Sex role similarity and sexual selection predict male and female song elaboration and dimorphism in fairy-wrens

Odom, Karan J., Cain, Kristal E., Hall, Michelle L., Langmore, Naomi E., Mulder, Raoul A., Kleindorfer, Sonia, Karubian, Jordan, Brouwer, Lyanne, Enbody, Erik D., Jones, John Anthony, Dowling, Jenélle L., Leitão, Ana V., Greig, Emma I., Evans, Christine, Johnson, Allison E., Meyers, Kimberley K.A., Araya-Salas, Marcelo, and Webster, Michael S. (2021) Sex role similarity and sexual selection predict male and female song elaboration and dimorphism in fairy-wrens. Ecology and Evolution, 11 (24). pp. 17901-17919.

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Abstract

Historically, bird song complexity was thought to evolve primarily through sexual selection on males; yet, in many species, both sexes sing and selection pressure on both sexes may be broader. Previous research suggests competition for mates and resources during short, synchronous breeding seasons leads to more elaborate male songs at high, temperate latitudes. Furthermore, we expect male–female song structure and elaboration to be more similar at lower, tropical latitudes, where longer breeding seasons and year-round territoriality yield similar social selection pressures in both sexes. However, studies seldom take both types of selective pressures and sexes into account. We examined song in both sexes in 15 populations of nine-fairy-wren species (Maluridae), a Southern Hemisphere clade with female song. We compared song elaboration (in both sexes) and sexual song dimorphism to latitude and life-history variables tied to sexual and social selection pressures and sex roles. Our results suggest that song elaboration evolved in part due to sexual competition in males: male songs were longer than female songs in populations with low male survival and less male provisioning. Also, female songs evolved independently of male songs: female songs were slower paced than male songs, although only in less synchronously breeding populations. We also found male and female songs were more similar when parental care was more equal and when male survival was high, which provides strong evidence that sex role similarity correlates with male–female song similarity. Contrary to Northern Hemisphere latitudinal patterns, male and female songs were more similar at higher, temperate latitudes. These results suggest that selection on song can be sex specific, with male song elaboration favored in contexts with stronger sexual selection. At the same time, selection pressures associated with sex role similarity appear to favor sex role similarity in song structure.

Item ID: 71425
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 2045-7758
Copyright Information: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2021 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Funders: Australian Research Council (ARC)
Projects and Grants: ARC DR150101652
Date Deposited: 31 Jan 2022 23:37
FoR Codes: 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3104 Evolutionary biology > 310408 Life histories @ 50%
31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3104 Evolutionary biology > 310405 Evolutionary ecology @ 50%
SEO Codes: 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences @ 100%
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