Abstract
Although song development in songbirds has been much studied as an analogue of language development in humans, the development of vocal interaction rules has been relatively neglected in both groups. Duetting avian species provide an ideal model to address the acquisition of interaction rules as duet structure involves time and pattern-specific relationships among the vocalizations from different individuals. In this study, we address the development of the most striking properties of duets: the specific answering rules that individuals use to link their own phrase types to those of their partners (duet codes) and precise temporal coordination. By performing two removal experiments in canebrake wrens (Cantorchilus zeledoni), we show that individuals use a fixed phrase repertoire to create new phrase pairings when they acquire a new partner. Furthermore, immediately after pairing, individuals perform duets with poor coordination and poor duet code adherence, but both aspects improve with time. These results indicate that individuals need a learning period to be able to perform well-coordinated duets that follow a consistent duet code. We conclude that both duet coordination and duet code adherence are honest indicators of pair-bond duration.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 20161819 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
| Volume | 283 |
| Issue number | 1843 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 30 2016 |
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Keywords
- Canebrake wren
- Duet code
- Duet coordination
- Duet ontogeny
- Song learning
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
- Immunology and Microbiology(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Environmental Science(all)
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
Cite this
Neotropical wrens learn new duet rules as adults. / Rivera-Cáceres, Karla D.; Quirós-Guerrero, Esmeralda; Araya-Salas, Marcelo; Searcy, William.
In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 283, No. 1843, 20161819, 30.11.2016.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Neotropical wrens learn new duet rules as adults
AU - Rivera-Cáceres, Karla D.
AU - Quirós-Guerrero, Esmeralda
AU - Araya-Salas, Marcelo
AU - Searcy, William
PY - 2016/11/30
Y1 - 2016/11/30
N2 - Although song development in songbirds has been much studied as an analogue of language development in humans, the development of vocal interaction rules has been relatively neglected in both groups. Duetting avian species provide an ideal model to address the acquisition of interaction rules as duet structure involves time and pattern-specific relationships among the vocalizations from different individuals. In this study, we address the development of the most striking properties of duets: the specific answering rules that individuals use to link their own phrase types to those of their partners (duet codes) and precise temporal coordination. By performing two removal experiments in canebrake wrens (Cantorchilus zeledoni), we show that individuals use a fixed phrase repertoire to create new phrase pairings when they acquire a new partner. Furthermore, immediately after pairing, individuals perform duets with poor coordination and poor duet code adherence, but both aspects improve with time. These results indicate that individuals need a learning period to be able to perform well-coordinated duets that follow a consistent duet code. We conclude that both duet coordination and duet code adherence are honest indicators of pair-bond duration.
AB - Although song development in songbirds has been much studied as an analogue of language development in humans, the development of vocal interaction rules has been relatively neglected in both groups. Duetting avian species provide an ideal model to address the acquisition of interaction rules as duet structure involves time and pattern-specific relationships among the vocalizations from different individuals. In this study, we address the development of the most striking properties of duets: the specific answering rules that individuals use to link their own phrase types to those of their partners (duet codes) and precise temporal coordination. By performing two removal experiments in canebrake wrens (Cantorchilus zeledoni), we show that individuals use a fixed phrase repertoire to create new phrase pairings when they acquire a new partner. Furthermore, immediately after pairing, individuals perform duets with poor coordination and poor duet code adherence, but both aspects improve with time. These results indicate that individuals need a learning period to be able to perform well-coordinated duets that follow a consistent duet code. We conclude that both duet coordination and duet code adherence are honest indicators of pair-bond duration.
KW - Canebrake wren
KW - Duet code
KW - Duet coordination
KW - Duet ontogeny
KW - Song learning
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85001042480&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85001042480&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2016.1819
DO - 10.1098/rspb.2016.1819
M3 - Article
C2 - 27881746
AN - SCOPUS:85001042480
VL - 283
JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
SN - 0800-4622
IS - 1843
M1 - 20161819
ER -