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Why Do Migratory Birds Sing on Their Tropical Wintering Grounds?


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Authors

Sorensen, Marjorie C 
Jenni-Eiermann, Susanne 
Spottiswoode, Claire N 

Abstract

Many long-distance migratory birds sing extensively on their tropical African wintering grounds, but the function of this costly behavior remains unknown. In this study, we carry out a first empirical test of three competing hypotheses, combining a field study of great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) wintering in Africa with a comparative analysis across Palearctic-African migratory songbird species. We asked whether winter song (i) functions to defend nonbreeding territories, (ii) functions as practice to improve complex songs for subsequent breeding, or (iii) is a nonadaptive consequence of elevated testosterone carryover. We found support for neither the long-assumed territory-defense hypothesis (great reed warblers had widely overlapping home ranges and showed no conspecific aggression) nor the testosterone-carryover hypothesis (winter singing in great reed warblers was unrelated to plasma testosterone concentration). Instead, we found strongest support for the song-improvement hypothesis, since great reed warblers sang a mate attraction song type rather than a territorial song type in Africa, and species that sing most intensely in Africa were those in which sexual selection acts most strongly on song characteristics; they had more complex songs and were more likely to be sexually monochromatic. This study underlines how sexual selection can have far-reaching effects on animal ecology throughout the annual cycle.

Description

Keywords

Palearctic-African migrants, great reed warbler, nonbreeding, song function, winter, Acoustic Stimulation, Animals, Seasons, Songbirds, Telemetry, Territoriality, Testosterone, Vocalization, Animal, Zambia

Journal Title

Am Nat

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0003-0147
1537-5323

Volume Title

Publisher

University of Chicago Press
Sponsorship
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J014109/1)
MCS was funded by the Gates Cambridge Trust and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. CNS was supported by a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship, a BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship, and the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute.