Journal ArticleDOI
A performance constraint on the evolution of trilled vocalizations in a songbird family (passeriformes: emberizidae)
TLDR
A pattern in the evolution of birdsongs that may reflect a constraint on vocal performance is described and the role of constraints associated with vocal tract modulations during song production and evolution is explored.Abstract:
Behavioral evolution can be influenced by constraints, for example, of phylogeny and performance. In this paper I describe a pattern in the evolution of birdsongs that may reflect a constraint on vocal performance. Trilled vocalizations from 34 species of songbirds (Passeriformes: Emberizidae) were analyzed. Two acoustic variables, trill rate and frequency bandwidth, were measured for different trill types. In most species, maximal values of frequency bandwidth were found to decrease with increasing trill rates. Further, trills with low trill rates exhibited wide variance in frequency bandwidth, and trills with high trill rates exhibited only narrow frequency bandwidths. The bounded nature of this pattern suggests that performance constraints have limited the evolutionary diversification of trills. In particular, I explore the role of constraints associated with vocal tract modulations during song production and evolution. Identification of this constraint may enhance our ability to explain particular patterns of trill evolution.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Complex signal function: developing a framework of testable hypotheses
Eileen A. Hebets,Daniel R. Papaj +1 more
TL;DR: This work builds a framework of functional hypotheses of complex signal evolution based on content-driven (ultimate) and efficacy-driven selection pressures (sensu Guilford and Dawkins 1991), and point out key predictions for various hypotheses and discuss different approaches to uncovering complex signal function.
MonographDOI
The Evolution of Language
TL;DR: The authors exploit newly available massive natu- ral language corpora to capture the language as a language evolution phenomenon. But their work is limited to a subset of the languages in the corpus.
Journal ArticleDOI
Phenotypic integration: studying the ecology and evolution of complex phenotypes
TL;DR: It is suggested that studying integration provides a particularly stimulating and truly interdisciplinary convergence of researchers from fields as disparate as molecular genetics, developmental biology, evolutionary ecology, palaeontology and even philosophy of science.
Journal ArticleDOI
Correlated evolution of morphology and vocal signal structure in Darwin's finches
TL;DR: It is shown, in Darwin's finches of the Galápagos Islands, that diversification of beak morphology and body size has shaped patterns of vocal signal evolution, such that birds with large beaks and body sizes have evolved songs with comparatively low rates of syllable repetition and narrow frequency bandwidths.
Journal ArticleDOI
The honesty of bird song: multiple constraints for multiple traits
Diego Gil,Manfred Gahr +1 more
TL;DR: A review of the existing evidence for each of the constraints on the evolution of sexually selected male signals, revealing some major gaps in knowledge of this fascinating biological system.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
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Book
The comparative method in evolutionary biology
Paul H. Harvey,Mark Pagel +1 more
TL;DR: The comparative method for studying adaptation why worry about phylogeny?
Journal ArticleDOI
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