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Comparative Study of Aggressive Signaling in Three Closely-Related Warbler Species

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Abstract

Songbirds are known to use several different ways to signal aggression, and even closely-related species can differ in this respect. It is not clear why the variability exists among species. Here, we used playback experiments to compare the vocal behavior of three closely-related songbird species (Phylloscopus omeiensis, P. tephrocephalus and P. valentin) during simulated territorial intrusion. First of all, we analyzed spontaneous singing of each species and found that species differed quantitatively but not qualitatively. P. valentini sang with fewer song types and with more diverse song type sequencing patterns than both P. tephrocephalus and P. omeiensis. Species differed in how much they modified their spontaneous singing while responding to playback. P. valentini males modified singing the most as they increased song type switching rate and tended to sequence song types according to a fixed linear order while responding to playback. P. omeiensis increased song type switching rate, and P. tephrocephalus modified singing the least. We correlated singing in the two contexts (playback vs. spontaneous) both between and within each species. We found that species/males that tended to produce song types according to a fixed sequence and switch after every song type modified their singing less in aggressive contexts (e.g., P. tephrocephalus).

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Shurong Tian, Meishi Liu and Zujie Kang for their support during field study.

Funding

The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 20-14-00058-P).

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  1. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of Sciences, 119071, Moscow, Russia

    Y. A. Kolesnikova & A. S. Opaev

  2. Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center, Hanoi, Viet Nam

    Y. A. Kolesnikova

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  1. Y. A. Kolesnikova
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Kolesnikova, Y.A., Opaev, A.S. Comparative Study of Aggressive Signaling in Three Closely-Related Warbler Species. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 50 (Suppl 3), S415–S427 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359023602495

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