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170 results for “sexual signaling”
Data from: Purring crickets: the evolution of a novel sexual signal
Opportunities to observe contemporary signal change are incredibly rare, but critical for understanding how diversity is created and maintained. We discovered a population of the Pacific field cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus) with a newly evolved song ("purring"), different from any known cricket. Male crickets use song to attract females from afar and to court females once near. Teleogryllus oceanicus is well-known for sexual signal evolution, as exemplified by a recent signal loss. In this study, we characterized the new purring sound and investigated the role of the purr in long distance and short distance communication. The purring sound differed from typical ancestral calls in peak frequency, amplitude, and bandwidth. Further, the long-distance purring song facilitated mate location, though the role of courtship purring song is less clear. Our discovery of purring male crickets is an unprecedented opportunity to watch the emergence of a newly evolved sexual signal unfold in real time, and has potential to illuminate the mechanisms by which evolutionary novelties arise and coevolve between the sexes.
Data from: Predation cost of a sexual signal in the threespine stickleback
Much evidence exists for sexually selected traits reflecting various components of mate quality, but the factors that limit signal expression and ensure honest signaling are less well known. Predation risk has been proposed to be one factor that could constrain the elaboration of visually conspicuous signals and ensure honesty, but little evidence exists because of limitations of earlier used methods. We investigated using a combination of field observations and experimental work if a conspicuous sexual signal of the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus, the red nuptial coloration of the male, increases predation risk. We compared the proportion of colorful males in the gut of a predator in the wild, the perch Perca fluviatilis, to that in the population, and found proportionally more red-colored stickleback in the gut. This indicates that the predator selectively preys on colorful males under natural conditions. To differentiate between the effects of color and behavior on susceptibility to predation, we experimentally investigated the attack behavior of the predator towards breeding stickleback males differing in coloration. We found the predator to preferentially attack more colorful males, independent of their behavior. These results indicate that predation risk is a cost of the sexual signal that could limit expression and influence the honesty of the signal as an indicator of mate quality.
Data from: Sexual signals for the colour-blind: cryptic female mantids signal quality through brightness
1. Cryptic coloration may evolve in response to selective pressure imposed by predators, yet effective intraspecific communication may require some level of detectability. This creates a tension between the benefits of sexually selected visual traits and the predatory costs imposed by greater conspicuousness, and little is known about how this tension may be ameliorated in highly cryptic species. 2. We explore these competing demands in the false garden mantid Pseudomantis albofimbriata, a colour-blind and seemingly cryptic insect. We use reflectance spectrometry and receptor-noise modelling to characterize the conspicuousness of mantid body regions in the visual systems of mates (mantids), as well as potential predators (birds) and prey (bees). We then use condition manipulation and conspecific choice tests to further explore the colour traits of interest. 3. Based on visual modelling, we find that male mantids are inconspicuous to conspecifics, prey and predators – that is, they are chromatically and achromatically cryptic. In contrast, female mantids are chromatically cryptic to all potential receivers, but their abdomens are achromatically conspicuous. Our food manipulation experiment shows that females in good condition (and therefore with more eggs) have brighter abdomens than females in poor condition. Choice assays show male mantids are consistently attracted to females bearing brighter abdomens. 4. Our results reveal brightness-mediated sexual signalling in a colour-blind and classically cryptic insect. By communicating in the only visual channel available to them, female mantids are conspicuously signalling their quality to mates, while potentially minimizing their conspicuousness to predators and prey. Furthermore, by signalling with only a single body region, female mantids are apparently using coincident disruptive coloration to further decrease detectability to potential eavesdroppers. 5. Our data reveal a novel example of the way in which the trade-off between sexual selection for conspicuousness and natural selection for crypsis may be mediated in a visual signalling system. Such signals may be common in apparently cryptic species, and this study once again demonstrates the importance of analysing visual signals beyond the capacity of human vision.
Data from: Visual effects in great bowerbird sexual displays and their implications for signal design
It is often assumed that the primary purpose of a male's sexual display is to provide information about quality, or to strongly stimulate prospective mates, but other functions of courtship displays have been relatively neglected. Male great bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis) construct bowers that exploit the female's predictable field of view (FOV) during courtship displays by creating forced perspective illusions, and the quality of illusion is a good predictor of mating success. Here, we present and discuss two additional components of male courtship displays that use the female's predetermined viewpoint: (i) the rapid and diverse flashing of coloured objects within her FOV and (ii) chromatic adaptation of the female's eyes that alters her perception of the colour of the displayed objects. Neither is directly related to mating success, but both are likely to increase signal efficacy, and may also be associated with attracting and holding the female's attention. Signal efficacy is constrained by trade-offs between the signal components; there are both positive and negative interactions within multicomponent signals. Important signal components may have a threshold effect on fitness rather than the often assumed linear relationship.
Data from: The metabolic costs of sexual signalling in the chirping katydid Plangia graminea (Serville) (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) are context dependent: cumulative costs add up fast
Katydids produce acoustic signals via stridulation which they use to attract conspecific females for mating. However, direct estimates of the metabolic costs of calling to date have produced diverse cost estimates and are limited to only a handful of insect species. In this study, we therefore investigated the metabolic cost of calling in a unstudied sub-Saharan katydid, Plangia graminea. Using wild-caught animals, we measured katydid metabolic rate using standard flow-through respirometry while simultaneously recording the number of calls produced. Overall, the metabolic rate during calling in P. graminea males was 59% higher than the resting metabolic rate (0.443±0.056 vs. 0.279±0.028 CO2 ml g−1 h−1) although highly variable among individuals. While individual call costs were relatively inexpensive (ranging from 0.02–5.4% increase in metabolic rate per call) the individuals with cheaper calls called more often and for longer than those with expensive calls resulting in the former group having significantly greater cumulative costs over a standard amount of time (9.5 h). The metabolic costs of calling are however context dependent since the amount of time spent calling greatly influenced these costs in our trials. A power law function described this relationship between cumulative cost and percentage increase per call (y=130.21x−1.068, R2=0.858); where y=cumulative cost, and x=percentage increase per call. The choice of metric employed for estimating energy costs (i.e. how costs are expressed) also affects the outcome and any interpretation of costs of sexual signalling. For example, the absolute, relative and cumulative metabolic costs of calling yield strongly divergent estimates and any fitness implications depend on the organism's energy budget and the potential trade-offs in allocation of resources that are made as a direct consequence of increased calling effort.
Data from: Parallel genomic architecture underlies repeated sexual signal divergence in Hawaiian Laupala crickets
When the same phenotype evolves repeatedly, we can explore the predictability of genetic changes underlying phenotypic evolution. Theory suggests that genetic parallelism is less likely when phenotypic changes are governed by many small-effect loci compared to few of major effect, because different combinations of genetic changes can result in the same quantitative outcome. However, some genetic trajectories might be favoured over others, making a shared genetic basis to repeated polygenic evolution more likely. To examine this, we studied the genetics of parallel male mating song evolution in the Hawaiian cricket <i>Laupala</i>. We compared quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying song divergence in three species pairs varying in phenotypic distance. We tested whether replicated song divergence between species involves the same QTL and the likelihood that sharing QTL is related to phenotypic effect sizes. Contrary to theoretical predictions, we find substantial parallelism in polygenic genetic architectures underlying repeated song divergence. QTL overlapped more than expected based on simulated QTL analyses. Interestingly, QTL effect size did not predict QTL sharing, but did correlate with magnitude of phenotypic divergence. We highlight potential mechanisms driving these constraints on cricket song evolution and discuss a scenario that consolidates empirical quantitative genetic observations with micro-mutational theory.
Data from: Signal architecture: temporal variability and individual consistency of multiple sexually selected signals
1. Multiple signals should be favoured when the benefit of additional signals outweigh their costs. Despite increased attention on multiple-signalling systems, few studies have focused on signal architecture to understand the potential information content of multiple signals. 2. To understand the patterns of signal plasticity and consistency over the lifetime of individuals we conducted a longitudinal study of multiple signals known to be under sexual selection in male lark buntings, Calamospiza melanocorys. 3. Within years, we found extensive among-individual variation in all four plumage ornaments we measured. Surprisingly, there were few correlations among these signals, suggesting that individuals contain a mosaic of signals. Signals were only moderately repeatable across years, which indicates some signal plasticity or age related change. In some years, the direction of change in particular signals relative to the previous year was consistent for most individuals in the population, suggesting that broad scale ecological factors affected the ornament phenotype. Different ornaments were affected by different ecological or social factors because the population-wide shift in a given signal was independent of change in other signals. 4. Our combined results suggest that different signals—including different components of the same color patch in some cases—provide diverse and independent information about the individual to signal receivers in the context of sexual selection.
Data from: Rapid diversification of sexual signals in Hawaiian Nesosydne planthoppers (Hemiptera: Delphacidae): the relative role of neutral and selective forces
Changes in sexual signals have the potential to promote rapid divergence and reproductive isolation among populations of animals. Thus, identifying processes contributing to variation in signals is key to understanding the drivers of speciation. However, it is difficult to identify the processes initiating changes in signals in empirical systems because (1) the demographic history of populations under study is usually unclear, and (2) there is no unified hypothesis-testing framework for evaluating the simultaneous contribution of multiple processes. A unique system for study in the Hawaiian Islands, the planthopper species Nesosydne chambersi, offers a clear demographic context to disentangle these factors. By measuring variation in male vibratory sexual signals across different genetic populations on the island of Hawaii, we found that that multiple signal traits varied significantly between populations. We developed a mixed modelling framework to simultaneously test competing hypotheses about which processes contribute to changes in signal traits: genetic drift, sensory drive or reproductive character displacement. Our findings suggest that signal divergence proceeds along different axes for different signal traits under the influence of both neutral and selective processes. They are the first, to our knowledge, to document the relative importance of multiple processes on divergence in sexual signals.
Data from: Environmental conditions limit attractiveness of a complex sexual signal in the túngara frog
Animals choosing particular display sites often balance sexual and natural selection pressures. Here we assess how physical properties of display sites can alter this balance by influencing signal production and attractiveness of the túngara frog (Physalaemus pustulosus). Males that call from very shallow water bodies (few mm depth) benefit from reduced predation risk, but by manipulating water levels, we show that this comes at a cost of reduced attractiveness to females. Our data show that calling from shallower water reduces a male's ability to float, limits the inflation of his vocal sac, and consequently reduces signal conspicuousness in terms of amplitude and complexity. Our results demonstrate that display site properties can set limits on signal production and attractiveness and may hence influence signal evolution. Signallers may shift between sites or engineer their display location, which can play a crucial role in signal divergence and speciation, particularly in a rapidly changing world.
Data from: Anthropogenic ecosystem fragmentation drives shared and unique patterns of sexual signal divergence among three species of Bahamian mosquitofish
When confronted with similar environmental challenges, different organisms can exhibit dissimilar phenotypic responses. Therefore, understanding patterns of phenotypic divergence for closely related species requires considering distinct evolutionary histories. Here, we investigated how a common form of human-induced environmental alteration, habitat fragmentation, may drive phenotypic divergence among three closely related species of Bahamian mosquitofish (Gambusia spp.). Focusing on one phenotypic trait (male coloration), having a priori predictions of divergence, we tested whether populations persisting in fragmented habitats differed from those inhabiting unfragmented habitats and examined the consistency of the pattern across species. Species exhibited both shared and unique patterns of phenotypic divergence between the two types of habitats, with shared patterns representing the stronger effect. For all species, populations in fragmented habitats had fewer dorsal-fin spots. In contrast, the magnitude and trajectory of divergence in dorsal-fin color, a sexually selected trait, differed among species. We identified fragmentation-mediated increased turbidity as a possible driver of these trait shifts. These results suggest that even closely related species can exhibit diverse phenotypic responses when encountering similar human-mediated selection regimes. This element of unpredictability complicates forecasting the phenotypic responses of wild organisms faced with anthropogenic change – an important component of biological conservation and ecosystem management.
Data from: Sexual signal loss: the link between behavior and rapid evolutionary dynamics in a field cricket
1. Sexual signals may be acquired or lost over evolutionary time, and are tempered in their exaggeration by natural selection. 2. In the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus, a mutation ("flatwing") causing loss of the sexual signal, the song, spread in < 20 generations in two of three Hawaiian islands where the crickets have been introduced. Flatwing (as well as some normal-wing) males behave as satellites, moving towards and settling near calling males to intercept phonotactic females. 3. From 2005-2012, we surveyed crickets and their responses to conspecific song, noting the morph and number of males and females before and after experimental playbacks. The three Hawaiian islands consistently contained different proportions of flatwing crickets, ranging from about 90% of males on Kauai to 50% on Oahu to rare on the Big Island of Hawaii. 4. Flatwing and normal-wing males do not appear to differ in responsiveness to playback, a behavior that should influence the likelihood of a male encountering a phonotactic female. Instead, male and female crickets from populations in which little to no calling song is perceptible during development tended to seek out callers more readily than crickets that developed in noisier environments. Such increased phonotaxis makes females more likely to find either the caller to which they are responding or to encounter a flatwing (or normal male satellite) that has also been attracted to the song. 5. Our evidence suggests that pre-existing behavioral plasticity (manifest as flexible responses to social – particularly acoustic – information in the environment) is associated with the rapid spread of the flatwing trait. Different social environments select for differential success of flatwing or normal-wing males, which in turn alters the social environment itself.
Data from: Quantitative genetics of plumage color: lifetime effects of early nest environment on a colorful sexual signal
Phenotypic differences among individuals are often linked to differential survival and mating success. Quantifying the relative influence of genetic and environmental variation on phenotype allows evolutionary biologists to make predictions about the potential for a given trait to respond to selection and various aspects of environmental variation. In particular, the environment individuals experience during early development can have lasting effects on phenotype later in life. Here, we used a natural full-sib/half-sib design as well as within-individual longitudinal analyses to examine genetic and various environmental influences on plumage color. We find that variation in melanin-based plumage color – a trait known to influence mating success in adult North American barn swallows (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster) – is influenced by both genetics and aspects of the developmental environment, including variation due to the maternal phenotype and the nest environment. Within individuals, nestling color is predictive of adult color. Accordingly, these early environmental influences are relevant to the sexually selected plumage color variation in adults. Early environmental conditions appear to have important lifelong implications for individual reproductive performance through sexual signal development in barn swallows. Our results indicate that feather color variation conveys information about developmental conditions and maternal care alleles to potential mates in North American barn swallows. Melanin-based colors are used for sexual signaling in many organisms, and our study suggests that these signals may be more sensitive to environmental variation than previously thought.
Data from: Carotenoid-based bill coloration functions as a social, not sexual, signal in songbirds (Aves: Passeriformes)
Many animals use coloration to communicate with other individuals. While the signalling role of avian plumage colour is relatively well studied, there has been much less research on coloration in avian bare parts. However, bare parts could be highly informative signals as they can show rapid changes in coloration. We measured bill colour (a ubiquitous bare part) in over 1600 passerine species and tested whether interspecific variation in carotenoid-based coloration is consistent with signalling to potential mates or signalling to potential rivals in a competitive context. Our results suggest that carotenoid bill coloration primarily evolved as a signal of dominance, as this type of coloration is more common in species that live in social groups in the non-breeding season, and species that nest in colonies; two socio-ecological conditions that promote frequent agonistic interactions with numerous and/or unfamiliar individuals. Additionally, our study suggests that carotenoid bill coloration is independent of the intensity of past sexual selection, as it is not related to either sexual dichromatism or sexual size dimorphism. These results pose a significant challenge to the conventional view that carotenoid-based avian coloration has evolved as a developmentally costly, condition-dependent sexual signal. We also suggest that bare part ornamentation may often signal different information than plumage ornaments.
Sexual signal loss, pleiotropy, and maintenance of a male reproductive polymorphism in crickets
<p>Pleiotropy between male signals and female preferences can facilitate evolution of sexual communication by maintaining coordination between the sexes. Alternatively, it can favor variation in the mating system, such as a reproductive polymorphism. It is unknown how common either of these scenarios are in nature. In Pacific field crickets (<i>Teleogryllus oceanicus</i>) on Kauai, Hawaii, a mutation (<i>flatwing</i>) that segregates as a single locus is responsible for the rapid loss of song production in males. We used outbred cricket colonies fixed for male wing morph to investigate whether homozygous <i>flatwing</i> and <i>normal-wing</i> (wild-type) females differ in responsiveness to male calling song and propensity to mate when paired with either a <i>flatwing</i> or <i>normal-wing</i> male in the presence or absence of courtship song. <i>Flatwing</i> females were less likely to mount a male than <i>normal-wing</i> females. Females of both genotypes showed a preference for <i>normal-wing</i> males and were more likely to mate in the presence of courtship song; n<i>ormal-wing </i>females<i> </i>were<i> </i>particularly likely to mate with song. Our results show that negative pleiotropy between obligate male silence and female mating behavior can constrain the evolution of sexual signal loss and contribute to the maintenance of a male reproductive polymorphism in the wild. </p>
FIGURE 4 in The sexual signals of speciation? A new sexually dimorphic Phymaturus species of the patagonicus clade from Patagonia Argentina
FIGURE 4. Phymaturus camilae sp. nov., male (a) and female (b) in dorsal view, from the type locality.
FIGURE 6 in The sexual signals of speciation? A new sexually dimorphic Phymaturus species of the patagonicus clade from Patagonia Argentina
FIGURE 6. Environment occupied by Phymaturus camilae sp. nov. Picture taken by J.A. Scolaro at the type locality.
FIGURE 3 in The sexual signals of speciation? A new sexually dimorphic Phymaturus species of the patagonicus clade from Patagonia Argentina
FIGURE 3. Relative contribution of 14 bioclimatic factors to the observed distribution of Phymaturus camilae sp. nov. and P. calcogaster. Climatic factors are 1: ecoregion, 2: precipitation (January, in mm), 3: precipitation (July, in mm), 4: mean annual vapour pressure, 5: mean annual maximum temperature (in °C), 6: precipitation (April, in mm), 7: mean annual cloud cover, 8: precipitation (October, in mm), 9: mean annual precipitation (in mm), 10: mean annual diurnal temperature range (in °C), 11: altitude, 12: mean annual frost frequency, 13: mean annual minimum temperature (in °C), and 14: mean annual temperature (in °C).
FIGURE 5 in The sexual signals of speciation? A new sexually dimorphic Phymaturus species of the patagonicus clade from Patagonia Argentina
FIGURE 5. Colour pattern variation among preserved males (a) and females (b) of Phymaturus camilae sp. nov. from the type locality.
FIGURE 2 in The sexual signals of speciation? A new sexually dimorphic Phymaturus species of the patagonicus clade from Patagonia Argentina
FIGURE 2. Comparative morphological analyses between Phymaturus camilae sp. nov. and its closest phylogenetically related species. (a) Distribution of Phymaturus camilae sp. nov. (blue), P. calcogaster (red) and P. patagonicus (green) on a multivariate morphospace based on three principal components of a PCA; (b) differences in the extent of sexual size dimorphism between Phymaturus camilae sp. nov. and P. calcogaster.
FIGURE 1 in The sexual signals of speciation? A new sexually dimorphic Phymaturus species of the patagonicus clade from Patagonia Argentina
FIGURE 1. Geographic distribution of the Phymaturus species of the calcogaster group in Patagonia Argentina. (a) Distribution of phylogenetically related species of the patagonicus clade hypothesized to belong to the calcogaster group, plus the distribution of P. ceii (the arrow indicates the type locality of P. camilae sp. nov.). The three subsequent maps show the geographic distribution of species of the calcogaster group in relation to elevation (b), mean annual temperature (c), and normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI (d).
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