not male, coloration varies allopatrically across subspecies. We explored how four distinct signaling modalities, each putatively associated with increased social selection, are expressed in two populations that vary in competitive pressure on females. Females in a derived subspecies (M.a.moretoni) have evolved more ornamented plumage and have shorter tails (a signal of social dominance) relative to an ancestral subspecies (M.a.lorentzi) with drab females. In response to simulated territorial intrusions broadcasting female song, both sexes ofM.a.moretoniare more aggressive and more coordinated with their mates in both movement and vocalizations. Finally,M.a.moretonisongs are more complex thanM.a.lorentzi, but song complexity does not vary between sexes in either population. These results suggest that correlated phenotypic shifts in coloration and tail morphology in females as well as song complexity and aggression in both sexes may have occurred in response to changes in the intensity of social selection pressures. This highlights increased competitive pressures in both sexes can facilitate the evolution of complex multimodal signals.

    

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3. Evaluating seasonal patterns of female aggression: Case study in a cavity‐nesting bird with intense female–female competition

   https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.12881  

   Bentz, Alexandra B. ; Philippi, Kelsey J. ; Rosvall, Kimberly A. ; Koenig, ed., Walter D. ( May 2019 , Ethology)

   Seasonal plasticity in aggression is likely to be shaped by the contexts in which aggression is beneficial, as well as the constraints inherent in its underlying mechanisms. In males, seasonal plasticity in testosterone (T) secretion is thought to underlie seasonal plasticity in conspecific aggression, but it is less clear how and why female aggression may vary across different breeding stages. Here, we integrate functional and mechanistic perspectives to begin to explore seasonal patterns of conspecific aggression in female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), a songbird with intense female–female competition and T‐mediated aggression. Female tree swallows elevate T levels during early breeding stages, coinciding with competition for nest boxes, after which time T levels are roughly halved. However, females need to defend ownership of their nesting territory throughout the breeding season, suggesting it may be adaptive to maintain aggressive capabilities, despite low T levels. We performed simulated territorial intrusions using 3D‐printed decoys of female tree swallows to determine how their aggressive response to a simulated intrusion changes across the breeding season. First, we found that 3D‐printed decoys produce data comparable to stage‐matched studies using live decoys, providing researchers with a new, more economical method of decoy construction. Further, female aggressiveness remained relatively high through incubation, a period of time when T levels are quite low, suggesting that other mechanisms may regulate conspecific female aggression during parental periods. By showing that seasonal patterns of female aggression do not mirror the established patterns of T levels in this highly competitive bird, our findings provide a unique glimpse into how behavioural mechanisms and functions may interact across breeding stages to regulate plasticity.

    

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4. Female reproductive state is associated with changes in distinct arginine vasotocin cell types in the preoptic area of Astatotilapia burtoni

   https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.24995  

   Butler, Julie M. ; Anselmo, Chase M. ; Maruska, Karen P. ( August 2020 , Journal of Comparative Neurology)

   Nonapeptides play a crucial role in mediating reproduction, aggression, and parental care across taxa. In fishes,arginine vasotocin(AVT) expression is related to social and/or reproductive status in most male fishes studied to date, and is linked to territorial defense, paternal care, and courtship. Despite a plethora of studies examining AVT in male fishes, relatively little is known about how AVT expression varies with female reproductive state or its role in female social behaviors. We used multiple methods for examining the AVT system in female African cichlid fishAstatotilapia burtoni, including immunohistochemistry for AVT, in situ hybridization foravt‐mRNA, and quantitative PCR. Ovulated and mouthbrooding females had similar numbers of parvocellular, magnocellular, and gigantocellular AVT cells in the preoptic area. However, ovulated females had larger magnocellular and gigantocellular cells compared to mouthbrooding females, and gigantocellular AVT cell size correlated with the number of days brooding, such that late‐stage brooding females had larger AVT cells than mid‐stage brooding females. In addition, we found that ventral hypothalamic cells were more prominent in females compared to males, and were larger in mouthbrooding compared to ovulated females, suggesting a role in maternal care. Together, these data indicate that AVT neurons change across the reproductive cycle in female fishes, similar to that seen in males. These data on females complement studies in maleA.burtoni, providing a comprehensive picture of the regulation and potential function of different AVT cell types in reproduction and social behaviors in both sexes.

    

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5. Bioacoustic monitoring reveals shifts in breeding songbird populations and singing behaviour with selective logging in tropical forests

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13492  

   Pillay, Rajeev ; Fletcher, Jr, Robert J. ; Sieving, Kathryn E. ; Udell, Bradley J. ; Bernard, Henry ; Paiva, ed., Vitor ( September 2019 , Journal of Applied Ecology)

   Selective logging is the primary cause of tropical forest degradation and is rapidly expanding worldwide. While the impacts of logging on species diversity and distributions are well understood, little is known about the effects of logging on animal behaviours central to individual fitness and population persistence.

   The song rate of breeding songbirds is a behavioural trait that is often positively associated with male density and used by conspecific females as an indicator of territory and male quality. Thus, contrasting logging‐induced adjustments in song rates of individual birds with population shifts may illuminate potential mechanisms underlying population distributions.

   We present a novel application of bioacoustic monitoring, integrating counts of individuals, songs and duets from single automated recording units (ARUs) withN‐mixture models, to estimate shifts in population parameters (occupancy, abundance) and singing behaviours (per‐capita song rates, per‐pair duet rates) of 32 Bornean songbird species with logging. We tested hypotheses on the relationships between adjustments in behavioural and population parameters with logging, and further tested the extent to which species traits predicted behavioural and population shifts.

   Adjustments to singing behaviour in 59 and 53% of species (57% of duetting species) were concordant with differences in occupancy and abundance respectively, such that species showing reduced populations with logging also produced fewer songs per‐capita, and vice versa. Species known to prefer undisturbed habitats and large‐bodied species showed the most negative effects of logging on singing behaviour and population distributions. Species known to exploit degraded habitats exhibited the opposite pattern. Subdued singing in logged forests by species of conservation concern suggests limited competition between territorial males in small populations and may also signal low‐quality territories.

   Synthesis and applications. We demonstrate that bioacoustic monitoring can be used to not only estimate important population parameters of occupancy and abundance across a diverse tropical songbird community, but also enables quantification of behaviours considered relevant to individual fitness, yet unobtainable with conventional methods (e.g. point counts). Bioacoustics provides a viable approach to reliable automated large‐scale monitoring of hyperdiverse tropical forest systems under logging operations and other land‐use pressures.

    

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