How to translate text using browser tools
1 September 2006 MORPHOLOGICAL ADAPTATION INFLUENCES THE EVOLUTION OF A MATING SIGNAL
Barbara Ballentine
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Theory predicts that forces of natural selection can reduce the intensity of sexually selected traits. In this study, I investigate how morphological adaptation to feeding ecology influences a mating signal. In birds, changes in feeding ecology can cause rapid divergence in bill morphology. Because bills are also important for song production, feeding ecology may influence song divergence. During song, birds can rapidly change vocal tract resonance using bill movement, yet are constrained in rate and magnitude of bill movements resulting in a trade-off between trill rate and frequency bandwidth. Male swamp sparrows vary in their ability to produce rapid, broad-band trills and females prefer more physically demanding songs. Populations of swamp sparrows adapted to the feeding ecology of tidal marshes have larger bills than inland populations. Larger bills should increase the constraints of producing rapid, broad-band trills allowing for a test of how changes in feeding ecology affect a feature of song used in mate choice. I found significant differences in acoustic features of song consistent with the hypothesis that coastal males are less able to meet the physical demands of song production because of the constraints of having larger bills. As possible compensation for decreases in song performance, coastal populations exhibit an increase in song complexity. These changes support the current model of how motor constraints influence song production and suggest a mechanism by which feeding ecology can influence signal evolution.

Barbara Ballentine "MORPHOLOGICAL ADAPTATION INFLUENCES THE EVOLUTION OF A MATING SIGNAL," Evolution 60(9), 1936-1944, (1 September 2006). https://doi.org/10.1554/06-051.1
Received: 27 January 2006; Accepted: 13 June 2006; Published: 1 September 2006
JOURNAL ARTICLE
9 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
bird song
geographic variation
mate choice
sexual selection
swamp sparrow
vocal performance
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top