Range-wide spatial mapping reveals convergent character displacement of bird song
File(s)ProceedingsB_Kirscheletal_accepted.docx (198.48 KB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Kirschel, Alexander NG
Seddon, Nathalie
Tobias, Joseph A
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
A long-held view in evolutionary biology is that character displacement generates divergent phenotypes in closely related coexisting species to avoid the costs of hybridization or ecological competition, whereas an alternative possibility is that signals of dominance or aggression may instead converge to facilitate coexistence among ecological competitors. Although this counterintuitive process—termed convergent agonistic character displacement—is supported by recent theoretical and empirical studies, the extent to which it drives spatial patterns of trait evolution at continental scales remains unclear. By modelling the variation in song structure of two ecologically similar species of Hypocnemis antbird across western Amazonia, we show that their territorial signals converge such that trait similarity peaks in the sympatric zone, where intense interspecific territoriality between these taxa has previously been demonstrated. We also use remote sensing data to show that signal convergence is not explained by environmental gradients and is thus unlikely to evolve by sensory drive (i.e. acoustic adaptation to the sound transmission properties of habitats). Our results suggest that agonistic character displacement driven by interspecific competition can generate spatial patterns opposite to those predicted by classic character displacement theory, and highlight the potential role of social selection in shaping geographical variation in signal phenotypes of ecological competitors.
Date Issued
2019-05-01
Date Acceptance
2019-04-04
Citation
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2019, 286 (1902)
ISSN
0962-8452
Publisher
Royal Society, The
Journal / Book Title
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume
286
Issue
1902
Copyright Statement
© 2019 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000466413500008&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Biology
Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
animal communication
Amazonia
interspecific competition
phenotypic evolution
signal convergence
social selection
FALSE DISCOVERY RATE
TREE COVER
EVOLUTION
SELECTION
INTERFERENCE
COMPETITION
DIVERGENCE
DIVERSIFICATION
CONSEQUENCES
RECOGNITION
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 20190443
Date Publish Online
2019-05-01