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Song sharing and repertoire size in the sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus: changes within and between years
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posted on 2007-11-01, 00:00 authored by J Nicolson, Kate BuchananKate Buchanan, R Marshall, C CatchpoleThe complex song of the male sedge warbler functions mainly in sexual attraction and the evolution of repertoire size is driven primarily by female choice. As male song ceases upon pairing, male–male singing interactions are relatively brief and have not been studied to our knowledge. This study shows that young males in their first breeding season shared significantly more syllables with their nearest neighbour than with their fathers or more distant males. Moreover, daily recordings revealed that rapid learning and modification of syllable repertoires occurred, resulting in a progressive increase in sharing within just a few days. This does not lead to a gradual increase in repertoire size as some syllables are dropped and new ones are acquired. This turnover process allows males to share syllables with their neighbours, whilst repertoire size, known to be important in female choice, remains relatively constant in any one year. Individual males were followed for several years and also showed considerable syllable turnover between years. However, in this case, repertoire size was found to increase between years, the largest increase occurring between the first and second years. We obtained a significant positive correlation between repertoire size and age, suggesting that females choosing males with larger repertoires may gain indirect (genetic) benefits for their offspring, such as good genes for viability. Whilst these results reveal a more flexible picture of repertoire turnover than previously suspected, the relative stability of repertoire size within a season and the increase with age suggests that repertoire size remains a likely target for sexual selection by female choice.
History
Journal
Animal behaviourVolume
74Issue
5Pagination
1585 - 1592Publisher
Baillière, Tindall and Cassell [etc.].Location
London, EnglandPublisher DOI
ISSN
0003-3472eISSN
1095-8282Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2007, The Association for the Study of Animal BehaviourUsage metrics
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