Display behaviour, social organization and vocal repertoire of Blue‐backed Manakin Chiroxiphia pareola napensis in northwest Amazonia. (13th November 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cárdenas‐Posada, Ghislaine; Cadena, Carlos Daniel; Blake, John G.; Loiselle, Bette A.
• Is Part Of: Ibis. Volume 160:Number 2(2018)
• Page Start: 269
• Page End: 282
• Publication Date: 2017-11-13
• Subjects: camera traps -- Ecuador -- manakin -- natural history -- sexual selection -- sonograms; Birds -- Periodicals; 598
• DOI: 10.1111/ibi.12548
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0019-1019

Abstract

Abstract : Members of the avian family Pipridae (manakins) have served as a model system for studies aimed at understanding cooperation among individuals, traits involved in sexual selection and the evolution of female preferences. These studies rely on a detailed natural history baseline, yet multiple manakin taxa remain unstudied, precluding comparative analyses and assessment of geographical variation. The Blue‐backed Manakin Chiroxiphia pareola is a widely distributed species with four recognized subspecies; however, most published information on display behaviour, social organization and vocalizations are derived from an island population of one subspecies, Chiroxiphia pareola atlantica . To describe the social organization and patterns of activity of the subspecies C. p. napensis, we studied a population in eastern Ecuador and collected data from seven display areas or leks within the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. We used focal observations, camera traps and automatic song recorders to collect information for the field seasons from January to March 2013 and video cameras from February to March 2014. Males were active most of the day with a peak in activity at noon. Display areas were occupied by one to five males, ranging from > 2 to > 18 years old. The vocal repertoire included duet song displays and a variety of calls. We provide sonograms for all six observed vocalizations, including two previously unrecorded vocalizations for the species, and comment on the possible behavioural context of each vocalization. We describe five distinct display elements and the dance display behaviour, and highlight differences relative to other species of the genus. The first part of the dance display involved cooperative dancing, whereas the second part was a solo display, usually performed by alpha males. Our work reveals some differences between C. p. napensis and C. p. atlantica, such as a possible aggressive interaction between males of different ages and hierarchical status that has not been reported before and the apparent absence of mechanical wing sounds in C. p. napensis . The data reported here help advance our knowledge of the evolution of display behaviour among manakins.