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Are vocal signals used to recognize individuals during male–male competition in greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido)?
- Source :
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 68:1441-1449
- Publication Year :
- 2014
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2014.
-
Abstract
- Vocal signaling can be an important component of vertebrate communication during social interactions. If vocalizations vary among individuals but are consistent within a given individual, they may be used to discriminate among individuals. In many species, territorial males use vocalizations to discriminate between neighbors and strangers and either respond more aggressively toward strangers relative to neighbors (“dear enemy” effect) or they respond more aggressively toward neighbors relative to strangers (“nasty neighbor” effect). In the greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido), male vocalizations are an integral part of the display males produce on leks. We investigated whether male greater prairie-chickens discriminate among familiar individuals on their own territory, familiar individuals outside their normal territory and strangers from a nearby lek. Vocal characteristics varied among males, suggesting that vocalizations may potentially be used by prairie-chickens to identify individuals. Males responded to playback of prairie-chicken calls by vocalizing at a faster rate and approaching the playback speaker, but did not vary in their response to the vocalizations based on the identity of the caller. Our results suggest that variation is present among the vocalizations of individual male greater prairie-chickens, but males do not appear to discriminate among familiar individuals and strangers based solely on their “boom” vocalizations. Greater prairie-chicken vocalization likely functions as a way of announcing that a territory is occupied and defended, but it may also serve as a way of advertising to conspecifics or as a signal that is secondary to other forms of communication.
- Subjects :
- Galliformes
Ecology
media_common.quotation_subject
Biology
biology.organism_classification
Competition (biology)
Lek mating
Tympanuchus cupido
Variation (linguistics)
Animal ecology
otorhinolaryngologic diseases
Animal Science and Zoology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Demography
media_common
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14320762 and 03405443
- Volume :
- 68
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........2ecb079b6bd391bce1b076a9a86ed6c3