TY - JOUR

T1 - Microdialect and group signature in the song of the skylark alauda arvensis

AU - Briefer, Elodie

AU - Rybak, Fanny

AU - Aubin, Thierry

N1 - Funding Information: This study was supported by the CNRS and the University of Paris 11. EB was funded by a grant from the French Minister of Research and Technology during data collection. We are grateful to the anonymous referees for comments and suggestions.

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - The Skylark Alauda arvensis is a territorial species of open landscape in which pairs settle in stable and adjacent territories during the breeding season. Due to the heterogeneity of the habitat, territories are gathered in patches spaced by a few kilometres, in which each male produces very long and complex flight songs as a part of the territorial behaviour. We showed that, in a given patch, all the males (neighbours) share some particular sequences of syllables in their songs, whereas males settled in different patches (strangers) have almost no sequences in common. Such a phenomenon is known as microdialect. To test the hypothesis that these shared sequences support a group signature, we made playback experiments with "chimeric" signals: songs of strangers where the sequences shared by neighbours were artificially inserted. Behavioural responses to playbacks indicated a neighbour-stranger discrimination consistent with the dear enemy phenomenon, i.e. a reduced aggression toward neighbours compared to strangers. Furthermore, the same level of responses, observed when a "chimeric" song and a neighbour song were broadcast, indicated that shared sequences are recognised and identified as markers of the neighbourhood identity.

AB - The Skylark Alauda arvensis is a territorial species of open landscape in which pairs settle in stable and adjacent territories during the breeding season. Due to the heterogeneity of the habitat, territories are gathered in patches spaced by a few kilometres, in which each male produces very long and complex flight songs as a part of the territorial behaviour. We showed that, in a given patch, all the males (neighbours) share some particular sequences of syllables in their songs, whereas males settled in different patches (strangers) have almost no sequences in common. Such a phenomenon is known as microdialect. To test the hypothesis that these shared sequences support a group signature, we made playback experiments with "chimeric" signals: songs of strangers where the sequences shared by neighbours were artificially inserted. Behavioural responses to playbacks indicated a neighbour-stranger discrimination consistent with the dear enemy phenomenon, i.e. a reduced aggression toward neighbours compared to strangers. Furthermore, the same level of responses, observed when a "chimeric" song and a neighbour song were broadcast, indicated that shared sequences are recognised and identified as markers of the neighbourhood identity.

U2 - 10.1080/09524622.2011.9753647

DO - 10.1080/09524622.2011.9753647

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:84858124801

VL - 20

SP - 219

EP - 233

JO - Bioacoustics

JF - Bioacoustics

SN - 0952-4622

IS - 3

ER -