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Convergent character displacement in sympatric tamarin calls (Saguinus spp.)

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Abstract

Character displacement, or a shift in traits where species co-occur, is one of the most common ecological patterns to result from interactions between closely related species. Usually, character displacement is associated to divergence in traits, though, they might be convergent, especially when used for aggressive interference between species. In the context of animal communication, territorial calls are predicted to converge in order to increase context recognition and decrease the costs of ecological interference competition. However, such signals might also be adapted to characteristics of the shared environment. In this study, we used data from 15 groups of two parapatric tamarins, Saguinus midas and S. bicolor, to test for similarities in long calls among sympatric and allopatric groups. We hypothesized that calls would converge in sympatric areas, as it would be mutually beneficial if both species recognize territorial contexts, but that convergence would depend on forest type due to acoustic adaptation. As predicted, long calls converged in sympatry, with S. midas shifting its calls towards S. bicolor’s acoustic pattern. However, this shift only occurred in primary forest. In sympatric areas, S. midas produced sounds with narrower bandwidths in primary than in secondary forest, consistent with optimization of sound propagation while both species produced longer calls in primary forests independently of geographic location (i.e. sympatry and allopatry). Our results suggest that both social and environmental pressures are important in shaping tamarin sounds. As their effects can interact, analyses, which assume that these ecological pressures act independently, are likely to miss important patterns.

Significance statement

Territorial signals between closely related sympatric species are expected to be convergent to increase context recognition and decrease the costs of interference competition. However, such signals might also be adapted to characteristics of the shared environment, such as forest structure characteristics. We analysed vocalisations from two parapatric tamarins and found that, though their long calls asymmetrically converged in sympatry, only red-handed tamarins shifted towards pied tamarin call type, and this only occurred in primary forest. Our results suggest that both social and environmental pressures are important in shaping primate calls. Because their effects can interact, analyses which assume that these pressures act independently, are likely to miss important patterns.

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Data are available as supplementary material.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Cristiane Rangel, Benedito Monteiro, Laynara Santos, Viviane Costa, Dayane Seyfarth, Guilherme Christo, Karina Solis, Arthur Citó, Gueviston Lima, and Gilberto for fieldwork help. We are also grateful to the Projeto Sauim-de-Coleira, UFAM, PARNA Viruá, LBA, BDFFP, Balbina Dam, Gonçalo Ferraz and the owners of private proprieties (especially Sra Ana and Sr. Dalton Valle) for field facilitation. We thank the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful feedback, as well as Dr. Charles Snowdon for sharing his knowledge and impressions about the function of long calls in tamarin species. This is contribution 811 of the BDFFP Technical Series and 52 from the Amazonian Mammals Research group.

Funding

During the study TVS and received a scholarship from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas (FAPEAM) (062.01758/2018). RMR received a scholarship from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (142352/2017–9). The study is part of a project supported by the "Primate Action Fund" (PAF 14–15; CI 1000796), Idea Wild and the Pignose Company.

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Contributions

TVS originally formulated the research topic, collected data, and wrote the original draft. TVS, PACLP, JCD and RMR performed exploratory and current statistical analyses. AAPB, MG, and JCD supervised. TVS and WRS raised funds. AAPB and JCD checked the English. All authors contributed to the writing and reviewing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tainara V. Sobroza.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the use of animals were followed. The study was non-invasive and complied with Brazilian law (permit for Viruá National Park access 47755–1; and for S. midas and S. bicolor research 10286 – 3 issued by SISBIO/Brazilian Ministry of Environment).

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Communicated by M. A van Noordwijk.

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Sobroza, T.V., Gordo, M., Pequeno, P.A.C.L. et al. Convergent character displacement in sympatric tamarin calls (Saguinus spp.). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 75, 88 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-021-03028-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-021-03028-x

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