Allo-preening is linked to vocal signature development in a wild parrot. (14th November 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Allo-preening is linked to vocal signature development in a wild parrot. (14th November 2021)
- Main Title:
- Allo-preening is linked to vocal signature development in a wild parrot
- Authors:
- Arellano, Caleb M M
Canelón, Nurialby Viloria
Delgado, Soraya
Berg, Karl S - Editors:
- Ridley, Amanda
- Abstract:
- Abstract: Allo-grooming networks in primate social groups are thought to have favored the evolution of vocal recognition systems, including vocal imitation in humans, as a more effective means of maintaining social bonds in large groups. Select avian taxa converged on vocal learning, but it is not clear what role analogues of allo-grooming might have played. Unlike allo-grooming in most primates, allo-preening in birds is usually limited to pair-bonds. One exception to this is during nestling development when siblings preen each other, but it is unknown how allo-preening influences vocal learning. We addressed this question in wild Green-rumped Parrotlets ( Forpus passerinus ) in Venezuela. Nestlings learn signature contact calls from adult templates. Large broods, age hierarchies and protracted development in this species create the potential for complex allo-preening networks and a unique opportunity to test how early sociality makes the development of vocal learning labile. From audio-video recordings inside nest cavities and a balanced design of different brood sizes, we quantified allo-preening interactions between marked nestlings, to compare to signature contact calls. Controlling for brood size and age hierarchy, the propensity to preen a larger number of individuals (i.e., out-strength) correlated positively with the age at first contact call. Allo-preening and acoustic similarity matrices did not reveal clear correlations within broods, instead larger broodsAbstract: Allo-grooming networks in primate social groups are thought to have favored the evolution of vocal recognition systems, including vocal imitation in humans, as a more effective means of maintaining social bonds in large groups. Select avian taxa converged on vocal learning, but it is not clear what role analogues of allo-grooming might have played. Unlike allo-grooming in most primates, allo-preening in birds is usually limited to pair-bonds. One exception to this is during nestling development when siblings preen each other, but it is unknown how allo-preening influences vocal learning. We addressed this question in wild Green-rumped Parrotlets ( Forpus passerinus ) in Venezuela. Nestlings learn signature contact calls from adult templates. Large broods, age hierarchies and protracted development in this species create the potential for complex allo-preening networks and a unique opportunity to test how early sociality makes the development of vocal learning labile. From audio-video recordings inside nest cavities and a balanced design of different brood sizes, we quantified allo-preening interactions between marked nestlings, to compare to signature contact calls. Controlling for brood size and age hierarchy, the propensity to preen a larger number of individuals (i.e., out-strength) correlated positively with the age at first contact call. Allo-preening and acoustic similarity matrices did not reveal clear correlations within broods, instead larger broods produced greater contact call diversity. Results indicate that allo-preening elongates the period during which contact calls develop, which might allow individuals time to form a unique signature under the computationally challenging social conditions inherent to large groups. Abstract : Allo-grooming helps enforce social bonds and hierarchies in many primate societies but is less effective in large groups, a scenario that is thought to have favored the imitation of vocal signatures in humans as a more efficient way of "grooming" large numbers of social companions. We show allo-preening hierarchies in baby parrots are linked to the development of vocal signature imitation, and a potentially convergent scenario with the origins of mammalian vocal imitation. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Behavioral ecology. Volume 33:Number 1(2022)
- Journal:
- Behavioral ecology
- Issue:
- Volume 33:Number 1(2022)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 33, Issue 1 (2022)
- Year:
- 2022
- Volume:
- 33
- Issue:
- 1
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2022-0033-0001-0000
- Page Start:
- 202
- Page End:
- 212
- Publication Date:
- 2021-11-14
- Subjects:
- allopreening -- social network analysis -- social play -- vocal signature -- vocal production learning -- Venezuela
Animal behavior -- Periodicals
Behavior evolution -- Periodicals
Ecology -- Periodicals
Psychology, Comparative -- Periodicals
591.5 - Journal URLs:
- http://beheco.oupjournals.org ↗
http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org ↗
http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/ ↗
http://firstsearch.oclc.org ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1093/beheco/arab126 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1045-2249
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 1877.390000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 20966.xml