edoc-vmtest

Sex-specific timing of mate searching and territory prospecting in the nightingale : nocturnal life of females

Roth, T. and Sprau, P. and Schmidt, R. and Naguib, M. and Amrhein, V.. (2009) Sex-specific timing of mate searching and territory prospecting in the nightingale : nocturnal life of females. Proceedings of the Royal Society. Series B, Biological sciences, Vol. 276, H. 1664. pp. 2045-2050.

Full text not available from this repository.

Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5251752

Downloads: Statistics Overview

Abstract

Formal models have shown that diel variation in female mate searching is likely to have profound influence on daily signalling routines of males. In studies on acoustic communication, the temporal patterns of the receivers' signal evaluation should thus be taken into account when investigating the functions of signalling. In bird species in which diel patterns of signalling differ between males singing to defend a territory or to attract a mate, the diel patterns of mate and territory prospecting are suggested to depend on the sex of the prospector. We simulated newly arriving female nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) by translocating radio-tagged females to our study site. The mate-searching females prospected the area mostly at night, visiting several singing males. The timing of female prospecting corresponded to the period of the night when the singing activity of unpaired males was higher than that of paired males. In contrast to females, territory searching males have been shown to prospect territories almost exclusively during the dawn chorus. At dawn, both paired and unpaired males sang at high rates, suggesting that in contrast to nocturnal singing, dawn singing is important to announce territory occupancy to prospecting males. In the nightingale, the sex-specific timing of prospecting corresponded to the differential signalling routines of paired and unpaired males. The temporal patterns in the behaviour of signallers and receivers thus appear to be mutually adapted.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science
05 Faculty of Science > Departement Umweltwissenschaften > Integrative Biologie > Evolutionary Biology (Ebert)
05 Faculty of Science > Departement Umweltwissenschaften > Integrative Biologie > Behavioural Ecology (Amrhein)
UniBasel Contributors:Amrhein, Valentin and Roth, Tobias
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:The Royal Society
ISSN:0962-8452
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Related URLs:
Identification Number:
Last Modified:05 Dec 2014 09:45
Deposited On:22 Mar 2012 13:41

Repository Staff Only: item control page