Sounds of senescence: Male swamp sparrows respond less aggressively to the songs of older individuals

Zipple, MN

Peters, S

Searcy, WA

Nowicki, S

Naguib, Marc

2023-02-01T16:45:04Z

2023-02-01T16:45:04Z

2021-01-01

2023-02-01T16:45:03Z

Age-related changes in assessment signals occur in a diverse array of animals, including humans. Age-related decline in vocal quality in humans is known to affect perceived attractiveness by potential mates and voters, but whether such changes have functional implications for nonhuman animals is poorly understood. Most studies of age-related change in animal signals focus on increases in signal quality that occur soon after the age of first breeding (“delayed maturation”), but a few have shown that signal quality declines in older individuals after a mid-life peak (“behavioral senescence”). Whether other individuals are able to detect this senescent decline of assessment signals has not previously been tested. Here we use playback experiments to show that wild male swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) respond more aggressively to songs from 2-year-old males as compared with songs from the same males when they are 10 years old. Senescence in signals that, like birdsong, affect reproductive success through intrasexual competition or mate choice may be of evolutionary significance. Lay Summary: Using playback experiments with wild swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana), we demonstrate that listeners both detect and respond to age-related declines in vocal quality. Two previous studies have shown that some song characteristics deteriorate with age later in life in songbirds, but to our knowledge this is the first demonstration outside of humans that such deterioration affects receiver response. Discrimination of songs from males of different ages may have evolutionary implications.

1045-2249

1465-7279

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/26536

en

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Behavioral Ecology

10.1093/BEHECO/ARZ218

behavioral senescence

birdsong

signaling

territoriality

vocal discrimination

Sounds of senescence: Male swamp sparrows respond less aggressively to the songs of older individuals

Journal article

Nowicki, S|0000-0002-6564-905X

533

539

2

Duke

School of Medicine

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Basic Science Departments

Neurobiology

Biology

Psychology & Neuroscience

Institutes and Provost's Academic Units

University Institutes and Centers

Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Initiatives

Duke Science & Society

Published

31